Milestones in Mining Safety and Health Technology

NIOSH MINING SAFETY AND HEALTH RESEARCH

Technology

No. 554

News

August 2016

ErgoMine Targets Ergonomics and Safety Issues in Mining

Summary

ErgoMine is an ergonomics auditing 

app for Android currently available 

in the Google Play store. This audit 

tool, designed by NIOSH, identifies 

ergonomics and safety deficiencies 

for three types of mining operations: (1) haul truck, (2) bagging, 

including small bag and intermediate bulk container filling and 

preparation for shipment, and (3) 

maintenance and repair in coal 

preparation and minerals processing plants. Unlike most ergonomics 

and safety audit programs, ErgoMine provides recommendations to 

address all deficiencies identified by 

the app. Mines can then implement 

these targeted recommendations to 

improve mineworker safety.

By Patrick G. Dempsey, Jonisha P. Pollard, 

and Gregory P. Cole

Mobile Audit Technology 

ErgoMine was developed by the National 

Institute for Occupational Safety and 

Health (NIOSH) as a mobile application 

that runs on Android-powered smart 

phones and tablets. This app brings the 

classic clipboard-and-pencil process of 

auditing into the digital age, providing 

for easier input, processing, and sharing 

of information and an immediate generation of recommendations to address ergonomics and safety issues identified by 

the app. The app guides the user through 

a series of questions and automatically 

selects the appropriate audit modules 

(e.g., if a bagging operation does not 

have a palletizing station, the application 

will skip the palletizing module). Recommendations generated from a given 

audit are compiled into a recommendations report that can be easily emailed to 

other mine personnel. 

Immediate Recommendations 

As the user answers the audit questions, 

ErgoMine instantly generates recommendations for minimizing identified 

ergonomics or safety issues. The recommendations for completed questions 

can be read while conducting the audit 

or viewed after completing an audit. The 

audits and related recommendations 

are based on information from various 

sources, including laboratory studies, 

field studies, injury and fatality data and 

reports, on-the-job observations, and 

existing solutions currently used in mines 

to address safety deficiencies. All recommendations in the app were designed to 

be practical and specific enough to guide 

the user in addressing the identified deficiencies. Many of the recommendations 

are simple, low-cost engineering changes 

to eliminate the issue. 

Figure 1: A user conducts an ErgoMine audit on an Android tablet while observing a mineworker perform an equipment maintenance task.

Photo by NIOSH

Flexibility in Conducting Audits

ErgoMine was designed to be a flexible 

audit tool, allowing individual audit 

modules to be completed when desired. 
For example, a single bagging station can be 

audited before and after renovations or other 

changes by selecting only those modules which 

may be affected by the changes. Some mines 

may choose to complete audits annually or on 

a schedule similar to other safety activities. In 

summary, the audits can be used in a manner 

that complements existing ergonomics efforts 

or as a means of establishing a more formal ergonomics process. Addressing ergonomics and 

safety deficiencies is a continuous improvement 

process, and ErgoMine can be an effective tool 

for mineworkers to document and remediate 

these deficiencies.

The Bagging Audit

The bagging audit applies to surface mills and 

plants with small and bulk bagging and palletizing. At these operations small bags (100-lb or 

less) or intermediate bulk containers are filled, 

closed or sealed, and prepared for shipping. This 

audit consists of 13 modules: (1) Bagging Operation Characteristics, (2) Personal Protective Equipment, (3) Work Posture, 

(4) Work Environment, (5) Lighting, (6) Mobile Equipment, (7) 

Small Bag Filling, (8) Small Bag Weighing, (9) Small Bag Sealing, 

(10) Small Bag Palletizing, (11) Bulk Bag Hanging, Opening, and 

Filling, (12) Bulk Bag Closing and Sealing, and (13) Stretch and 

Shrink Wrapping. The Bagging Operation Characteristics module asks a series of questions about bagging processes that 

are used to partially determine which of the remaining audit 

modules apply. Modules 2–6 and 13 are related to characteristics of the facility and workstations. Small bag operations 

are assessed in modules 7–10, and bulk bag operations are 

assessed in modules 11–12. 

The Haul Truck Audit

The haul truck audit applies to surface mines in the operation of 

haul trucks, the design of haul roads, and loading and dumping locations at mine sites. This audit consists of 8 modules: (1) 

Training, (2) Policy, (3) Haul Road/Mine Pit, (4) Pre-shift Inspection, (5) Ingress/Egress, (6) Driving/Cab Layout, (7) Loading, and 

(8) Dumping. Modules 1 and 2 are completed by discussing 

training and policy with mine management (e.g. Mine Manager or Safety Supervisor). Module 3 is completed by examining 

the mine haul roads and pit. Modules 4–8 are completed by 

observing the driver while conducting the pre-shift inspection 

and while driving, which includes loading and dumping. 

The Maintenance and Repair Audit

The maintenance and repair audit applies to maintenance and 

repair operations at mills as well as at surface preparation and 

processing plants. This audit consists of 17 modules: (1) Tools 

and Safety Devices/PPE, (2) Communication, (3) Lock Out/

Tag Out, (4) Working at Heights, (5) Slips, Trips, and Falls, (6) 

Environmental Factors, (7) Machine Guarding, (8) Equipment 

Access, (9) Maintenance Preparation and Area Inspection, (10) 

Housekeeping, (11) Blocking, (12) Posture Assessment, (13) 

Gross Posture Assessment, (14) Hand Tool Use, (15) Screen 

Maintenance Checklist, (16) Greasing, and (17) Conveyor 

Maintenance and Repair. Modules 1–4 cover administrative 

aspects of safety, whereas Modules 5–7 cover the facility characteristics. Modules 8–10 apply to pre-maintenance activities, 

Modules 11–14 cover all maintenance tasks, and Modules 15–17 

cover specific maintenance tasks. 

Figure 2: A page from ErgoMine showing a question within the Posture Assessment 

module of the maintenance and repair audit.

How to Download ErgoMine

ErgoMine is available for download in the Google Play store 

or by accessing this link: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/

works/coversheet1906.html. The app’s help guide and audits 

in PDF format can also be accessed from the link.

For More Information

For more information on ErgoMine, contact Patrick G. Dempsey (PDempsey@cdc.gov), Jonisha P. Pollard (JPollard@cdc.gov), Gregory P. Cole 

(GPCole@cdc.gov), or the NIOSH Mining program (mining@cdc.gov).

To receive NIOSH documents or for more information about occupational safety and health topics, contact: 

1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636), 1-888-232-6348 (TTY), or request information at the CDC website at 

www.cdc.gov/info, or visit the NIOSH website at www.cdc.gov/niosh.

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2016–160