West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 36 - Coal Mine Health And Safety › Title 36 - LEGISLATIVE EXEMPT RULE BOARD OF COAL MINE HEALTH AND SAFETY › Series 36-53 - Rules Governing Hoisting Machinery; Telephones; Safety Devices; Hoisting Engineers and Drum Runners in Underground Coal Mines › Section 36-53-4 - Hoist Equipment

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
4.1.
				General.
4.1.1. Hoists shall have rated
				capacities consistent with loads handled or hoisted. The load capacity of the
				hoist system shall be posted in a conspicuous place at the loading point(s) and
				hoisted loads shall not exceed those limits.
4.1.2. Hoisting equipment used to transport
				personnel shall be equipped with over-speed, over-wind, over-lap, and automatic
				stop controls.
4.1.3. Every hoist
				utilizing a platform, cage, or other device used to transport personnel shall
				be equipped with brakes capable of stopping the fully loaded platform, cage, or
				other device. Cages, platforms, or other devices used to transport personnel in
				shafts and slopes shall be equipped with safety catches or other equally
				effective devices approved by the Director that act quickly and effectively in
				the event of an emergency. Such catches or devices shall be tested at least
				once every sixty days. A record shall be made in a book approved by the
				Director of the tests of the safety catches or other devices. Each entry shall
				be signed by the person making the tests and countersigned by a responsible
				official.
4.1.4. Hoists used to
				transport persons shall be equipped with two (2) independent means of braking
				that are each capable of stopping and holding the fully loaded platform, cage,
				or other device at any point in the shaft, slope, or incline.
4.1.5. Where the mine is operated by shaft or
				slope, a minimum space of two and one-half square feet per person shall be
				available for each person on any cage or car where men are
				transported.
4.1.6. In no instance
				shall more than twenty persons be transported on a cage or car without the
				approval of the director.
4.1.7. No
				person shall ride on a loaded cage or car used to carry materials or equipment
				in any shaft, slope, or incline, nor in a cage or car that is directly or
				indirectly connected to such a loaded cage or car.
4.1.8. A sufficient cover shall be provided
				overhead on hoisting equipment used to transport personnel.
4.1.9. The empty cage/car shall be operated
				up and down the shaft/slope at least one round trip at the beginning of each
				shift, and after the hoist has been idle for one hour or more before hoisting
				or lowering men.
4.1.10. Where a
				hoisting engineer is required, he or she shall be readily available at all
				times when men are in the mine.
4.1.11. Cages and elevators shall have an
				emergency power source unless provided with other escapeway facilities.
				Emergency power sources shall be tested at least once every thirty (30) days
				and the date and results of such tests shall be recorded.
4.1.12. Machinery and related components used
				for lowering and hoisting persons and/or equipment into or out of shafts/slopes
				shall be properly maintained in a safe operating condition, equipped with a
				reliable indicator, and visually inspected once in each twenty-four hour period
				by a certified electrician who has been trained in the inspection of
				hoisting/elevator equipment.