West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 56 - Miners' Health, Safety And Training › Title 56 - LEGISLATIVE RULE OFFICE OF MINERS' HEALTH, SAFETY AND TRAINING › Series 56-02 - Rules Governing Safety Provisions For Clearing Crews › Section 56-2-2 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
2.1. Unless the
				context in which a word or phrase appears requires a different meaning, all
				terms used in this rule that are not defined herein shall have the meanings set
				forth in W. Va. Code §22A-1-2.
2.2. "Backcut" (felling cut) shall mean the
				final cut in a felling operation.
2.3. "Ballistic Nylon" shall mean a nylon
				fabric of high tensile properties designed to provide protection from
				lacerations.
2.4. "Butt" shall mean
				the bottom of the felled part of a tree.
2.5. "Clearing Crew" (Land Clearing) shall
				mean persons employed by the mine operator or independent contractor to clear
				and grub vegetation in preparation of, or during, mining operations.
2.6. "Chock" shall mean a block, often wedge
				shaped, which is used to prevent movement.
2.7. "Competent Person" shall mean a person
				designated by the mine operator or independent contractor who has a minimum of
				12 months experience in the clear cutting industry and is familiar with the
				normal hazards associated therein.
2.8. "Danger Tree" shall mean a standing tree
				that presents a hazard to employees due to conditions such as, but not limited
				to, deterioration or physical damage to the root system, trunk, stem or limbs,
				and the direction and lean of the tree.
2.9. "Designated Person" shall mean an
				employee who has the requisite knowledge, training and experience to perform
				specific duties.
2.10. "Director"
				shall mean the Director of the Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training or
				his or her authorized representative provided for in W. Va. Code
				§22A-1-3.
2.11. "Domino felling" shall mean partial
				cutting of multiple trees which are left standing and then pushed over with a
				pusher tree.
2.12. "Employer" shall
				mean the person or entity that directly employs the clearing crew. It may be an
				independent contractor or in some cases it may be the production
				operator.
2.13. "Fell" (fall) shall
				mean to cut down trees.
2.14.
				"Feller" (faller) shall mean an employee who fells trees.
2.15. "Grounded" shall mean the placement of
				a component of a machine on the ground or on a device where it is firmly
				supported.
2.16. "Guarded" shall
				mean covered, shielded, fenced, enclosed, or otherwise protected by means of
				suitable enclosures, covers, casings, shields, troughs, railings, screens,
				mats, or platforms, or by location, to prevent injury.
2.17. "Independent Contractor" shall mean any
				firm, corporation, partnership or individual that contracts to perform services
				or construction at a coal mine.
2.18. "Limbing" shall mean to cut branches
				off felled trees.
2.19. "Lodged
				Tree" (hung tree) shall mean a tree leaning against another tree or object
				which prevents it from falling to the ground.
2.20. "Machine" shall mean any vehicle (such
				as a car, bus, truck, trailer, or semi-trailer owned, leased or rented by the
				employer that is used for transportation of employees or movement of material),
				or any piece of stationary or mobile equipment having a self-contained power
				plant that is operated off-road and used for the movement of material. Machines
				include, but are not limited to, tractors, skidders, front-end loaders,
				scrapers, graders, bulldozer and mechanical felling devices, such as tree
				shears and feller bunchers. Machines do not include airplanes or aircraft
				(e.g., helicopters).
2.21.
				"Production Operator" shall mean any owner, lessee or other person who
				operates, controls or supervisors at a coal mine.
2.22. "Rated Capacity" shall mean the maximum
				load a system, vehicle, machine, or piece of equipment was designed by the
				manufacturer to handle.
2.23. "Root
				Wad" shall mean the ball of a tree root and dirt that is pulled from the ground
				when a tree is uprooted.
2.24.
				"Serviceable Condition" shall mean a state or ability of a tool, machine,
				vehicle or other device to operate as it was intended by the manufacturer to
				operate.
2.25. "Slope" (grade)
				shall mean the increase or decrease in altitude over a horizontal distance
				expressed as a percentage. For example, a change of altitude of 20 feet (6 m)
				over a horizontal distance of 100 feet (30 m) is expressed as a 20 percent
				slope.
2.26. "Snag" shall mean any
				standing dead tree or portion thereof.
2.27. "Spring Pole" shall mean a tree,
				segment of a tree, limb, or sapling, which is under stress, or tension due to
				the pressure or weight of another object.
2.28. "Tie Down" shall mean chain, cable,
				steel strips or fiber webbing and binders attached to a truck, trailer or other
				conveyance as a means to secure loads and to prevent them from shifting or
				moving when they are being transported.
2.29. "Undercut" shall mean a notch cut in a
				tree to guide the direction of the tree fall and to prevent splitting or
				kickback.
2.30. "Winching" shall
				mean the winding of cable or rope onto a spool or drum.