Leaders are the keepers of the rules, no exceptions
My first experience with an accident in an underground coal mine occurred when a stone fell on a miner who was a roof bolter. All I could see was his hat at one end and his shoes protruding from the other. Fortunately, he returned to work after about six months. His injury consisted of only broken ribs and minor internal injuries.
Several miners I knew lost a finger or two in a mine injury. One man, Denny, who was also a neighbor of mine, was tramming his roof bolting machine from one working place to another. He held his right hand was on the tram lever and his left hand on the canopy. As he moved the machine from high top to low top, the canopy hit the abutment where the continuous miner had cut under the stone to begin mining low top. Denny slung his hand in pain, flinging off his glove. Later, they found two sections of his middle finger in the glove.
Another miner was installing a sheer pin in a section belt feeder. Someone else was quickly starting and stopping the machine to align the hole for the sheer pin. As the alignment occurred, the sheer pin went all the way through and the miner’s finger replaced the pin and was severed.
In another incident, a new miner was riding in the bed of a buggy while hauling logs (this was an illegal act by state and federal law but it occurred anyway). To steady himself, he grabbed onto the frame of the buggy. The operator, prior to moving, raised the tailgate as buggy runners were accustomed to do. As the tailgater rose, it severed a digit of three different fingers of the new miner.
When I talked to him a few weeks later, he was excited because the company paid him $500 for each finger, $1,500 in all! I was amazed at his reaction to losing three fingers. Many times during my nine years underground I feared that I would not be able to get out of the mine with all of my limbs, fingers, or toes. Although I visited the hospital six times due to accidents, I am thankful today that I was spared such serious injuries.
Injuries seemed to be inevitable in a coal mine. I, soon, realized every mine law was written because some miner or miners had died or were seriously hurt due to a particular situation or behavior. It was important to obey the laws while at the same time understanding why the laws were written. Leaders are required to be the keepers of the rules and the teachers of the whys behind the rules.
R. Glenn Ray, Ph.D., is the president of RayCom Learning. To learn more about Ray’s completely revised, third printing of “The Facilitative Leader: Behaviors that Enable Success,” visit his Web site, www.raycomlearning.com or call him at 740-629-4536. Everyday Leadership appears each Wednesday on the Business page.