Caught in the Coil — Why Cable Removal in Mines Needs a Written Safe-Work Procedure

Caught in the Coil — What Happened Inside a Mine Shaft Near Sudbury

Let's talk about what happened at the Victoria Mine, approximately 35 kilometres west of Sudbury, on October 22, 2024. Three DMC Mining Services Ltd. workers were on a suspended platform inside a mine shaft, removing a power cable from the wall. The task involved cutting the metal bands securing the cable to the shaft wall and coiling it on the platform. The platform was getting crowded with coiled cable. One worker stepped inside the coil to make room. From a space-management standpoint, it probably seemed like a practical solution. But standing inside a coiling cable creates a serious pinching hazard — one the company's safe-work procedures should have explicitly addressed and prevented. When the crew finished the cable, the free end fell below the platform. That slack caused the coil to tighten. The worker standing inside was caught. The cable tightened around them and caused injury before they could get clear. A Ministry investigation determined that the safe method for this type of cable removal was to work from the bottom of the shaft to the top — a method that would have prevented the coil from accumulating on the platform at all. DMC Mining had not established this procedure. Workers were improvising. And a worker paid the price.

What the Law Requires

Section 25(2)(h) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act is the cornerstone of employer duty: 'An employer shall take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker.' Basically, what this means is simple: employers must think through the hazards of every task their workers perform and put controls in place before the work begins. For cable removal from a mine shaft wall, the hazard of a coil tightening around a worker is foreseeable. A procedure that prevents workers from standing inside the coil — or that removes the hazard altogether by using a bottom-to-top method — is a reasonable precaution. The court found that DMC Mining failed to develop and implement that procedure. Workers made field decisions about how to manage the coiling cable. One of those decisions put a worker inside a tightening loop. The company's failure to anticipate this hazard and establish a written safe-work method was the direct cause of the injury. In the court's view, this was not a freak accident — it was a foreseeable consequence of sending workers into a confined shaft space to handle heavy cable without a procedure that addressed how that cable would be managed throughout the task. The $135,000 fine reflects the seriousness of that omission.

What Supervisors Must Do

• Before any cable removal task in a shaft or confined area, review the written safe-work procedure with the crew — confirm everyone understands the approved method
• Verify that the removal method specified in the procedure eliminates the risk of coiling hazards; if the procedure calls for bottom-to-top removal, enforce it from the first cut
• Establish a rule: no worker may position themselves inside, beneath, or in the path of any cable or material being coiled or lowered on a suspended platform
• If space constraints on the platform create pressure to improvise — stop work and reassess; platform crowding is a hazard that requires a solution, not a workaround
• Keep asking: 'If that free end drops right now, what happens to where each person is standing — and is anyone in the path of the load?'

What Employers Must Do

• Develop written safe-work procedures for all cable removal and handling tasks in shafts, vertical workings, and elevated or suspended platforms
• Procedures must explicitly specify the removal sequence (e.g., bottom-to-top), worker positioning relative to the coil, and the maximum allowable coil size on the platform before offloading
• Include cable removal in your task hazard analysis program; identify pinching, coiling, and entanglement as specific energy sources to be controlled
• Train all workers on the approved cable removal procedure before they are assigned to this type of task underground
• Conduct pre-task reviews for every cable removal job — not just the first time a crew encounters this work, but every time
• After any incident or near-miss involving cable or rope handling on a suspended platform, immediately review and update the relevant safe-work procedures

How to Use This Case in Your Workplace

This case is a valuable safety conversation starter. Use it during toolbox talks before any cable or rope handling work in shafts or elevated spaces, monthly safety meetings for underground mining crews, and task hazard analysis training for supervisors and mine managers. Walk your team through the task and ask: 'Does our cable removal procedure specify exactly where workers stand relative to the coil at each stage of the job?' 'If the free end of the cable fell right now, which direction would the coil move — and is anyone in that zone?' 'Has every worker on this crew read and confirmed understanding of the safe-work procedure before we start?' This case reinforces a simple message: cable removal on a suspended platform in a mine shaft is not a low-hazard task. It needs a written procedure, a trained crew, and a supervisor who enforces both.