Accident-causing mechanism in coal mines based on hazards and polarized management

Hazards are elements that could cause harm or loss and are sources of risk. This paper classifies hazards associated with coal mining. Specifically, hazards are categorized into root hazards and status hazards, and the status hazards are further divided into unidentified status hazards and identified status hazards, and the identified status hazards include controlled and uncontrolled status hazards. It also explores in some detail the relationship between hazards, accidents and accident-causing mechanisms. The accident causing mechanism of "three layer of defense" is proposed based on root hazards and status hazards definition and classification, including control criteria, control measures, and rectification measures, which demonstrates that the uncontrolled status hazards and unidentified status hazards are the two main accident-causing sources. The paper then ideas of polarized management of hazards as a means of maximizing the identification of the root hazards and their corresponding status hazards, minimizing out of control probability of the identified status hazards, and minimizing accidents probability caused by the uncontrolled status hazards. Finally, the polarized management methods of hazards are put forward respectively, which include root-status hazards identification, formulation of control criteria and control measures, and rectification measures. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.