 In most underground coal mines, continuous mining machines are used to extract coal from the ground. The coal is loaded into shuttle cars, carried to a conveyor belt, and then hauled out of the mine. Once the continuous miner is finished making a cut, a roof-boiling machine is moved in. Roof bolts are then installed to bind together layers of roof rock to help prevent a major roof fall. Even when these bolts are working effectively and the mine roof is stable, there is still a chance that smaller rocks can fall from between the roof bolts and hurt or fatal injured miners. More than 450 injuries a year are caused by these smaller rocks falling from the mine roof. These injuries range from minor bruises to severe lacerations and broken bones. Research conducted by NIOSH, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, has found that the most effective way to prevent many of these injuries is to install roof screen during the bolting process. Roof screen can provide high surface coverage and it can hold up large pieces of rock. The more the roof is covered, the less chance there is of a rock fall injury. Currently, roof-folder operators are most frequently injured by rock falls. They benefit the most because of the protection provided by the roof screen. In many cases, the additional cost of using roof screen is small compared to the increased safety benefits for the miners. After we opened up the mine, we realized we had a skin control problem. We tried several different products on the market and the roof match or the roof screen was a product that worked best for us. It made our track entry safer to travel. It's economical, it's easy to install and we put it in on production. We can install it on production shift right on cycle and it's worked very well for us. Our recent study conducted by NIOSH has shown that in one underground coal mine with poor roof conditions, there was an average of 14 rock fall injuries per year. To address this problem, the mine began installing roof screen and the number of rock fall injuries was dramatically reduced. At another mine, the same type of injuries occurred at an average of eight per year. After roof screening began, there were just two rock fall injuries over the next nine years. Roof screen can be ordered in different sizes and strengths and can be installed on a variety of roof-folding machines. Safe lifting and carrying should be practiced when handling roof screen. It's best if two operators work together to lift and carry full sheets of screen. When installing screen using a walk-through folding machine, the operators carry the screen up the center of the machine, then place it across the ATRS. Clamps are sometimes used to secure the screen in place. Then the operators advance the folding machine, raise the ATRS and begin the folding process. With an outside control, twin-boom folding machine, the operators carry the roof screen along the sides of the machine before placing it across the ATRS. Operators use different systems to keep the screen in place while the folding machine is being advanced. To ensure that the operator doesn't reach past the last row of volts when placing a sheet of screen across the ATRS, it's a good practice to back up the roof folding machine before getting the next sheet of screen. Where height limitations make it difficult to handle a full sheet of screen or where a full sheet of screen may not be necessary, smaller sheets of screen can be used. These personal boulder screens provide immediate overhead protection, can be easily handled by one person and can be installed on or off cycle. It can also be used as supplemental support to help maintain conveyor belt lines, escapeway entries, or many other locations in the mine. Some mines have found roof screen to be so essential to the mine operation that a material handling system was developed to streamline the process. This system has been designed to assist folding machine operators and practically eliminate the hand-loading of roof screen since an entire bundle of screen is pulled onto a special tray by a remote control winch. This tray can also be adjusted so the roof screen does not get damaged while tramming, especially while turning corners. Other necessary folding supplies are pre-loaded outside the mine into trays or pods, delivered to the machine, and then loaded onto the roof boulder. The height of the screen tray can be adjusted to allow the operator to work in a more natural posture, requiring less physical effort to pull off the sheets of screen. Some simple modifications like rounded edges on canopy tops allow the screen to slide across the canopy without getting snagged. With the POT system that we have here at the mine, it has eliminated a lot of the injuries that the coal miner has with twisting and turning, bending over, lifting supplies up, throwing them on the pinner. It's also helped us out on time and loading the machines. And offloading the machines, the process has worked real well for us. Since we've gone to the screening, we've definitely improved safety. We've been able to tell how many accidents that we've prevented by installing the roof screen. Had we started this from day one, I wish we would have, we would probably have prevented several other accidents as well. The immediate overhead protection the screen provides allows folding machine operators to work in a much safer environment. Continuous miner operators are also protected, and so are any other miners who work or travel in entries where screen has been installed. Roof screen is simply the most effective way to prevent injuries from rockfalls. At the end of the day, making sure that every coal miner returns home safely is a goal we all can share.