Yates Shaft Risk Assessment Group meeting here

The Yates Shaft Risk Assessment Group is meeting here this week to discuss and plan how best to bolster and maintain the Yates Shaft.

Geotechnical engineering consultant Tony Iannacchione of ATI Consulting, who also directs the Mining Engineering Program at the University of Pittsburgh, is working with the group. Iannacchione helped conduct a similar risk assessment last year for the Ross Shaft, in preparation for the project to replace steel in the Ross.

?The Ross Shaft assessment worked really well,? Underground Access Director Will McElroy said.

The Yates Shaft supports are timber, rather than steel, so the process is different. Risk-mitigation measures include additional ground controls, such as rock bolts, installation of barriers, replacement of some timber and a detailed and meticulous inspection program.

?We?re trying to look at work processes and refine them,? Iannacchione said. The group also is identifying existing hazard controls and looking for new ways to reduce risks. 

During the Ross Shaft steel replacement, which will take about 4. years, the Yates Shaft is providing the main access to the underground?including access to experiments in the Davis Campus on the 4850 Level. That?s why shaft maintenance must be done on a strict schedule. ?It?s a balancing act,? McElroy said. ?We?re requesting that everyone use their scheduled cage times. We?re trying to restrict special cage times.? (The ?cage? is the nickname for the elevator car in the Yates Shaft.)