The steam shovel is a prolific source of serious accidents. Many of these result from the breaking of the ropes or cables. When a cable gives way, the engineer is likely to be struck by the loose, flying end, unless a protective device of some kind is placed between him and the winding drum. A satisfactory guard may be made of heavy wire-mesh screen secured to a stout iron framework. This forms an effective protection that will not interfere with the engineer's work, nor obstruct his view.

The necessity for oiling the sheaves or making repairs at the point of the boom has led to many accidents. Workmen, encumbered with oil cans and tools, often fall when climbing out to the boom end, and receive serious injuries. Ladders or steps (provided with hand-rails when this is practicable) can be placed on the booms without interfering with the operation of the shovels, and in this way much of the danger attendant on the care of the booms can be eliminated.

The crank-shafts, as well as all exposed gears and set-screws, should be guarded or covered, even though no employee approaches these parts in the ordinary operation of the shovel. The hoisting chain or cable, at the bottom of the boom, should also be guarded. This part of the apparatus may be out of reach of anyone on the ground level, yet it may cause an injury to a man on a wagon or motor-truck as the boom swings around.

All ladders, steps, handholds, and other similar safeguards should be kept in a good state of repair. Snow, ice, and slippery mixtures of dirt and grease, should be removed; and oil-cans, picks, and other tools and implements should not be left about where persons may stumble over them.

No employee or other person should be allowed on a steam shovel unless his duties require him to be there, and all persons should keep well away from the range of the shovel's swing. This latter precaution is specially important when the shovel is loading material into wagons or motor-trucks. Stones, or lumps of other heavy material, are likely to roll off as the shovel swings and drops its load on a wagon, and persons standing near may be injured by the falling fragments. Under some conditions, men may be engaged in drilling and blasting operations, close to the point where the shovel is clearing up the material loosened by previous blasts; and in cases of this kind special care should be taken to prevent either crew from injuring the other one.

It is not at all uncommon to see a shovel with pieces of rock projecting over the edge, and these pieces often fall off. It is particularly important, in such cases, for the workmen to keep away from the path of the shovel, and to assist them in doing so the shovel operator should sound the whistle before starting to hoist.

Care should be taken to prevent the upsetting of the shovel, which may be caused by an excessive load or by the yielding of the ground upon which the shovel rests. An experienced and cautious shovelman should be able to prevent accidents of this kind without mechanical aids. Under some circumstances, however, it has been found advantageous to secure a U-tube, partly filled with mercury, to some part of the framework of the shovel, - arranging the tube so that an electrical connection will be made and a gong sounded, in case the shovel is tilted to a dangerous angle.

Every steam shovel should be in charge of a competent man having a thorough knowledge, not only of shovels, but also of the operation and care of steam boilers and steam engines. Electricity has recently been introduced, in place of steam, as a motive power for shovels; and where it is used the hazards that are incident to electric power have also to be considered. The rough service characteristic of shovel work calls for frequent and careful inspection of the electrical apparatus, with special reference to the detection of defects that may interrupt the supply of current at critical moments. (See also the suggestions with regard to boilers and electrical apparatus, in paragraphs 25 and 26 respectively).