Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/594078
AGGREGATES MANAGER November 2015 28 located. Shawn McKinney, IAAP's outreach manager, says his organization would cooperate if requested, but that he would ask MSHA for a package of materials IAAP could send out to the state's smaller operations. In addition to sending its training manual to small producers, OAIMA has set up a safety blog, which Jacomet describes as "sort of a conversation center" where member safety profession- als can converse and share information. At Aggregates Manag- er's press time, it was undergoing testing prior to launch. Jacomet also notes that MSHA has recognized participation in the spring thaw seminar OAIMA sponsors as meeting the agency's requirements for annual refresher training. Hollins says VTCA "welcomes the challenge" MSHA has given it to help competent persons brush up on performing workplace exam- inations. He adds that examinations will be a central focus of VTCA's December safety seminar. A crucial element to outreach efforts is MSHA's decision to fully commit its Educational Field and Small Mine Services (EFSMS) employees. Both Jacomet and McKinney say an EFSMS representative has told them he has been instructed to more fully engage with association activities. Among other things, this translates into attending safety committee meetings and making presentations at safety seminars and conferences. "He'll go anywhere, anytime to help our guys," Jacomet says of his EFSMS representative. EFSMS represents a merger of MSHA's Educational Field Services group and the Small Mine Offi ce (SMO). During the fi rst nine months after the reorganization, which was fi nalized in June 2014, Main says EFSMS personnel completed about 1,200 mine visits, compared to 700 before the regrouping. The change was driven by the need to ensure better coverage of mines across the country, he explains. Apparently, the nature of the visits has also changed. A primary focus of SMO was safety audits, but EFSMS visits center on training plan reviews, an agency source says. Whether or not this purported change has affected the fatality rate at small mines has not yet been determined. Initiative's second prong: enhanced enforcement "I think everyone is going to see an increased enforcement ef- fort from MSHA," Main said in his August announcement. Metal/ Non-Metal Administrator Neal Merrifi eld notes that MSHA will evaluate mines where fatalities have occurred to see if "maybe best practices were not followed at these locations," and, if so, the mines will be considered for impact inspections. In fact, MSHA has already implemented this policy. In July, an impact inspection was conducted at a six-person Nebraska sand mine which had experienced a fatality in March. During the visit, the mine received two imminent danger orders and 13 citations, including nine for allegedly serious violations. To get more inspector boots on the ground, Merrifi eld also says he has authorized 21 inspector vacancies to be fi lled and reas- signed 17 coal inspectors already cross-trained on MSHA's M/NM rules. Main says the fatalities showed insuffi cient attentiveness to "some of the basics;" i.e., making sure competent persons are assessing hazards and putting programs in place to prevent them, including good workplace examinations. He also notes the need for sound safety and health programs and quality train- ing. As reported in the September issue, (see Rock Law: Who Needs Rulemaking?) an alleged hazard could potentially earn three MSHA demerits: one for the hazard itself; the second, an allegedly poor workplace examination; and the third, inadequate task training for the person who performed the examination. The agency also sent its training personnel to 100 mines regulatory offi cials identifi ed as troubled in some way: high violation rate, elevated enforcement, a fatality, excessive injury rates, injury severity, anonymous complaints, etc. "There's a whole litany of things we look at," Main says. The visits were to help these operations get back on a sound safety track. Despite the promise of a heavier enforcement hand, associ- ation leaders in Virginia, Ohio, and Illinois say they have yet to see evidence of it. McKinney echoes comments by Hollins and Jacomet when he says, "So far, I haven't heard anything that our members consider out of the ordinary." Standard/Regulation Number Part 46 11 Machinery & Equipment 8 Loading, Dumping, Hauling 7 Travelways 5 Personal Protection 3 Safety Programs 3 Electricity 2 Ground Control 2 Explosives 1 Hazard Communication 1 Figure 1. Alleged violations contributing to a fatal- ity in published MSHA accident investigations at aggregate mines (October 2013 to January 2015)