Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/124173
by Therese Dunphy, Editor-in-Chief tdunphy@randallreilly.com May 2013 Vol. 18, No. 5 aggman.com /AggregatesManager @AggMan_editor Editorial Editor-in-Chief: Therese Dunphy Editorial Director: Marcia Gruver Doyle Online Editor: Wayne Grayson Online Managing Editor: Amanda Bayhi editorial@aggman.com Design & Production Art Director: Sandy Turner, Jr. Graphic Designer: Kristen Chapman Advertising Production Manager: Linda Hapner production@aggman.com Construction Media Senior VP, Construction Media: Dan Tidwell VP of Sales, Construction Media: Joe Donald sales@randallreillyconstruction.com 3200 Rice Mine Rd NE Tuscaloosa, AL 35406 800-633-5953 randallreilly.com Corporate Chairman/CEO: Mike Reilly President: Brent Reilly Chief Process Officer: Shane Elmore Chief Administration Officer: David Wright Senior Vice President, Sales: Scott Miller Senior Vice President, Editorial and Research: Linda Longton Vice President of Events: Alan Sims Vice President, Audience Development: Stacy McCants Vice President, Digital Services: Nick Reid Director of Marketing: Julie Arsenault For change of address and other subscription inquiries, please contact: aggregatesmanager@halldata.com. Aggregates Manager TM magazine (ISSN 1552-3071) is published monthly by Randall-Reilly Publishing Company copyright 2013. Executive and Administrative offices, 3200 Rice Mine Rd. N.E., Tuscaloosa, AL 35406. Subscription rates: $24 annually, Non-domestic $125 annually. Single copies: $7. We assume no responsibility for the validity of claims of manufacturers in any advertisement or editorial product information or literature offered by them. Publisher reserves the right to refuse non-qualified subscriptions. Periodical circulation postage paid at Tuscaloosa, Alabama and additional entries. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage retrieval system, without written permission of the copyright owner. POSTMASTER: Send all UAA to CFS. (See DMM 707.4.12.5); NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: send address corrections to Aggregates Manager, 3200 Rice Mine Road N.E., Tuscaloosa, AL 35406. Editorial_AGRM0513.indd 5 KEEP SAFETY IN MIND A ccording to data released by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), 2012 had the lowest fatality rate in the history of U.S. mining, with 0.0107 deaths per 200,000 hours worked and a reportable injury rate of 2.56 per 200,000 hours worked. In terms of metal and non-metal mining, the fatality rate was .0080 deaths per 200,000 hours worked, with 16 miners who died in on-the-job accidents during 2012. This figure equals the record low rate set in 2011. The reported injury rate was also below overall mining rates, with a rate of 2.19 per 200,000 hours worked, a record low. MSHA reports that metal and non-metal saw fewer citations and orders in 2012, with those dropping from 63,601 in 2011 to 60,680 in 2012. At the same time, while the number of mines remained constant at 12,193, the number of miners increased from 237,772 in 2011 to 250,310 in 2012, indicating that the employment ranks are finally beginning to tick upward. In light of repeated and measurable improvements in mine safety and health, it's puzzling that 18 House Democrats opted to re-introduce H.R. 1373, the Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act of 2013. If safety improves even as orders and citations fall, why exactly do Congressional Democrats believe targeting mine managers for criminal penalties and increasing penalties is going to improve safety? MSHA currently has a backlog of about 50,000 cases of contested violations. Neither the agency nor the FMSHRC has the staff to handle the volume it already has, let alone the spike in contested penalties likely to occur should this legislation become law. In his remarks to the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association during a March 19 meeting, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health Joseph A. Main said that, "MSHA has taken a targeted approach to rulemaking, focusing our efforts on those rules that will have the biggest impact on miner safety and health." The Byrd Act simply doesn't fit that criteria and should not become law. Make sure you know how this legislation would impact you. Go to http://bit.ly/ ZeWDCn and read what our online legal columnist, Adele Abrams, had to say about the Byrd Act. And remember one of my favorite safety slogans: Keep safety in mind. It will save your behind. 3 things I learned from this issue: 1 In addition to determining the potential market, products should be considered before beginning a mine plan, page 19. 2 Once bucket teeth are worn past 50 percent of their profile, their piercing ability and performance drop rapidly, page 30. 3 FMSHRC recently held that a repeated flagrant designation may be based on past violative conduct, 34. AGGREGATES MANAGER May 2013 5 4/18/13 2:16 PM