Three Strategies to Help Mine Operators

Introduction:

From the nightly news to online articles, stories of mining fatalities and injuries show up prominently in the media — and remind us that despite stricter safety regulations, tragic accidents still happen. Of course, if you own and operate a mine, you don’t need the news to tell you the risks. You see them firsthand every day and want to do all that you can to keep employees safe.

With this concern, though, comes a need to grow your business — and keep it afloat in the global marketplace during tough economic times. This conflict has led some mine operators to gloss over certain safety measures and even underreport injuries, according to the Office of the Inspector General’s 2014 audit of the United States Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA).

The audit identifies more than 9,000 unreported injuries from 2000 to 2012, resulting in more than $1 million in missed penalty fees. “Mine operators benefit from having low rates of reported injuries/illnesses,” the audit states. “High rates of injury or illness can increase workers’ compensation expenses and may single out mines for increased enforcement by MSHA.”The audit may have called out mine operators for underreporting, but it also raised a red flag on MSHA for doing little to hold mines accountable. As a result, the pressure is on for MSHA to develop and implement more stringent measures when operators do things like underreport or fail to comply with safety regulations. Mine operators are going to have to step up their game when it comes to safety — and will no longer be able to ignore MSHA’s requests for documents like employee medical and personnel records, or to put off paying delinquent fines, as many have done in the past.

Joseph Main, the assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health, puts it bluntly in an interview: “Mines operating today face a whole different set of enforcement challenges and tools if they decide they’re not going to comply with the Mine Act. We do not wait for them to rack up fines before we do something these days like we did in the past… And we’re screening on a routine basis.”

Be ready for MSHA inspections — 3 strategies

What can mine operators do to be ready for MSHA’s new requests and inspections?

To help you better prepare for quarterly MSHA safety inspections, this eBook offers three practical, budget-friendly strategies you can use to streamline how you run your safety program and improve your results. It provides solutions especially for operators of small-to-mid-size mines, who are most at risk of failing to meet MSHA’s standards.

What puts smaller mines at risk?

Unlike large-scale operations, small-to-mid-size mines typically lack the bandwidth for an internal team of safety specialists to manage training and ensure that regulations are met in a timely fashion. The burden falls primarily to you, the operator, with a few other employees supporting your efforts. That’s why you need a safety program that not only protects your workers but also maximizes your time and keeps your costs down. Here are a few strategies to get started.

Chapter 1: Make Full Use of MSHA

For years, MSHA was known for its hard-to-navigate website and scarcity of resources. But that’s starting to change, with efforts underway to help mines meet compliance. As a mine operator, when you shift your mindset to consider MSHA less of a regulatory body and more of a partner, a lot can happen.

MSHA’s standards are vast, but the organization targets certain regulations based on injury, illness, and fatality trends. As a mine operator, you need to take these focus areas seriously. Since 2010, when MSHA rolled out its multi-phase “Rules to Live By” initiative, the focus has been on preventing fatalities and catastrophic accidents, which are most often associated with:

• Falling from elevated surfaces 
• Roof and rib falls 
• Operating mobile equipment (in both surface and underground mines) 
• Performing maintenance (particularly in coal mines) 
• Failure to lock, tag, or try electrical equipment 
• Being struck by mobile equipment (in both surface and underground mines)
• Blocking against motion

MSHA inspectors, when they show up at your mine, whether on a surprise or routine visit, tend to pay close attention to standards associated with these hazards. To help mine operators ramp up safety in these key areas, MSHA has released a number of tools and resources, some available for free on its website, and others available for purchase through a catalog. While these tools are designed with mine operators in mind, they also aim to help MSHA intervene when mines fall short, and ultimately better enforce the Mine Act.

Recent additions, launched in February 2015, include two online tracking tools:

1. “Rules to Live By” Calculator 

This tool helps mine operators track compliance over time, compare current and past violations, and determine whether their safety efforts are making a difference in their outcomes. Operators can also see how they stack up with mines nationwide, and monitor their risk of being flagged for a pattern of significant and substantial (S&S) violations. If they are identified for S&S violations, then MSHA can step in with additional enforcement, as stipulated by the pattern of violations provision enacted by Congress. 

2. Underground Coal Mine Examination Tool/Part 75 Exam Rule Calculator

Coal mine operators can use the web tool to track compliance with standards related to the highest-risk hazards for their miners. Standards covered here include methane, ventilation, roof control, combustible materials, rock dust, and equipment guarding — all part of MSHA’s 2012 final rule on Examinations of Work Areas in Underground Coal Mines for Violations of Mandatory Health or Safety Standards.

If you’re not already familiar with the resources rolled out in earlier phases of “Rules to Live By,” then familiarize yourself with what’s available, and use the information to focus and fine-tune your safety program. Resources for phase one and phase three focus on fatality prevention, while phase two concentrates on preventing catastrophic accidents, particularly those relating to fires and explosions.

Chapter 2: Implement a Self-Audit Program

One of the best ways to prepare for an MSHA inspection is to get in the habit of conducting regular self-audits. By law, the employee you designate as a competent person is required to inspect working conditions on every shift.

Self-audits, however, allow you to evaluate your entire operation on a deeper level. With a strong self-audit program, you learn to view your mine from the vantage point of an inspector and can see firsthand what’s working and what’s not — all in time to take corrective steps before MSHA comes knocking.

How do self-audits work?

Essentially, a self-audit walks you through the main areas MSHA inspectors will evaluate when they visit your mine while prompting you to consider whether or not you meet compliance. Self-audits typically don’t cover every single standard, but they do touch on key parts of an inspection. These include:

• Mandatory safety policies – Necessary safety policies range from the competent person you designate to handle emergencies to your traffic control rules and hazard communications and signage.
• Records and examinations – The required records span from accident, illness, and injury reports to proper documentation for all independent contractors, material safety data sheets (MSDSs), and records of routine inspections on machinery and equipment.
• Fire prevention – This includes proper on-site equipment for fighting all stages of a fire, records of routine inspections of fire extinguishers and hydrostatic testing, and appropriate storage of oxygen cylinders, explosives, and waste materials.
• Electrical – Assessments in this area involve the setup and maintenance of fuses and circuit breakers, guarding lights, grounding, insulation on wires and cables, lockout/tagout procedures, and transformation enclosures.
• Loading, Hauling, and Dumping – This covers everything from backup alarms, brakes, window construction, and seat belts on mobile equipment to berms at dumping locations, loose slopes, dust control, and road cleanup.
• Machinery and Equipment – Included are conveyor warnings, guard construction, guarding against falling or flying materials or moving machine parts, and high-pressure hose safety chains.
• Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and Practices – PPE encompasses the use of glasses, hard hats, foot ware, noise, scaffolding, fall protection equipment, general housekeeping, passageways, dust overexposure, access to toilets, and more.

What self-audit format works best? 

The list of what you need to evaluate is extensive, and using a self-audit form or checklist can help immensely. Checklists enable you to move efficiently from assessing one item to the next — without overlooking any part. While paper checklists have long been the industry norm, mobile checklists are now available at an affordable price, and many mine operators are making the change. What are the advantages?

With mobile checklists, you can save the data you gather to a secure, password-protected server in the cloud, without having to key in information from a paper form manually. This saves labor and time and makes your process less prone to careless errors.

It also allows you to more easily analyze your data. For instance, you can compare audits over weeks or quarters. You can track outcomes as you change or implement new safety measures. Most importantly, you can identify problem areas and trends much more quickly.

Given the broad range of areas to assess, many operators use multiple checklists — versus one very long one. You can create a checklist for each of the seven self-audits listed above. Likewise, you can provide your team (from miners to safety specialists) with checklists that align with their area of expertise or work.

MSHA, unfortunately, doesn’t offer a reliable self-audit tool. You can use some of their resources as a starting point, such as this Safety and Health Audit for Aggregate Operators in Surface Metal/Nonmetal. Keep in mind that you’ll need to tailor your form to your own operation and make sure it complies with MSHA’s latest regulations and focus areas. This self-audit for aggregate operators, for instance, was created in 2004 and doesn’t include the revised hazard communications standards from 2012. So you can’t rely on it as an effective self-audit guide.

How can you turn a paper form into a mobile app?

Once you finalize your paper form or checklist, you can easily create mobile versions. This process used to be costly and cumbersome, but advances in technology now make it easy. At Canvas, for instance, mine operators from around the world use our platform to convert paper to mobile forms. Many of our existing mobile apps relate specifically to MSHA inspections and help operators in various fields, from crushed stone to coal, conduct effective self-audits.

Chapter 3: Create a Culture of Safety

Compliance with safety and health standards is the responsibility of mine operators. While MSHA supports education and outreach efforts to assist the mining industry in improving mine safety and health, MSHA is charged with ensuring consistent and strict compliance with safety and health standards and expects operators to foster a culture of zero tolerance for violations in their operations.

— MSHA, “Rules to Live By”

MSHA makes it clear: as a mine operator, the responsibility falls on you to ensure a safe workplace for your miners. Yet establishing a “culture of zero tolerance for violations” can’t happen alone. It involves bringing your team on board, too.

As a leader, you hold enormous sway in how your team thinks about and approaches safety. When you value and prioritize safety in your workplace, your team also prioritizes it, and this is essential to meeting compliance in a tightly regulated system. Why? Safety isn’t just your job — it’s everyone’s job. You can’t be in all places at once, and you need your entire team committed to following your mine’s safety policies and procedures. That’s the only way to take your safety program to a new level.

How can you create a culture of safety?

There are several things you can do to establish an overall culture of safety that infiltrates all aspects of your operation. These include:

1. Set a positive tone when you discuss safety in your workplace.

As mentioned earlier, shift your mindset to view MSHA as a partner, not as a governing body intent on issuing citations. Keep in mind that you can reach out to MSHA for advice on any safety concerns. MSHA, by law, cannot penalize you — it can only help. Also, know that the tone you establish will trickle down to all levels of your workforce, so it’s in your best interest as a mine operator to take a positive and proactive approach.

2. Involve and empower your employees.

Your employees can only be invested in safety if they’re actively involved in the process. As a mine operator, realize that all employees want and need to play meaningful roles. Invite them to contribute in key ways to the safety and health of the operation. Tap into miners’ hands-on experience on the frontlines of the mining industry, and empower them to help you craft a strong safety program.

3. Take training and education seriously.

It’s hard to prevent safety violations if you can’t recognize them. Training and education are core parts of any safety program, and in mining, not knowing is one of the greatest hazards. Make sure you meet MSHA’s training requirements for every employee, from your new hires and independent contractors to your experienced miners in need of refresher training. Tools like mobile apps can help you and your team keep track of training dates and certifications, and ease the labor and time involved in managing training requirements.

What can a “culture of safety” do for your business? 

Making safety a priority can do a lot not just for the health and well-being of your miners but also for your business. As a number of studies show, including this 2014 coal mining study, mine operators who put safety first end up with “a more productive and profitable mining operation, … [and] higher levels of worker morale and job satisfaction, which in turn improves employee retention.” The report found that this “holistic view toward improving worker safety education and safe work practices is a sound business investment that pays dividends for long-term success.”

What Are Your Next Steps?

Meeting MSHA compliance is a tall order, especially considering everything else on your plate. As a mine operator, it’s up to you to develop a highly efficient safety program that leaves no stone unturned. Don’t try to do it all on your own — involve employees from all ranks of your operation; utilize the growing set of tools and support that MSHA offers; and develop and hold fast to an effective self-auditing program.

You can make it easier on your organization by utilizing time-saving technology. Start by implementing a program for your business that includes a series of self-audit mobile apps. Then develop a plan for your team to use the apps regularly to keep your operation compliant and up to date on all MSHA rules and regulations.

Going mobile can be easier and more affordable than you may realize. Chances are, many of your employees already use mobile apps outside of work. There are many mobile apps and cloud-based programs designed exclusively with mine operators and miners in mind, and they’re easy for even technology newcomers to use.

In today’s competitive mining marketplace, every minute counts. If you operate a small-to-mid-size mine, you’re up against some tough hurdles. You need budget-friendly solutions to boost your efficiency and make safety compliance more manageable. At Canvas, we offer more than 200 mobile apps created by and for mine operators and managers. Browse or customize our existing apps. Create your own custom apps from your existing paper forms — in a few clicks. Or just send us your forms, and we can convert them into apps for you.

Ready to Rethink How You Work?

GoCanvas has helped a variety of businesses across multiple industries transform their safety processes and rethink their efficiency, ultimately saving them money. Why not do the same? Reach out to one of our experts today to kickstart your process revolution.