Death, Money and Facts for American Surface Mines

Good News
In 2008, the number of fatalities at U.S. surface mines dropped to a record low of 28. Great!

Bad News
28 American surface miners needlessly lost their lives. Not so great.

More Bad News
For that same year, MSHA slammed surface mines with a record $194 million in penalties. That’s 2.6 times the amount for the previous year.

Death
Last year (2008) was an all time low for surface mine deaths in the U.S. totaling only 28 lives. This statistic shows us that with the proper safety training we can reduce the number of deaths and injuries. At the same time, this also points out the loss of 28 surface miners which could have potentially been avoided with proper training.

Money
As surface mine operators subject to MSHA Part 46 regulations, you should be aware of the heavy fines for safety and health violations. In 2008 MSHA assessed 198,700 penalties for violations, compared to the 130,100 violations in the previous year. The dollar amount for all these penalties in 2008 was $194 million, compared to just $74.5 million in 2007. Penalties of this magnitude indicate that MSHA is being proactive in assessing mine safety and health and that remaining out of compliance poses huge financial risks for those willing to gamble.

Facts
According to MSHA, the root cause of the 28 U.S. surface mine deaths was attributed to:

• Inadequate training
• No risk assessment conducted
• Inadequate policies, procedures, and controls
• Not using personal protective equipment
• Lack of pre-operation checks
• Not maintaining equipment
• Failure to conduct examinations

Action
Record low deaths of surface miners and record high penalties for violations of safety and health go hand in hand. We see that MSHA has raised awareness in order to save lives by increasing enforcement and handing out $194 million in penalties.

At Convergence Training, we feel very strongly that we can help improve surface mine safety while keeping mine operators compliant with MSHA Part 46 training requirements. Everybody wins when miners get to go home to their families and mine operators lower their costs.

Convergence Training Receives First Place at MSHA’s 2008 TRAM Conference

Convergence Training, a division of Capstone Technology, achieves First Place honors for Surface Miner Training software at MSHA’s Training Resources Applied to Mining (TRAM) Conference hosted by the National Mine Health and Safety Academy in Beaver, West Virginia.

The TRAM contest is part of an annual conference spotlighting the importance and effectiveness of safety training for our nation’s miners. It provides an opportunity for mine safety trainers and others responsible for administering safety programs to gain valuable exposure to the latest training materials and  technologies. With support from the Joseph A. Holmes Safety Association and the State Grants Training Program, both public and private organizations come together to exchange ideas, present safety training material, and exhibit products and services.

Convergence Training’s Surface Miner Training software has attracted industry attention since its recent release this summer. Unlike other existing MSHA-related training, this product couples advanced, computer-modeled content with functional, intuitive administrative tools for MSHA’s Part 46 compliance.

“Our goal with Surface Miner Training is to improve mine safety by setting new industry standards for training quality and compliancy tools,” said Randy Kohltfarber, Director of Product Development for Convergence Training. “We feel that being recognized with this award is an early step toward that goal.”

In addition to Surface Miner Training, Convergence Training has just released Convergence Training Viewer, a free software platform for accessing and viewing a library of digital health and safety training media in compliance with OSHA and MSHA regulations.

Convergence Introduces Computer-Based Training Software for U.S. Surface Mine Operators

Convergence Training, a division of Capstone Technology, announces the introduction of Surface Miner Training, a proprietary software application designed to help mine operators manage, deliver, track, and document federally required training. Surface Miner Training includes six hours of training content that aligns with the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s (MSHA) Part 46 regulations. As a management tool bundled with training material, Surface Miner Training is intended to help facilitate compliance while promoting safety at U.S surface mines.

More than 11,000 non-metal surface mines in the United States are subject to MSHA’s Part 46 training requirements. This regulation outlines required training and documentation for new miners, newly hired experienced miners, new tasks, and site-specific hazards. Although MSHA provides instruction and document templates, mine operators often struggle to create their own systems to plan, track, and record training for each of their miners. In the long run, these efforts may still lead to inaccuracies, gaps in documentation, and costly citations.

Recognizing this unmet need for quality training material and training management tools, Convergence developed in collaboration with mining industry experts. Surface mine operators and industry professionals got to experience a pre-release version of the training program at the 2008 CONEXPO-CON/AGG tradeshow in Las Vegas. “Taking the opportunity to talk with mine operators and learn their concerns and frustrations, helped us focus Surface Miner Training to address their needs,” said Randy Kohltfarber, Director of Product Development.