MSHA’s Part 46

 New Training Standard

 Statutory Requirements
 You must have an written health and
safety training program
 Each approved training program for new
(inexperienced) surface miners must
provide at least 24 hours of training in
specified courses, including:
 1. Statutory rights of miners and
their representatives (before work
begins)
Statutory Requirements
(continued)

 2. Use of self rescue and respiratory

devices, where appropriate (within
60 days)
 3. Hazard recognition (before work
begins)
 4. Emergency procedures (before
work begins)
 5. Electrical hazards (before work
begins)
 Statutory Requirements
(continued)

 6. First aid (within 60 days)

 7. Walkaround training (before work
begins)
 8. Health and safety aspects of
assigned tasks (before work
begins)
 At least 8 hours of refresher training must
be provided every 12 months
 Miners must receive task training prior to
performing task
 Statutory Requirements
(continued)

 New miner training and new task training

must be closely related to the miner’s actual
work assignment.
 You must provide training during normal
working hours.
 Miners must be compensated at normal rate
and reimbursed for any incurred costs.
 Training must be certified on an approved
form.
 Statutory Requirements
(continued)

 A copy of training certificates must be made

available for inspection at the mine site.
 Each miner must receive a copy of their
training certificate at the completion of
training.
 Each miner is entitled to copy of certificate
when leaving operator’s employment.
 False certification that training was given is
punishable under the Act.
 Each training certificate must indicate that
such false certification is so punishable.
 Definitions
 Competent person - must have sufficient ability,
training, knowledge, or experience in a specific area
to effectively communicate the training subject to
miners and evaluate whether the training was
effectively communicated
 Equivalent experience - person performed duties
similar to duties performed in mining operations
 Experienced miner - several criteria based upon
date of hire and previous work experience
 Independent contractor - person or persons
performing services or construction at a mine within
the definition of the term “operator”. Consistent with
language in the Act
 Definitions (continued)
 Mine site - an area of the mine where mining
operations occur
 Miner - a person who works at a mine and who is
engaged in mining operations. Includes any
operator, supervisor, or independent contractor
(including construction workers exposed to “hazards
of mining operations”) and their employees engaged
in mining operations
 Mining operations - mine development, drilling,
blasting, extraction,milling, crushing, screening, or
sizing of material at a mine; maintenance and repair
of mining equipment; and associated haulage of
materials within the mine from these activities
 Statutory Requirements
(continued)
 New miner - A person who is beginning employment
as a miner with a “production-operator” or “independent
contractor” and is not an experienced miner
 Newly hired experienced miner - experienced
miner who is beginning employment with a production-
operator or independent contractor
 Operator - any production-operator, or any
independent contractor whose employees perform
services at a mine
 Production operator - any owner, lessee, or other
person who operates, controls, or supervises a mine;
actually “operates the mine as a whole”
 Task - a work assignment or component of a job that
requires specific job knowledge or experience
 Training Plans
 It must address all five components of
training being provided
 New (inexperienced) Miner
 Newly Hired Experienced Miner
 New Task Training
 Annual Refresher Training
 Site-Specific Hazard Awareness Training
 Must include specific information to be
considered approved
 You must train according to your plan
 Must provide upon request
 New Miner Training
 The final rule requires a minimum of four hours of
training before work begins
 Specifies seven areas of instruction required before
work begins
 Further training required in 60 and 90 day time
periods
 Requirement remains for at least 24 hours of training
 Adopts approach of “oversight” by experienced miner
until 24 hours are completed
 Also, “close observation” is required by competent
person when a miner is utilizing practice for training
“on health and safety aspects of an assigned task”
 Newly Hired Experienced
Miner Training
 Must receive training before beginning work
 Final rule specifies identical seven areas of
instruction as required for new miner training
 There is no minimum length of time
 Instruction is required on the use, care, and
maintenance of self rescue and respiratory
devices within 60 days
 New Task Training
 Final rule implements statutory provision
 Final rule does not include detailed requirements for
task training but rather allows you the flexibility to
design your program to meet your needs
 Newly hired employees must receive task training
 “Close observation” means that the competent
person is in the immediate vicinity
 Must receive task training when “reassigned” to new
task
 You must determine whether task training is needed
 You can credit task training toward New Miner
Training during initial 90 days
 Annual Refresher Training
 Final rule takes performance-oriented approach by
allowing you to direct resources to subjects that are
relevant to your operation
 However, you must provide training on “changes at
the mine that could adversely affect the miner’s
health or safety.”
 Final rule lists additional subjects but they are
recommendations and not mandatory
 There are no restrictions on duration of each training
session, provided that each session is properly
recorded and documented
 MSHA has no discretion to reduce minimum
requirement of “at least 8 hours” of training
 Site-Specific Hazard
Awareness Training
 This training defined as information or instruction on
hazards a person may be exposed to while on mine
property
 You are required to provide this training to persons,
not defined as miners, before they are exposed to
mine hazards
 Employees of independent contractors, who are
defined as miners, must receive training at mines
where they work before being exposed to hazards
 You are not required to make a record of training for
persons who are not miners but you must be able to
demonstrate that you are in compliance
 Required Subjects
 You must provide the miner with no less than 4 hours of training
(before work begins) in the following subjects, which must also
address site-specific hazards;
 1. An introduction to the work environment, including tour of mine
(walkaround training). Method of mining explained and observed
 2. Instruction on recognition and avoidance of electrical hazards
and other hazards such as traffic patterns and control, mobile
equipment, ground controls, etc.
 3. A review of the emergency medical procedures, escape and
emergency evacuation plans, firewarning signals and firefighting
procedures;
 4. Instruction on the health and safety aspects of the tasks
assigned, including the safe work procedures and mandatory
health and safety standards pertinent to such tasks.
 5. Instruction on the statutory rights of miners and their
representatives under the Act;
 Required Subjects (continued)
 6. A review and description of the line of authority of
supervisors and miner’s representatives and their
responsibilities;
 7. An introduction to your rules and procedures for reporting
hazards.
No Later than 60 Days
 8. Instruction and demonstration on the use, care, and
maintenance of self-rescue and respiratory devices, if used
at the mine
 9. A review of first aid methods
No later than 90 days
 10. The balance, if any, of the 24 hours of training on other
subjects that promote occupational safety and health for
miners at the mine.
Responsibility for Independent
Contractor Training
 They are responsible for comprehensive
training to their employees
 Most knowledgeable of their tasks
 Production-operators responsible for
site-specific hazard awareness training
 MSHA’s policy provides that production-
operator has overall compliance
 Records & Certificates
of Training
 Final rule references both “training records”
and “training certificates”
 Must maintain “new miner” training records for
duration of employment
 May use alternate forms
 Must be verified by person with overall
responsibility for safety program
 No requirement to keep record of site-specific
training for non miners
 Individual trained no longer required to sign
certificate
 MSHA Enforcement
 Will review your health and safety training plans at
mine site during normal inspection cycle
 Inspectors and other MSHA personnel who review
your plan would simply determine
 (1) That you in fact have developed a written
training plan
 (2) That your written plan contains at a minimum
the information specified in final rule
 (3) That your plan is being implemented
consistent with the plan specifications
 Educational Field Services personnel do not have
an AR card
 MSHA Enforcement (continued)
 If MSHA determines that you have not
implemented an effective training program, a
citation will be issued for a violation of
§ 46.3(a) that indicates how and why the
training program fails to meet this
requirement
 If MSHA determines that an instructor
(competent person) lacks the ability to
provide effective miner training, they will cite
the mine operator for a violation of § 46.4 of
the final rule, for failing to designate a person
who is competent to provide required training
 Test Your Knowledge Of The New Rule
Part 46 Quiz
 1. The following persons are defined as miners in the final
rule:
 a. Construction workers building a new crusher at an
active mine.
 b. Independent contractors removing overburden in an
area of an active mine that is being developed.
 c. Independent contractor removing overburden at a
site where a mine is being constructed.
 d. Engineer surveying land for a new mine
 e. a, b, and c

e. (a, b, and c)
 a. “construction workers who are at an active
mine site will be exposed to significant
hazards of mining” and “ are also typically at
the mine site for extended periods because of
the nature of their work…”. For these
reasons, the final rule now provides that
construction workers who are exposed to
hazards of mining operations are considered
“miners” under the final rule. This means that
construction workers who work in an active
mine site are considered “miners” and must
receive comprehensive training…”
 b. and c. “Mining operations” is a slightly
broader definition (than the definition found in
the proposed rule for “extraction or
production”) that includes mine development,
drilling, blasting, extraction, milling, crushing,
screening, or sizing of minerals at a mine;”
“The definition of “mining operations” includes
“mine development”, to make clear that
certain activities preliminary to extraction
would be included.”
 d. “this would not include exploratory drilling,
reconnaissance, search, or prospecting that
takes place off of an existing mine”
2. The official implementation date is:
 a. October 1, 2000
 b. March 31, 2000
 c. March 31, 2001
 d. October 2, 2000

d. October 2, 2000

“The final rule takes effect one year after the

rule’s publication in the Federal Register,
giving the mining community an adequate
period of time in which to come into
compliance with the rule’s requirements.”
 3. Which of the following meets the
definition of an experienced
miner?
 a. began work at a mine on April 12, 1999
 b. began work as a miner on June 30, 1999 and
has never received new miner training
 c. Began work at a mine on August 2, 2000 and
previously worked at a mine for 7 months in 1998
and 5 months in 1999
 d. began work on October 1, 2000 as a haul truck
operator, and previously worked for a
construction company as a truck driver for 16
months

e. (a and c)
 a.“A person who is employed as a miner on April 14,
1999.”
 b.“A person who began employment as a miner after
April 14, 1999, but before October 2, 2000 and who
has received new miner training
 c. “A person who has at least 12 months of
cumulative surface mining or equivalent experience
on or before October 2, 2000.”
 d. “equivalent experience means work experience
where the person performed duties similar to duties
performed in mining operations at surface mines.
Such experience may include, but is not limited to,
work as a heavy equipment operator, truck driver,
skilled craftsman, or plant operator.”
4. A competent person must have the ability, training,
knowledge, or experience to provide training to miners in
his or her area of expertise and be able to communicate
the training subject effectively and….

 “to evaluate whether the training given to

miners is effective”.
5. MSHA will accept which of the following
methods of evaluation of the effectiveness of
training by a competent person:

 a. oral or written
 b. demonstration
 c. evaluate work practices
 d. all of the above

d. all of the above

 “Possible evaluation methods include
administering written or oral tests to
miners, or a demonstration by a miner
that he or she can perform all required
duties or tasks in a safe and healthful
manner. You could also evaluate work
practices to ensure that the miner
retains and uses the skills, knowledge
and ability to perform his or her duties
safely
6. T or F - Manufacturer’s representatives would
never fit the definition of a miner under part 46

 False

“A manufacturers representative is a “miner” if

he or she is engaged in mining operations at
mine sites - such as maintaining or repairing
equipment - for frequent or extended periods
 7. T or F - Operators who are in compliance
with Part 48 automatically are exempt
from citations under Part 46

 False

The final rule does not allow operators the option of

complying with Part 48 in lieu of the requirements of
Part 46. “We have concluded that providing such an
option would provide less effective training and
protection for the miners working at your mines. Part 46
requires training for construction workers and it takes a
proactive approach toward the training of independent
contractor employees that come onto mine property.”
8. Maintenance and service employees who do not work at a
mine for frequent or extended periods do not fall under the
definition of a miner. How does MSHA define “extended”

a.
 “Extended “ exposure means exposure to mine hazards of
more than five consecutive work days. Consequently,
maintenance or service workers who are not at a mine site
for frequent or extended periods would not be “miners”
under the final rule.
 (“MSHA intends that the terms “frequent” and “extended”
have the same meaning as under part 48. That is,
“frequent” exposure is a pattern of exposure to mine
hazards occurring intermittently and repeatedly over time”)
9. The rule mandates worker involvement in the
training plan approval process by requiring operators
to make available a copy of the training plan to the
miner or miner’s representative within

 a. 30 days before implementation

 b. not later than 30 days after implementation
 c. 2 weeks before implementation
 d. not later than 2 weeks after implementation

c. 2 weeks before implementation

10. Training plans must be prepared no later than

 a. October 2, 2000
 b. October 1, 2000
 c. September 18, 2000
 d. March 31, 2001
 e. None of the above

c. September 18, 2000

11. T or F - Site-specific hazard awareness training
will likely differ depending on the tasks performed at
the mine by the person receiving the training?

 True

MSHA “also intends that hazard

awareness training be appropriate for the
individual who is receiving it and that the
breadth and depth of training vary
depending on the skills, background, and
job duties of the recipient.”
12. T or F - A training plan that states instruction in
first-aid will take from 1-2 hours and which lists 6
possible competent persons when only 2 of them will
actually provide the training is not acceptable to
MSHA?

 False

“It would be acceptable under the final rule

for the operator to include names of all
potential instructors in a particular subject,
even though the course will ultimately be
taught by only one of the instructors
listed.”
13. MSHA inspectors, in evaluating training plans,
will try to determine:

 a. if one exists at all

 b. if its contents meet the requirements of the rule
 c. if it is being implemented consistent with the
plan’s specifications
 d. if it is being updated periodically to account for
changes that occur at the mine
 e. a, b, and c

e. (a, b, and c)
 Inspectors and other MSHA personnel who
review your plan would simply determine --

 (1) That you in fact have developed a

plan;
 (2) That the written plan contains at a
minimum the information specified in this
section; and
 (3) That the plan is being implemented
consistent with the plan specifications
 14. Joe Baker, an experienced miner, was laid off
for 4 months but was called back to work at the
same mine. What training must he be given?

 a. training in the 9 subjects required for new miners within

60 days and refresher training within 90 days
 b. training in the 7 subjects required for new miners before
he begins work and refresher training within 90 days
 c. the equivalent of new miner training only during his first
full year back from the layoff
 d. training, before he begins work, on any changes at the
mine that could affect his health and safety and all aspects
of refresher training he missed during his absence, all
within 90 days

d.
 “if the newly hired experienced miner returns to
your mine after an absence of 12 months or less,
the final rule requires, that, before the miner
begins work, a competent person inform the
miner of changes at the mine that occurred
during the miner’s absence that could endanger
his or her safety or health.”

 “Consistent with this approach, the returning

miner must receive any annual refresher
training that was missed during his or her
absence, no later than 90 days after the
miner starts work.”
15. T or F - Newly hired experienced miners
returning to work after an absence of more than 12
months must receive a 4 hour block of instruction
before beginning work?

 False

“the final rule does require that any

experienced miner returning to the same mine
after an absence greater than 12 months
receive newly hired experienced miner training
under § 46.6.
16. Circle the letter of each situation below that will
require task training

 a. to the loader operator after the cab of her loader is

retrofitted with controls that reduce noise and or dust
exposure
 b. to a crusher operator whose duties have now been
expanded to include maintenance
 c. to a haul truck driver whose truck has undergone
an overhaul of the engine and modification of the
operating controls
 d. to an office worker at the mine who has been
assigned new duties that include being put in charge
of the storage room
 b, and c

 a. An example of task training being required “would be a

change to a piece of equipment that increases the occupational
noise or dust exposure levels for the miner who operates it.”
 b. & c. “Task training is intended to ensure that miners receive
new training before they are exposed to new health and safety
hazards, so that they can avoid, control, or eliminate potential
hazards as they perform their job. Such a change could involve
a modification to a piece of equipment that introduces new
potential safety hazards for the miner that operates the
equipment.”
 d. “At some mines, there may be portions of mine property
where no mining operations occur and where mining hazards
are limited or nonexistent, such as an office building that is on
mine property but is isolated from mining activities”…”The term
“mine site” does not include such areas within its definition”
17. Yes or No - The Rock-On Mine shuts down each spring
for annual maintenance. Would the operator be permitted to
provide an 8 hour block of refresher training instruction during
this time even though it may mean such training is given 12
1/2 months after it was last given to the miners?

 No

“The Mine Act is very specific in its requirement that miners

receive no less than eight hours of refresher training at least
every twelve months
 18. Yes or No - An NSA/MSHA noise and dust workshop is
held at the mine site. The middle day of this three day event
requires students to enter the mine site and place monitoring
equipment on working miners. A day after it concludes, an
MSHA inspector shows up and asks to see proof that each of
these students, by name, received site-specific hazard awareness
training. Is this request appropriate under the final rule?
 No

“you are not required to make a record of site-specific hazard

awareness training under § 46.11 for persons who are not
miners under § 46.2. However, you must be able to provide
evidence to us, upon request, that the training was provided,
such as by producing the training materials that are used, the
written information distributed to persons upon their arrival at
the mine, or a visitor log book that reflects that site-specific
hazard awareness training has been given.”
19. Yes or No - An operator insists on providing site-specific
hazard awareness training to an MSHA inspector before the
inspector leaves the mine office, insisting he’s required to do
so under the new rule. Is the operator correct?

No
 “Although an argument could be made in favor
of requiring government officials to receive
hazard awareness training, (MSHA) believes
that these factors are outweighed by the need
for these officials to be unimpeded in the
exercise of their duties at the mine site.”
20. Yes or No - An operator and independent contractor work
out an arrangement whereby the operator provides the
independent contractor with site-specific hazard awareness
information at the mine, and the independent contractor
presents this information to his or her employees who will be
working at the mine. Is this situation acceptable or not?

 Yes

“The final rule provides that production-operators are primarily

responsible for “ensuring” that independent contractor employees
receive required site-specific hazard awareness training. This is
intended to clarify that production-operators do not need to provide the
training themselves but must ensure that the training has been
given.”…”production operators may provide independent contractors
with site-specific information or training materials and arrange for the
contractor to provide training to the contractors’ employees.”
21. Identify, by circling the appropriate letter, where record -
keeping violations of the final rule have occurred.
 a. Missy Snyder quits her job at the mine to take
another job. She is not given her training
records/certificates by the operator when she
leaves
 b. A miner completes annual refresher training
and is not given his records/certifications by the
operator
 c. As a housekeeping activity, an operator throws
out refresher training records that are more than
2 years old
 d. A miner asks for his task training record and is
told that he has to wait until the end of the
calendar year for it
 b and d
 a. “you must give a miner a copy of his or her training
records and certificates when the miner leaves your
employ, upon the miner’s request.”
 b. “The final rule specifies that certifications and
distribution of certificates to miners is required - (4) upon
completion of 8 hours of annual refresher training;”
 c. The final rule “requires you to maintain copies of training
records and certificates for each currently employed miner
during his or her employment, except records and
certificates of annual refresher training…which you must
maintain for two years.”
 d. “operators may provide miners with copies of their task
training certificates at 12 month intervals. However, in the
event that a miner wishes a copy of the certificate of the
task training that he or she has received before the 12
month period has elapsed, the final rule provides that
operators must provide a miner with a copy of the task
training certificate upon request.”
22. T or F - Miners are required to sign their training
certificates
 False

“You must record and certify on MSHA Form 5000-23, or

on a form that contains the information listed in paragraph
(b) of this section, that each miner has received training
required under this part.
(b) The form must include
(5) A statement signed by the person designated in the
MSHA approved training plan for the mine as
responsible for health and safety training, that
states ‘ I certify that the above training has been
completed’.”
23. An operator experiences an emergency shutdown, which
requires miners to work on Saturday, a nonscheduled work
day. This same operation schedules 8 hours of refresher
training for the following Saturday. The miners complain,
saying that scheduling the session on Saturday violates the
Part 46 rule. Who is right? The operator or the miners?

 The miners

“Training must be conducted during normal

working hours.”
Thank You