| 9. |
Q. Are construction workers required to be trained before working on mine property?
A. Construction workers must receive comprehensive training if they are exposed to hazards of mining operations for frequent or extended periods. Comprehensive training includes new miner training or newly hired experienced miner training, as appropriate, annual refresher training and training in new tasks. If they are not at mine sites for frequent or extended periods, they are required to receive Site-Specific Hazard Awareness training appropriate for the hazards to which they are exposed.
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"Competent Person"
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| 10. |
Q. Is a competent person an Agent of the company?
A. A person who is designated by the production-operator or the independent contractor as a competent person who is qualified to instruct miners and evaluate whether training is effective does not become an agent of the operator under Sections 110(c) and 110(d) of the Mine Act solely because of that assignment. Section 46.9(b)(5) requires that the person designated by the operator in the MSHA-approved training plan as responsible for health and safety training must certify that each miner has completed the required training. If the competent person and the designated person are the same, then that person could be liable as an agent of a corporate operator for knowingly permitting miners to work who have not received applicable Part 46 training.
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| 11. |
Q. What are the criteria for becoming a competent person?
A. A competent person is a person who is designated by the production operator or independent contractor who has the ability, training, knowledge, or experience to provide training to miners in his or her area of expertise. The competent person must be able to effectively communicate the training subject to miners, and evaluate whether the training given to miners is effective.
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| 12. |
Q. Are persons who provide instruction to miners in mining subjects required to be approved by MSHA?
A. No. Part 46 does not require that instructors be approved by us. Under § 46.4(a)(2), training must be provided by a "competent person." Section 46.2(b) defines "competent person" as a person designated by the production-operator or independent contractor who has the ability, training, knowledge, or experience to provide training to miners in his or her area of expertise. The competent person must be able both to effectively communicate the training subjects to miners and to evaluate whether the training is effective.
Production-operators and independent contractors are responsible for determining who is competent to instruct in the subjects listed in the training plan.
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| 13. |
Q. Can a "competent person" who provides training to miners be credited with the training they provide?
A. Yes. A competent person may be credited for receiving any training provided toward their own training requirements.
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| 14. |
Q. The definition of "competent person" does not specifically require the person to be experienced in a task. Does this mean a task training instructor is not required to be a "competent person"?
A. No. A person who provides task training must be a "competent person," which means that the person must have the ability, training, knowledge, or experience to provide training in his or her area of expertise. To provide miners with training in a particular task, the person must have the necessary expertise. In most cases, the person will acquire this expertise through experience in the task, but the necessary expertise may be acquired in other ways. For example, a person who receives formal training as an equipment operator may acquire enough knowledge to be competent to train miners in the operation of the equipment. The "competent person" must also be able to effectively communicate the information and be capable of evaluating whether the training is effective.
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| 15. |
Q. Must a person have worked in all areas of a mine before he or she can be designated as a "competent person"?
A. No. Under Part 46, a person may be a "competent person" and allowed to provide training to miners, even if the person has knowledge or experience in a limited subject area. However, the competent person can only provide training in these areas.
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| 16. |
Q. Can the list of "competent persons" in the training plan include a training institution or state grantee? Can the institution conduct the site-specific portions of the training?
A. Yes. Under § 46.4(b), you may arrange with an organization to provide all or part of your training, including site-specific hazard awareness training, if the organization has access to the site and is knowledgeable about the site-specific hazards at the mine. Some portions of Part 46 training are more site-specific than others. As example, a training institution or state grantee will not usually have the necessary information to conduct task or site-specific hazard awareness training. Section 46.3(b) specifically provides that you must indicate in your training plan the organization and/or competent person(s) who will provide the training.
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| 17. |
Q. If I arrange with an outside organization, such as a state grantee, to provide training to my miners, does the record of training need to indicate the competent person who provided the training for each subject?
A. Yes. Even though operators may indicate in their training plan the organization that will provide training rather than the individual competent person, the record of training must list the specific competent person who conducted the training.
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| 18. |
Q. Can I list more than one "competent person" as the instructor for a specific subject on my training plan?
A. Yes. You may choose to identify more than one "competent person" as an instructor in a specific subject, and Part 46 allows this practice. You should be aware, however, that § 46.9 requires the record of training to include the identity of the competent person who actually provided the training.
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| 19. |
Q. May an operator add additional "competent persons" to the training plan at any time?
A. Yes. You can make revisions to your training plan at any time, as long as the procedures set forth in § 46.3 are followed.
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| 20. |
Q. Will the operator have to document the background of the "competent person" or explain the rationale for designating the individual as a "competent person"?
A. Part 46 does not require operators to document the background of the competent person. In cases where we have reasonable concerns that an individual who is designated as a "competent person" does not have the necessary expertise to instruct or to evaluate the effectiveness of the training, we may question the operator about the basis for this designation.
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| 21. |
Q. If I choose to designate someone to only conduct one portion of site-specific hazard awareness training, such as electrical hazards, do I need to list this limitation in the training plan?
A. Yes. If a competent person is limited to conducting only a portion of site-specific hazard awareness training, such as electrical hazards, the training plan needs to identify that limitation. If there are no limitations, only the name of the competent person needs to be listed for conducting site-specific hazard awareness training.
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"Equivalent Experience"
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| 22. |
Q. What is equivalent experience?
A. "Equivalent experience" is defined in Part 46 as work experience where the person performed duties similar to duties performed in mining operations at surface mines. This could include working as a heavy equipment operator, truck driver, skilled craftsman, or plant operator. "Equivalent experience" includes such things as working at a construction site or other types of jobs where the miner has duties similar to the duties at the mine where he or she is employed in a work environment outside the mining industry.
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| 23. |
Q. Who decides what constitutes "equivalent experience"?
A. Production-operators and independent contractors must evaluate the work history of newly-hired employees in determining whether the employees are "experienced" miners. This determination is subject to review by us as part of our verification that production-operators and independent contractors have complied with the training requirements of Part 46.
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| 24. |
Q. Does a miner need to have accrued experience within a certain time frame in order for the experience to be counted as "equivalent experience"?
A. No. Part 46 does not require a miner to accrue experience within a certain time frame, whether it is mining experience or equivalent experience.
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"Experienced Miner"
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| 25. |
Q. Are the miners working at my mine now considered experienced miners?
A. An experienced miner is a person who:
- Is employed as a miner on April 14, 1999; or
- Has at least 12 months of cumulative surface mining or equivalent experience on or before October 2, 2000; or
- Began employment as a miner after April 14, 1999, but before October 2, 2000 and who has received new miner training under § 48.25 or under the proposed requirements published April 14, 1999; or
- Is employed as a miner on or after October 2, 2000 who has completed 24 hours of new miner training under § 46.5 of this part or under § 48.25 of this title and who has at least 12 cumulative months of surface mining or equivalent experience.
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| 26. |
Q. I hired a new inexperienced miner in May, 2000. This person had no previous training or equivalent work experience. What training is required?
A. Since this person does not have the necessary 12 months of mining or equivalent experience, or new miner training, this person is required to receive new miner training by October 2, 2000.
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| 27. |
Q. An individual worked as a surface miner five years ago and has accrued 12 months or more of mining experience. Will this person be considered an "experienced miner" under Part 46?
A. Yes. An individual who has accrued at least 12 months of surface mining experience by October 2, 2000, is an "experienced miner."
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| 28. |
Q. Who is responsible for providing new miner training or newly hired experienced miner training to construction workers who are employees of an independent contractor?
A. Under § 46.12, the employers of construction workers are primarily responsible for providing comprehensive training to their employees who are "miners" under Part 46. This does not prevent the independent contractor from arranging with the production-operator to provide the training to the contractor's employees. Production-operators retain the same responsibility for ensuring that everyone who comes onto mine sites has received the necessary site-specific hazard awareness training.
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| 29. |
Q. What type of training must be provided to maintenance or service employees of an independent contractor who come to the mine site to provide service on mining equipment?
A. If these employees maintain and/or repair mining equipment at mine sites for "frequent" or "extended" periods, they are engaged in "mining operations" under Part 46, and are considered miners for training purposes. However, if these employees are not at mine sites for "frequent" or "extended" periods, they will not be considered miners for training purposes and must receive site-specific hazard awareness training at each mine.
"Frequent" exposure is defined as a pattern of exposure to hazards at mining operations occurring intermittently and repeatedly over time. "Extended" exposure means exposure to hazards at mining operations of more than five consecutive work days.
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| 30. |
Q. Once a miner has become an "experienced miner" under the Part 46 regulations, would that individual also be considered an "experienced miner" under the Part 48 regulations?
A. Not necessarily. Although it is possible for a miner to be considered an "experienced miner" under both regulations, it is not automatic. A miner must satisfy one of the definitions of "experienced miner" in Part 48 in order to be considered experienced under that rule. Also, the training would have to be conducted according to an MSHA approved Part 48 training plan by an MSHA approved instructor.
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| 31. |
Q. If a miner becomes an "experienced miner" under Part 46, is that status good at other mines where the miner may work?
A. Once a miner becomes an "experienced miner" under Part 46, the miner is considered an "experienced miner" at any mine where Part 46 applies.
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| 32. |
Q. Once a person becomes an "experienced miner," what type of training is required?
A. An experienced miner hired by a mine operator must receive newly-hired experienced miner training prior to beginning work at any different mine, training for any new tasks assigned, and at least 8 hours of annual refresher training every 12 months.
If the experienced miner is an independent contractor, site-specific hazard awareness training is required at each mine. Also, the independent contractor must receive training for any new tasks and at least 8 hours of annual refresher training every 12 months.
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| 33. |
Q. What kind of documentation is needed to establish a miner's 12 cumulative months of surface mining or equivalent experience.
A. Part 46 does not impose any specific requirements for tracking or recording the accumulated experience. It is the responsibility of production-operators and independent contractors to determine the miner's experience, based on the miner's work and training history.
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"Mining Operations"
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| 34. |
Q. What training is required for an independent contractor performing maintenance and repair on mining equipment that is shutdown, and not in close proximity to active mining operations?
A. If the work performed is on a frequent or extended basis, the independent contractor will be considered a miner and require comprehensive training. "Frequent" exposure is a pattern of exposure to hazards at mining operations occurring intermittently and repeatedly over time. "Extended" exposure means, exposure to hazards at mining operations of more than five consecutive work days. Even though the mining equipment may be shutdown, and the work performed away from mining activities, the rule includes maintenance and repair of mining equipment as part of the "mining operations." These activities are a routine part of mining activities and expose repair and maintenance people to many of the same hazards as other miners.
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"Newly Hired Experienced Miner"
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| 35. |
Q. What training is required for experienced miners who move from one mine to another, such as drillers and blasters, but who remain employed by the same production-operator or independent contractor?
A. Miners who move from one mine site to another, but remain employed by the same employer are required to receive site-specific hazard awareness training at each mine where they work.
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| 36. |
Q. What training is required for experienced miners who are permanently transferred from one mine to another, but who remain employed by the same production-operator?
A. Miners who are permanently transferred from one mine to another, but remain employed by the same employer are not considered "newly hired experienced miners" and are required to receive site-specific hazard awareness training at the mine where they are transferred.
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| 37. |
Q. I am an independent contractor who employs miners who, as a regular part of their job, work at multiple mine sites. What type of training do these miners need?
A. Miners must receive new miner or newly hired experienced miner training when they are initially hired, appropriate task training, and no less than 8 hours of refresher training every 12 months. Additionally, miners who move from one mine to another mine while remaining employed by the same production-operator or independent contractor must receive site-specific hazard awareness training for each mine where they work.
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"Normal Working Hours"
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| 38. |
Q. What are normal working hours?
A. Section 46.10 provides that training must be conducted during "normal working hours," which is defined in § 46.2(k) as "a period of time during which a miner is otherwise scheduled to work."
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| 39. |
Q. Does Part 46 allow training to be conducted on a Saturday, provided that the miners are paid?
A. Training given under Part 46 must be provided during "normal working hours." For example, if miners usually work on Saturday, they can be trained on Saturday. Part 46 also requires that miners who are being trained be paid at a rate of pay they would have received had they been performing their normal work tasks. |
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