MSHA, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, and OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, oversee worker safety. Still, OSHA sets standards for all occupations, while MSHA sets them for mining and extraction jobs. As of August 2019, according to the Pew Research Center, OSHA held responsibility for upwards of 157 million US workers. In the first three quarters of 2022, nearly 10 million more workers have returned to the labor force. Unfortunately, worker fatalities have also increased, making the need for OSHA training more urgent than ever.
What Does OSHA Do?
Congress established OSHA on December 29, 1970. One of its primary missions was to provide occupational health and safety research. OSHA gathers and interprets safety information and educates workers and business owners about best practices. OSHA also ensures that prompt, periodic health and safety training occurs in every workplace. OSHA training empowers workers to push back against unsafe workplace practices.
What Does MSHA Do?
In 1977, Congress created MSHA to carry out the stipulations of the Federal Mine Act of 1977 and the 2006 Miner Act. The MINER Act requires mine-specific plans for responding to workplace emergencies. Among those requirements are the following:
- Specially-trained emergency extraction teams to respond to mining collapses and other
accidents - Safely and permanently sealing abandoned mines.
- Requirements for immediate notification regarding mining mishaps
- Robust civil penalties for failure to train personnel in best practices to prevent injuries, illnesses,
and deaths.
When to Implement OSHA Training
OSHA training should begin during the employee onboarding process. Test employees immediately after training to confirm they have absorbed the necessary information to stay safe and healthy at work. Retest and retrain at 30, 90, and 365-day intervals in the first year and annually afterward. Retrain after every unusual incident by performing an after-action review of the circumstances that led to any injuries or deaths. These reviews should never focus on assigning blame, however. Instead, the focus should always be on identifying all contributing factors and implementing the necessary changes to prevent future accidents.
When to Hold MSHA Training
In addition to extensive pre-employment safety training, including simulations, miners should attend immediate, native-language safety demonstrations whenever management observes safety violations or potential violations. If management does not see it, training should occur as soon as employees or community members report the adverse event.
Schedule your company’s OSHA training today by contacting ETC Compliance Solutions. We can help your business address site-specific compliance challenges.
