Contractor Issues

North TX Spring ThawFebruary 2009

In this session

• What’s / What• Who’s / Who• When / Where• That’s / That

When contractor and operator have MSHA

compliance issues, who wins?

And the Winner is!!!

Part 45

• This part sets forth information requirements and procedures for independent contractors to obtain an MSHA identification number and procedures for service of documents upon independent contractors

Part 46

• Mandatory training and retraining of miners engaged in shell dredging or employed at sand, gravel, surface stone, surface clay, colloidal phosphate, or surface limestone mines.

§46.2(p) You

• Production operators and independent contractors

§46.2(l) Operator

• Any production-operator, or any independent contractor whose employees perform services at a mine.

§46.2(m) Production Operator

• Any owner, lessee, or other person who operates, controls, or supervises a mine under this part

§46.2(e) Independent Contractor

• Any person, partnership, corporation, subsidiary of a corporation, firm association, or other organization that contracts to perform services at a mine under this part

§46.2(g)(l) Miner

• Any person, including, any operator or supervisor, who works at a mine and who is engaged in mining operations. This definition includes independent contractors and employees of independent contractors who are engaged in mining operations

§46.2(f) Mine site

• An area of the mine where mining operations occur

§46.2(h) Mining operations

• Mine development, drilling, blasting, extraction, milling, crushing, screening, or sizing of minerals at a mine; maintenance and repair of mining equipment; and associated haulage of materials within the mine from these activities

Part 46 Safety Training

Site-specific Hazard Awareness Training

Safety Training

You (Production operator and independent contractor) must provide

• CFR 30 §46.2(g)(l)– Development, drilling,

blasting, extraction, milling, crushing, screening, sizing, maintenance, repair of equipment, and haulage of materials

• Person• Operator• Supervisor• Independent

Contractor• Employee of

independent contractor

• CFR 30 §46.11– To the persons

specified under this section

– To the hazards a person could be exposed

• Office or staff • Delivery workers• Customers• Construction

workers – who are not miners under §46.2

• Scientific workers• Maintenance or

service workers not at site for frequent or extended periods

• Vendors or visitors

Part 46 SafetyTraining

Site-specific HazardAwareness Training

Who is responsible for training

(see Program Policy Manual)• §46.12 Responsibility for Independent Contractor Training

• §46.12(a)(1) establishes that the production-operator has primary responsibility for ensuring that Site-specific Hazard Awareness Training is given to employees of independent contractors

• §46.12(b)(1) establishes that each independent contractor who employs a miner under this Part has primary responsibility for complying with other required training.

• MSHA views §46.12 as a regulatory indication of whom the agency will cite for training violations under ordinary circumstances. Both the production-operator and the independent contractor share the responsibility that all miners receive all required training, and in extraordinary circumstances, MSHA may determine that both the production-operator and the independent contractor should be held liable for training violations.

Even though the production-operator has primary responsibility for ensuring that Site-specific Hazard Awareness Training is provided, there may be times where it is more practical for the independent contractor to provide the training. Production-operators may provide independent contractors with site-specific hazard awareness information or training materials and arrange for the independent contractors to provide the training to the contractors' employees. Where this arrangement is made, the production-operator must list the independent contractor by name and document in their training plan that the independent contractor identified will be providing Site-specific Hazard Awareness Training. Even under this arrangement, the production-operator is still responsible for ensuring that the appropriate training is provided.

Who is responsible for training cont’d

§56.18002 Examination of Working Place

• A competent person designated by the operator shall

• examine each working place at least once each shift for conditions which may adversely affect safety or health.

• A "competent person," according to §§ 56/57.2, is "a person having abilities and experience that fully qualify him to perform the duty to which he is assigned." This definition includes any person who, in the judgment of the operator, is fully qualified to perform the assigned task. MSHA does not require that a competent person be a mine foreman, mine superintendent, or other person associated with mine management.

§56.18002 Examination of Working Place cont’d• Standards 56/57.18002(b) require operators to keep

records of working place examinations. These records must include: (1) the date the examination was made; (2) the examiner's name; and (3) the working places examined.

• In order to comply with the record retention portion of 56/57.18002(b), operators must retain workplace examination records for the preceding 12 months.

Overlapping Compliance Responsibility

• Per Program Policy Manual Volume I SEC 104(h) and 107(d)

– overlapping compliance responsibility means that there may be circumstances in which it is appropriate to issue citations or orders to both the independent contractor and the production-operator.

Records• Training records• MSHA ID (updated)• Examinations of workplace • Equipment inspections• Ground fault• Fire Extinguisher• Fire Drill / Evac Drill• 7000-1 (injury / illness)• 7000-2 (quarterly)• Audiograms• Contractor Information• At bulletin board – citations, petitions of

modification

Contracts

• Body of contract • MSHA Standards• Scope of work• Hold Harmless

**Read before you sign**

Questions?

Safety to His Company

GET IN STEP

SAFETYTAKES

EVERYPERSON

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION AND FOR

WHAT YOU DO