Page 42 - Advances In Productive, Safe, and Responsible Coal Mining

28 Advances in Productive, Safe, and Responsible Coal Mining

acknowledged, however, that the physical expanse of such mines and the limited num-
ber of workers at them are much smaller than for large companies. In the end,
rulemaking on mine safety and health management programs was suspended, and
MSHA undertook other administrative initiatives instead, as described previously.

2.6 Conclusion

There have been historical periods of sustained improvement of safety performance
and productivity, but also periods of regression. The historical safety landscape has
seen a steady decline of the fatality and serious injury experience, but relatively safe
intervening periods were interrupted by reoccurrences of mine disasters with five or
more fatalities, including as recently as 2010. Since 2010, however, there has been a
dramatic improvement of all safety performance metrics at both underground and sur-
face coal mines. Productivity continued to improve in surface mines during this
period, but it has vacillated in underground mines.
Safety performance has been impacted greatly by research done at the US Bureau
of Mines and NIOSH, mine equipment manufacturers adoption of better protective
equipment and features on them, and improvement of ventilation and roof control
technology. Enforcement of mining regulations, coupled with enforcement agency
initiatives beyond regulations, has made an inestimable impact on injury metrics,
including fatalities. Along with both technological change and regulatory action
and enforcement, safety practices have improved over time, including the adoption
of more systematic management methods among many operators that embrace both
productivity and safety as joint goals.
Productivity has historically improved with adoption of more efficient mining
methods and technology, but the quality and experience of the workforce plays a major
role as well. For the industry as a whole, surface mining greatly improved productivity.

2.7 Future trends

For productivity and safety enhancement, new technology will continue to be devel-
oped. Sometimes in the past, technology development was driven by new regulations
(e.g., continuous personal dust monitor, proximity detection system on continuous
mining machines, and wireless communication and tracking systems). This trend will
likely continue in the US as MSHA focuses on eliminating fatalities toward the goal of
zero and seeks to address them through requirements of technology or by enforcing
more systematic examinations with quick follow-up for identified hazards.
The challenge of attaining compliance with MSHA regulations and meeting obli-
gations of other initiatives will likely force operators into using a much more system-
atic approach to improve their safety performance, regardless of company and mine
size. As NMA member companies pursue CORESafety implementation according to
its planned timeline, the use of mine safety and health management systems may grow
among the larger companies, and possibly among medium-size companies. It is