In a recent post, we looked at the role of a “competent person” for the MSHA Part 46 training regulations.
That was so much fun, we thought we’d expand the net and turn our attention to a similar (but slightly different) role in the MSHA Part 48 training regulations: the MSHA-approved instructor.
It would be handy if the people who provide the mandatory MSHA compliance training for Part 46 had the same name for their role that the people who do it for Part 48 do. But, they don’t. And it would be nice if the rules for becoming a Part 46 trainer were the same as the rules for becoming a Part 48 trainer, but that’s not how it works. Sometimes life just isn’t as easy or fun as we wish it were. In related news, you can’t have your cake and eat it too, and you didn’t get a pony for your birthday.
But, given that unfortunate news, let’s turn our attention to Part 48, see what’s what, and make life that one little bit easier. At least for those of us in the mining safety world.
We’ve also put a free Guide to MSHA Requirements for you, too.
Convergence Training provides online safety training courses, learning management systems, incident investigation software, and contractor orientation solutions for mining safety and general safety.
Explore the links below to learn more about what we do.
Part 48 is the regulation for safety training at underground mines.
Here’s how it’s stated in 48.1:
“The provisions of this subpart A set forth the mandatory requirements for submitting and obtaining approval of programs for training and retraining miners working in underground mines. Requirements regarding compensation for training and retraining are also included. The requirements for training and retraining miners working at surface mines and surface areas of underground mines are set forth in subpart B of this part.”
Those of you reading closely may have noticed and perhaps been confused by the mention of surface mines in the quote from 48.1 above. To clear that up, here’s a second quote, this time from 48.21, which is the very beginning of subpart B.
“The provisions of this subpart B set forth the mandatory requirements for submitting and obtaining approval of programs for training and retraining miners working at surface mines and surface areas of underground mines. Requirements regarding compensation for training and retraining are also included. The requirements for training and retraining miners working in underground mines are set forth in subpart A of this part. This part does not apply to training and retraining of miners at shell dredging, sand, gravel, surface stone, surface clay, colloidal phosphate, and surface limestone mines, which are covered under 30 CFR Part 46.”
The first mention of instructors in Part 48 comes up in 48.3. We’re going to quote this in length and then return to discuss smaller parts of it below.
“(g) Except as provided in §48.7 (New task training of miners) and §48.11 (Hazard training) of this subpart A, all courses shall be conducted by MSHA approved instructors.
(h) Instructors shall be approved by the District Manager in one or more of the following ways:
(1) Instructors shall take an instructor’s training course conducted by the District Manager or given by persons designated by the District Manager to give such instruction; and instructors shall have satisfactorily completed a program of instruction approved by the Office of Educational Policy and Development, MSHA, in the subject matter to be taught.
(2) Instructors may be designated by MSHA as approved instructors to teach specific courses based on written evidence of the instructors’ qualifications and teaching experience.
(3) At the discretion of the District Manager, instructors may be designated by MSHA as approved instructors to teach specific courses based on the performance of the instructors while teaching classes monitored by MSHA. Operators shall indicate in the training plans submitted for approval whether they want to have instructors approved based on monitored performance. The District Manager shall consider such factors as the size of the mine, the number of employees, the mine safety record and remoteness from a training facility when determining whether instructor approval based on monitored performance is appropriate.
(4) On the effective date of this subpart A, cooperative instructors who have been designated by MSHA to teach MSHA approved courses and who have taught such courses within the 24 months prior to the effective date of this subpart shall be considered approved instructors for such courses.
(i) Instructors may have their approval revoked by MSHA for good cause which may include not teaching a course at least once every 24 months. Before any revocation is effective, the District Manager must send written reasons for revocation to the instructor and the instructor shall be given an opportunity to demonstrate or achieve compliance before the District Manager on the matter. A decision by the District Manager to revoke an instructor’s approval may be appealed by the instructor to the Administrator for Coal Mine Safety and Health or Administrator for Metal and Non-metal Safety and Health, as appropriate, MSHA, 1100 Wilson Blvd., Room 2424 (Coal) or Room 2436 (Metal and Nonmetal), Arlington, Virginia 22209-3939. Such an appeal shall be submitted to the Administrator within 5 days of notification of the District Manager’s decision. Upon revocation of an instructor’s approval, the District Manager shall immediately notify operators who use the instructor for training.”
The answer for this question is written in two different parts of the Part 48 regulation.
First, in 48.3(g), we learn that:
“Except as provided in §48.7 (New task training of miners) and §48.11 (Hazard training) of this subpart A, all courses shall be conducted by MSHA approved instructors.”
(Note: We’ll get back to those exceptions for New Tasks and Hazard Training shortly.)
And then, in 48.3(h), we learn that:
“Instructors shall be approved by the District Manager…”
So, with the exception of New Task Training and Hazard Training, MSHA Part 48 safety training can only be delivered by an MSHA-approved instructor, and you get that approval from the MSHA District Manager.
Need to contact your district manager? Here’s a link to the various District Managers and their contact information.
Good question.
Our recommendation is to find your district manager, contact that office, and find out exactly what their procedure, requirements, and expectations are. You may find that this answer varies from district to district. So, again, here’s that list of the contact information for MSHA district managers.
That said, the regulation says you can do it in one of three ways. We’ve listed them below, quoting directly from the regulation [this is from 48.3(h)].
“(1) Instructors shall take an instructor’s training course conducted by the District Manager or given by persons designated by the District Manager to give such instruction; and instructors shall have satisfactorily completed a program of instruction approved by the Office of Educational Policy and Development, MSHA, in the subject matter to be taught.”
“(2) Instructors may be designated by MSHA as approved instructors to teach specific courses based on written evidence of the instructors’ qualifications and teaching experience.”
“(3) At the discretion of the District Manager, instructors may be designated by MSHA as approved instructors to teach specific courses based on the performance of the instructors while teaching classes monitored by MSHA. Operators shall indicate in the training plans submitted for approval whether they want to have instructors approved based on monitored performance. The District Manager shall consider such factors as the size of the mine, the number of employees, the mine safety record and remoteness from a training facility when determining whether instructor approval based on monitored performance is appropriate.”
You can read additional information about this from a 2003 MSHA Handbook titled Education and Training Procedures. Information about getting MSHA approval is in section II. Information about revoking approval is in section III. We’ll be including some references from this MSHA Handbook in addition to the actual regulation as we continue this blog post.
Now, let’s take a closer look at each of the ways mentioned above.
According to the MSHA Education and Training Procedures Handbook mentioned above, here’s how this process works:
Applicants successfully complete an instructor’s training course conducted by MSHA and a program of instruction approved by MSHA for each subject they will teach. Applicants for approval as instructors and instructor trainers by Method 1 will:
“a. Inform the District, in writing, that they would like to attend the MSHA instructor training course and indicate which subject matter courses or programs they intend to teach.
b. Submit information to the District prior to the instructor training course listing their mining experience, training experience and training completed.
c. Satisfactorily complete the 3-day instructor training course conducted by MSHA.
At the completion of the instructor training course, the District will:
a. Make a determination of each applicant’s knowledge of the subject matter.
b. Make a determination of each applicant’s teaching skills and qualifications.
c. Approve the applicant to teach specific courses based on the determinations made above. Inform instructors as soon as possible, in writing, of the approval. Enter their credentials into the instructor computer system (refer to Chapter VI of this handbook). When an applicant is not approved, follow the procedures in Section B of this chapter.” (See pp. II-1 and II-2)
So the key points here are that:
If you are approved, the Handbook says you’ll be notified ASAP.
Also, you may have noticed the mention of an instructor complete system. You can find that here.
You might have noticed that 48.3(h)(1) includes mention of becoming an MSHA-approved instructor after completing training “given by persons designated by the District Manager to give such instruction” in addition to getting the training from the MSHA district office as explained immediately above.
According to the MSHA Education and Training Procedures Handbook mentioned above, here’s how this process works:
“Applicants successfully complete an MSHA approved instructor training course and a program of instruction approved by MSHA for each subject they will teach. Applicants for approval as instructors by Method 2 will:
a. Inform the instructor trainer, in writing, that they would like to attend the instructor training course and indicate which subject matter courses or programs they intend to teach.
b. Submit information to the instructor trainer prior to the instructor training course describing their mining experience, training experience and training completed.
c. Satisfactorily complete the MSHA approved instructor training course conducted by the instructor trainer.
Upon completion of the instructor training course, the instructor trainer will submit the following to the District:
a. Instructor File Update (MSHA Form 5000-13) for each applicant satisfactorily completing the course.” (see p. II-2)
So this process is very much like the process of taking the training from MSHA described above.
One tip: It’s still a good idea to touch base with your district office first before doing this. In a conversation with an MSHA district-level training specialist, I was told that the training provided by one state grant program didn’t match that district’s requirements. It may save you a headache later if you check in with the your district, explain your plans, and get feedback from them in advance.
According to the MSHA Education and Training Procedures Handbook mentioned above, here’s how this process works:
“Applicants for approval as instructors by Method 3 will:
a. Submit an application to the District requesting approval to teach based on qualifications and teaching experience and include a list of the specific courses they intend to teach.
b. Submit information to the District describing their mining experience, training experience and training completed.
Upon receipt of the above information, the District will:
a. Make a determination of each applicant’s knowledge of the subject matter.
b. Make a determination of each applicant’s teaching skills and qualifications.
c. Approve the applicant to teach specific courses based on the determinations made above. Inform instructors as soon as possible, in writing, of the approval.” (See page II-4)
So you can get approval in this scenario without taking an instructor course. No doubt you’re experience and qualifications have to be impressive.
According to the MSHA Education and Training Procedures Handbook mentioned above, here’s how this process works:
“Districts may designate persons as provisional instructors to teach specific courses. Each such instructor is subject to follow-up approval based on the District’s monitoring of classroom performance.
Operators requesting approval of persons as provisional instructors by Method 4 will:
a. Indicate in the training plan submitted for approval whether they want to have instructors approved based on monitored performance.
b. Submit in writing reasons why other approval methods would impose an extreme hardship.
c. List the designated persons they will use to teach specific courses. These persons are provisional instructors until the District monitors them.
Upon receipt of the request from an operator, the District will:
a. Review reasons why other instructor approval methods would impose an extreme hardship. Determine the validity of the request and consider such factors as size of the mine, number of employees, mine safety record (accidents, fatalities, etc.), and availability and accessibility of training.
b. Approve the provisional instructors based on the criteria above. (This method is seldom approved except in cases of emergencies.)
c. Inform the operator as soon as possible, in writing, of the approval. Enter the instructor’s credentials into the instructor computer system (refer to Chapter VI of this handbook). When the person is not approved, follow the procedures in Section B of this chapter.
d. Arrange for monitoring of provisional instructors as soon as possible.” (see pp. II-4 and II-5)
So this method involves jumping through quite a few hoops the others don’t. You’ve got to submit the idea in the training plan and provide a written (and no doubt persuasive) explanation of why other methods impose “extreme hardship.”
They’re looking for evidence of your subject matter knowledge and your teaching skills.
As explained in that MSHA Education and Training Procedures Handbook we’ve referred to repeatedly, here’s what they’re looking for.
The District may use the following factors to determine an applicant’s subject matter knowledge:
“The applicant’s work experience directly relates to the subject area.
“The District may use the following factors to determine an applicant’s teaching ability:
Some people will be approved as instructors for all topics. Other will get ‘limited approval” that lets them lead training on some but not all topics.
As the MSHA Education and Training Procedures Handbook puts it:
“‘Limited instructors’ are individuals approved for surface operations (IS) or underground operations (IU) to teach only specific courses under the appropriate subpart (A or B) of 30 CFR Part 48.” (see p. II-5)
We’re probably going to write up an additional blog post that goes into this in more detail, so keep your eyes open for that in the future.
Yes, they do.
If that happens, you can always try again. But approval is not a slam-dunk you’ve got to know your stuff.
As explained in the MSHA Education and Training Procedures Handbook:
Yep. They do this too from time to time.
Let’s see how this is addressed in Part 48–48.3(i) , specifically.
“(i) Instructors may have their approval revoked by MSHA for good cause which may include not teaching a course at least once every 24 months. Before any revocation is effective, the District Manager must send written reasons for revocation to the instructor and the instructor shall be given an opportunity to demonstrate or achieve compliance before the District Manager on the matter. A decision by the District Manager to revoke an instructor’s approval may be appealed by the instructor to the Administrator for Coal Mine Safety and Health or Administrator for Metal and Non-metal Safety and Health, as appropriate, MSHA, 1100 Wilson Blvd., Room 2424 (Coal) or Room 2436 (Metal and Nonmetal), Arlington, Virginia 22209-3939. Such an appeal shall be submitted to the Administrator within 5 days of notification of the District Manager’s decision. Upon revocation of an instructor’s approval, the District Manager shall immediately notify operators who use the instructor for training.”
So if MSHA wants to do this, the District Manager has to send written reasons to the instructor, and the instructor then has a chance to “demonstrate or achieve compliance” on the matter. In addition, this can be appeal to the Administrator for Coal Mine Safety and Health or to the Administrator for Metal and Non-metal Safety and Health.
The regulation lists one reason why approval may be revoked: “not teaching a course at least once every 24 months” (they want you to keep your knowledge and skills sharp).
However, the MSHA Education and Training Procedures Handbook we keep referring to gives some additional reasons why this may happen. Here’s what is written there:
“The District Manager may revoke an instructor’s approval for reasons such as: the instructor has not taught a course at least once every 24 months; did not follow the approved training plan; during monitoring, did not show adequate knowledge of subject matter or adequate teaching skills; or, falsified training certificates. The reason(s) for revocation should be established in the record and be of sufficient gravity to justify revocation; otherwise, a notice of deficiency may be appropriate.” (see p. III-1)
For much more detailed information about this process, see chapter III of the MSHA Education and Training Procedures Handbook.
You may remember that in 43.8(g) there are some exceptions made for new task training and hazard training. Here’s what it said:
“(g) Except as provided in §48.7 (New task training of miners) and §48.11 (Hazard training) of this subpart A, all courses shall be conducted by MSHA approved instructors.”
So, let’s go check out 48.7 and 48.11 and see what that’s all about.
Here’s the relevant information from 48.7(e):
“(e) All training and supervised practice and operation required by this section shall be given by a qualified trainer, or a supervisor experienced in the assigned tasks, or other person experienced in the assigned tasks.”
So, MSHA-approved instructors CAN provide this training, but so can “a supervisor experienced in the assigned tasks, or other person experienced in the assigned tasks.” In short, you don’t have to be an approved instructor, but you DO have to have experience in the task.
Not to criticize MSHA here, but there’s no specific reference to instructors in this section.
The closest related materials we could find in 48.11 are these:
“(c) The training program required by this section shall be submitted with the training plan required by §48.3(a) (Training plans: Submission and approval) of this subpart A and shall include a statement on the methods of instruction to be used.”
“(e) Miners subject to hazard training shall be accompanied at all times while underground by an experienced miner, as defined in §48.2(b) (Definition of miner) of this subpart A.”
We’re going to try to touch base with MSHA and get some clarification on this. You may want to talk with MSHA as well. If you think you’ve got the inside scoop on this, please leave a note in the comments section below.
What are your experiences? Are you an MSHA-approved instructor? Was it difficult to become one? What was the class like? What are your subject matters? What do you enjoy about being an instructor? What is the hardest thing about it?
If you’re looking for help with MSHA training, check out the following online MSHA training options and tools we’ve got for you:
