News
2020 Operations Seminar Focuses on MSHA Inspections
On Monday, January 27th the Plant Operators Committee presented their annual Operations Seminar. During 2019 the committee, lead by IMI’s Craig Gibson, looked at several different topics to feature at the one-day, dedicated seminar specifically designed for the day-to-day operators of a plant or quarry. Committee members recognized the need for consistent and effective communication between employees at their operations and MSHA inspectors.
Leading the full day seminar titled Navigating an MSHA Inspection: a Boots-on-the-Ground Approach was Jackson Kelly, PLLC’s Karen Johnston and Karl Kumli. They covered the Mine Act and what management’s rights and responsibilities are when it comes to the law, an overview of the civil and criminal penalties that MSHA can take against individuals, and how contractors can impact your site. One of the most beneficial pieces of the seminar was the hands-on role-playing of how a conversation can go with an MSHA inspector using actual case studies.
“I really enjoyed this presentation and its relevance to the industry. I liked that we included information from the viewpoints of MSHA, mine operators, and contractors,” said one of the attendees on their post-seminar survey.
Each year, the Operations Seminar is one of the most highly rated, directly applicable learning opportunities taking place at the Winter Workshops. If you would like to be involved in reviewing and selecting topics for future Operations Seminars, reach out to the IMAA office to be placed on the Plant Operators Committee. The first committee meeting in 2020 will be on Thursday, April 9th at the IMAA office.
