Inspect and Examine Your Work Place Before Starting Work. Mining.

Inspect and examine your work place before starting work. Or know before you go.

If you are a mine operator you know that the Mine Safety Health Act (MSH Act) requires a workplace exam to be conducted before employees start their day.  30 CFR 56.18002 requires mine operators to not only conduct when work place exam but to keep a record of these inspections.  Makes sense.

But, did you know the MSH Act requires independent contractors to conduct a work place exam before they start work too. And, if the independent contractor fails to conduct a work place exam it is subject to an MSHA noncompliance violation citation. But so too is the mine operator.  BTW, MSHA citations for failing to comply with this mandatory safety regulation are “significant and substantial” or S & S’s.  These are expensive fines.

So, if you are a mine operator with independent contractors working on your mine site you must make sure the contractor is conducting its own work place exam in addition to you, the mine operator.

Moral of the story, know before you go.