MSHA - Part 46 Training Assistance - Compliance Guideline for MSHA's Part 46 Training Regulations

Compliance Guideline for
MSHA's Part 46 Training Regulations

Training and Retraining of Miners Engaged in Shell Dredging or Employed at Sand,Gravel, Surface Stone, Surface Clay, Colloidal Phosphate, or Surface Limestone Mines

Version 3 - Published May 28, 2001.

§ 46.9 Records of Training

101.	Q. Part 46 requires that operators record and certify the training that miners receive. What does this mean? A. Recording means creating a written record of the training. The record must include: the full name of the person trained; the type of training; duration of training; the date the training was received; the name of the competent person who provided the training; name of mine or independent contractor; MSHA mine identification or independent contractor number (if applicable); and location of training (if an institution, the name and address of institution). Certifying means verifying, by signature, that the training listed on the written record was completed as indicated on the form. Part 46 requires that this certification be done by the person who has been designated by the operator as responsible for health and safety training at the mine and whose name appears on the training plan. Certifying is required at the completion of training, such as at the end of the 24 hours of new miner training.
102.	Q. When do training records need to be certified? A. Training records must be certified at: the completion of new miner training; the completion of newly hired experienced miner training; the completion of the 8 hours of annual refresher training; least once every 12 months for new task training or upon request by the miner; and the completion of site-specific hazard awareness training for miners.
103.	Q. Do the records of training have to be kept on a Certificate of Training Form (MSHA Form 5000-23)? A. No. Training records and certificates may be maintained in any format that you choose, provided that it contains the information listed in § 46.9(b). We have developed a sample form which you may use. You may also use a "Certificate of Training Form"(MSHA Form 5000-23) if you wish. Use of either of these forms is voluntary. Both of these (5000-23, sample forms) are available from MSHA's Internet Home Page (www.msha.gov ), from MSHA's Educational Field Services Division, or from MSHA District and Field offices.
104.	Q. If I provide my employees with both Part 46 and Part 48 annual refresher training at the same time, do I have to keep two sets of training records? A. Part 46 allows the use of the MSHA Certificate of Training form (Form 5000-23), which is used to document and certify training conducted under Part 48. However, Part 46 requires additional information not collected on Form 5000-23: 1) the duration of the training; and 2) the name of the competent person who provided the training. Part 46 also requires that the person designated to be responsible for the health and safety training at the mine, as listed on the Part 46 training plan, sign the certificate. If you wish to keep one set of training records to comply with both sets of regulations, you should use Form 5000-23, and include the additional information required by Part 46 on the form.
105.	Q. If one competent person conducted training in one subject and another conducted training in another subject (e.g., first aid), are the names of each subject and competent person required to be recorded? A. Yes. Under § 46.9(b), the records of training must include the name of the competent person who provided the training. If more than one competent person provided the training, the names of all persons must be included.
106.	Q. Is it acceptable to list more than one miner on a record or certificate of training? A. Yes. Part 46 allows operators flexibility in choosing the appropriate form for records of training, provided that the form used includes the minimum information specified in § 46.9(b)(1) through (b)(5).
107.	Q. Section 46.9(b) requires that the training certificate indicate the "location of training." What does "location of training" mean? A. "Location of training" means the site where the training was provided. If training was given at the mine site, the record should indicate this. If training was given at a local community college, the training record should list the name and address of the community college.
108.	Q. Who is responsible for certifying that training has been completed? A. The person who has been designated by the operator or independent contractor as responsible for health and safety training is required to certify, by signature, that training has been completed. This should not be confused with the "competent person" who conducts the training. For example, a state, vocational school, or cooperative instructor, listed in a training plan, may conduct the training and be recorded as the competent person for each subject they teach. The person who is designated as the person responsible for Part 46, as indicated on the training plan, must certify that the training was completed.
109.	Q. Are these records required to be made available to MSHA? A. Yes. You must make available at the mine a copy of each miner's training records and certificates for inspection by us and for examination by miners and their representatives. This includes both certified training records and records that have not yet been certified.
110.	Q. Are training records required to be maintained on the mine site? A. Part 46 requires that training records and certificates be "available" for inspection by MSHA and by miners and their representatives. This means that if you do not physically keep these records at the mine site, you must be able to quickly produce them upon request, such as by having them sent from another location via fax machine or computer. Records that are certified, need to be presented with a signature of the person responsible for health and safety training.
111.	Q. Are training records required to be maintained on the mine site and why is there a difference in the time required to make a training plan available for inspection and the time required to make training certificates available for inspection? A. Operators and contractors must make available for inspection by MSHA and by miners and their representatives training plans, training records and certificates. If you do not physically keep the training plan, training records or certificates at the mine site, you must be able to produce them upon request; such as by having them sent from another location via fax machine or computer. Training plans must be made available within one business day, but training records, and certificates with the signature of the person responsible for health and safety training, must be made available before inspection activity at the mine concludes for the day. The reason for the difference is a matter of urgency. If a miner is untrained or improperly trained, it is a hazard to the miner and to other miners. You must make the training records and certificates available to the inspector at the mine site. The inspector may choose, as a matter of convenience, to inspect the records at the office or location where the records are maintained or have them faxed to an MSHA office for his or her inspection that day.
112.	Q. Are new miners required to keep copies of their training certificates on their person for inspection by MSHA personnel? A. No. Production-operators and independent contractors, not miners, are responsible for making and maintaining required miner training records and certificates, and producing the records and certificates upon request by MSHA or by miners or their representatives.
113.	Q. Are training certificates required for people who are not considered miners under Part 46? A. No. You are not required to make records of site-specific hazard awareness training for persons who are not miners under section 46.2. However, you must be able to provide evidence to us, upon request, that the training was provided. This evidence may include the training materials used, including appropriate warning signs, written information distributed to persons, or a visitor log book that reflects that site-specific hazard awareness training has been given.