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FY 14-15: Agency Priority Goal
Secure safe and healthy workplaces, particularly in high-risk industries.
Priority Goal
Goal Overview
Each year, thousands of workers are killed and millions are injured on the job due to unsafe working conditions.[1] Department of Labor (DOL) agencies charged with improving workplace safety and health will use rigorous enforcement, science-based rulemaking, and stakeholder involvement to achieve this crucial strategic goal.
All workers have a right to a safe and healthful work environment. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) recognize that some workers are more vulnerable than others and that some workplaces are more hazardous than others. By strategically conducting inspections and outreach in high-risk areas, in addition to completing mandated enforcement activity, DOL expects to have the greatest effect on overall compliance. With more employers in compliance, workplace injuries, fatalities, and illnesses should decline – the ultimate outcome for DOL and American workers.
Therefore, the Department will continue its commitment to the Agency Priority Goal of reducing injuries, illnesses and fatalities.
[1] 2011 Injuries, Illnesses and Fatalities. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Available at www.bls.gov/iif/.
Strategies
OSHA’s mission is to ensure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education, and assistance. OSHA accomplishes this mission under its statutory responsibility through the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) using enforcement, regulatory, and compliance assistance strategies. OSHA obtains compliance with the OSH Act in part by the physical inspection of worksites and facilities, along with appropriate penalties and citations that require abatement by encouraging cooperation between employers and employees to secure safe and healthy workplaces and by providing training, outreach, education, and assistance.
The tracking of abatement of workplace hazards related to falls will serve as a valuable indicator of whether workplaces are being made safer and healthier. OSHA will meet this goal by continuing to implement inspection-emphasis programs that target high-hazard workplaces and serious fall hazards. These programs include National Emphasis Programs, Local Emphasis Programs, the Severe Violators Enforcement Program, and the Construction Targeting Program. OSHA will also continue to inspect workplaces with potential serious fall hazards, as identified through imminent danger reports, fatality and severe injury reports, complaints, referrals, and follow-ups. In addition, OSHA will continue to provide compliance assistance and outreach to help employers and employees improve safety and health in the workplace. OSHA's outreach will continue with programs such as the Fall Prevention campaign and 2015 National Stand-down in Construction.
MSHA's mission is to prevent death, disease, and injury from mining and promote safe and healthful workplaces for the Nation’s miners. The five-year rolling average of fatal injuries per 200,000 hours worked fell by 33% in five years - from 0.0187 in FY 2010 to 0.0125 in FY 2015. These reductions are attributed to a number of factors, including stronger enforcement and regulation, better use of technology, safer mining practice, and improved training. The goal of zero mining deaths - a day when fatal accidents in mining are an anomaly - has become more than just an aspiration. Preliminary information for FY 2015 shows that there were 14 coal mining deaths, the lowest number of deaths in coal mining history in a fiscal year. These coal mining deaths in FY 2015 were down from 18 in FY 2014. That follows the trend in CY 2014 in the coal mining industry with the fewest deaths in mining history at 16. While mine closures had some impact, fatal rates last year show that 2014 was also one of the safest years on record. For metal and nonmetal mining, preliminary information for FY 2015 shows that there were 23 metal nonmetal deaths, down from the 29 deaths in FY 2014. In response to the trend of increased metal and nonmetal mining deaths that began in late 2013, MSHA has enhanced enforcement, and conducted extensive education and outreach. MSHA has engaged with stakeholders and issued policy and informational notices to bring about improved mine site examinations and safety and health programs. In FY 2014, MSHA initiated quarterly calls with mining industry trainers to update them on training matters and get their feedback on how we can help them to better train up our Nation’s miners to make mines safer. MSHA is also engaging them in our efforts to reverse the trend of mining deaths at metal and nonmetal mines.
The foundation of MSHA's enforcement regime is mandatory inspections, two times per year at surface mines and four times per year at underground mines. This universal enforcement program has been critical in providing protections to all miners and advancing a culture of safety and health. They are also the key to MSHA's ability to focus attention on the greatest areas of need. Having comprehensive and dynamic data through the inspection process enables MSHA to address problems both at the mine level, and monitor and address health and safety trends on an industry-wide or sector-wide basis. MSHA's strategies include: Targeting Impact inspections; Implementing Pattern of Violations; Rules to Live By; Enhanced enforcement of examinations requirements for operator compliance (Final exam rule); Special Enforcement review for injunctive action candidates and the Scofflaw Program.
MSHA will apply targeted inspections based on mine conditions, screen mines for inclusion in the Pattern of Violations (POV) program, and in egregious cases of non-compliance will work the Office of Solicitor (SOL) to seek injunctive relief or pursue criminal actions against scofflaw operators. These programs allow MSHA to use its authority under the Federal Mine Safety Act of 1977 (Mine Act) and the associated health and safety standards and regulations to bring chronic violators into compliance. MSHA will also continue working within its internal review team to increase enforcement effectiveness and efficiency.
As a result of the increase in metal and nonmetal mining deaths, MSHA has increased communication and sharing of best practices with mine associations and operators. More than 300 trainers have joined a quarterly call and more than 7,000 have signed up for email alerts on training issues. In addition, MSHA enforcement personnel conducted safety "walks and talks" with miners and operators to increase awareness of recent fatalities and encourage them to apply their safety training and remain vigilant for unsafe conditions.
Progress Update
MSHA
MSHA continues to use improved practices begun after the Upper Big Branch (UBB) disaster to address noncompliance. MSHA's Impact Inspection program, targeting specific mines with compliance problems, is an important tool in agency enforcement efforts. Many of the inspections conducted under this program identified and cited previously concealed hazards and focused on poor compliance history or particular compliance concerns.
Evidence indicates this approach is working. From April 2010 through September 2015, MSHA conducted 1,025 impact inspections and issued 15,112 citations, 1,281 orders and 57 safeguards. A review of mines that received impact inspections since April 2010 shows that overall compliance is improving at these mines. As of March 31, 2015, violations per inspection hour decreased 18 percent, significant and substantial (S&S) violation rates decreased 28 percent, and rates of Section 104(d) violations for operators' unwarrantable failure to comply with mandatory safety and health standards decreased 55 percent. The lost time injury rate decreased four percent compared to the 12 months prior to each mine's first impact inspection.
In FY 2013, MSHA published a final rule to revise its regulation implementing Section 104(e) of the Mine Act's Pattern of Violation (POV) provision. The old rule did not adequately achieve the intent of the Mine Act to address operators who have demonstrated a disregard for the safety and health of miners. The new rule simplifies the existing POV criteria, improves consistency in applying the POV criteria, and more adequately achieves the statutory intent. It also encourages chronic violators to comply with the Mine Act and MSHA's safety and health standards. Evidence from the POV process shows similar compliance improvement by operators. In 2010, the first year of the reforms, MSHA identified 51 mines meeting the screening criteria for further consideration for a POV notice. Since then there has been steady improvement, with 39 mines identified in the screening in 2011 and 20 mines identified in 2012. This is a 61 percent reduction between 2010 and 2012, using the same POV screening criteria. During the most recent screening in 2015, only one coal mine warranted further review. Upon completion of the review, no coal or metal and nonmetal mines met the criteria for further consideration of a POV notice. Not only are fewer mines being identified, but compliance with health and safety conditions at mines identified through the POV process has improved. As of March 31, 2015, the following impact on compliance at those mines compared to the six months prior to each mine's evaluation period shows the violations per inspection hour among the mines decreased 39 percent, S&S violation rates decreased by 64 percent and the rate of unwarrantable failure violations decreased by 82 percent. The lost time injury rate dropped by 50 percent compared to the 12 months prior to each mine's evaluation period. Moreover, the number of S&S violations dropped by 40 percent at the top 200 mines nationally since the 2010 POV reforms were put in place. During the 2010 screening period, there were about 20,000 S&S violations issued at the top 200 mines. Six years later, during the 2015 screening period, 12,000 S&S violations were issued, a significant reduction
MSHA has also taken a number of actions to give miners a better voice in the workplace on their own safety and health. In addition to swiftly responding to safety and health complaints by miners, MSHA, working with the Office of the Solicitor, filed 35 actions for temporary reinstatements, the second largest after 2012, when we filed 40.
MSHA is focusing on common causes of injuries to miners: developing ways to better understand what injuries and illnesses are occurring and where in the country they are occurring; and developing working relationships with stakeholders to understand needs and develop guidance and outreach to assist.
Sampling taken during the first year of the Respirable Coal Mine Dust Rule shows that compliance with the Rule is achievable. Of the 61,885 samples that operators and MSHA collected from coal mines during the first year of the Rule---August 1, 2014 through July 31, 2015--- about 99 percent did not exceed the compliance level. Moreover, operators’ average concentrations with the greatest dust exposures are at a new record low of .65 milligrams per cubic meter of air (mg/m3), which is far below the 1.5mg/m3 standard that will be effective on August 1, 2016 when the last phase of the Rule is implemented. That yearly average has dropped to historic lows each year following the End Black Lung –Act Now campaign launched in late 2009.
In FY 2015, MSHA continues on-site monitoring of approved instructors to ensure they are providing effective health and safety training to miners. MSHA is placing special emphasis on evaluation of contract instructors. MSHA has conducted 953 approved instructor evaluations in as of June 30, 2015.
MSHA has launched a number of initiatives to improve the Agency’s support for training in the mining industry. The small mines field staff and educational field services staff merged into a single unit -- now the Educational Field and Small Mine Services (EFSMS) -- to better serve the mining community. This merger is paying off, and MSHA is able to reach a greater number of small mines and work more directly with state mining associations and mining stakeholders. This has resulted in improved working relations within MSHA and invaluable support for initiatives such as the recent ones aimed at reducing metal and nonmetal mining deaths. MSHA added a new training page on the MSHA.gov website to provide training information and training material to the mining industry. There is also a new industry page for operators to share their training materials with mining community and a new Part 50 training tool designed to assist mines on reporting of injuries and illnesses.
"Rules to Live By": Phase I of this multiphase initiative focused on the most common mining deaths and standards cited in mining death investigations. Phase II focused on preventing catastrophic accidents, and Phase III highlights 14 safety standards chosen because violations related to each have been cited as contributing at least five mining accidents and at least five deaths during a 10-year period from 2001 - 2010.
Clarifying regulations and processes: A key aspect of improving safety through outreach has been MSHA's efforts to improve compliance by clarifying its standards. Working with stakeholders, MSHA has implemented special initiatives to assist operators' compliance with MSHA standards, such as Guarding I and Guarding II that provide information on compliance with MSHA's guarding standards: the Fall Protection policy that uses OSHA's rule as guidance, and the new Ladder guidance, rolled out on February 5, 2014.
MSHA is improving data collection to better understand what diseases and injuries miners are experiencing and where by working with the public health community and stakeholders with the goal of improving enforcement and regulatory strategies. In FY 2013, MSHA established an occupational health working group that will provide cross-agency support on health hazards affecting miners.
In early 2010, MSHA began an initiative to identify gaps in the nation’s mine emergency capabilities. A number of stakeholder meetings and a Mine Rescue Summit were held at MSHA’s Mine Academy to get their feedback and help on developing a plan. MSHA has made amazing progress since that time by developing and deploying state-of-the-art mine rescue technology; creating the Holmes Mine Rescue Association designating October 30th as “Mine Rescue Day;” and updating mine rescue training and revamping national mine rescue training contests. Part of this initiative included fully-equipped mine rescue stations across the country. MSHA now has a Madisonville Mine Rescue Station, which was opened in September and has state-of-the-art technology. This station joins the other stations in Pittsburgh, PA; Price, Utah; and Beckley, WV.
Another area where MSHA has made significant improvement, thanks to help from Congress, is in reducing the backlog of contested citations pending before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission. MSHA and Officer of the Solicitor (SOL) have worked together to reduce the total caseload to less than 20,000 citations as of July, 2015, from nearly 89,000 at the end of FY 2010, a 78 percent decrease.
In January 2012, MSHA implemented a pre-contest conferencing process to resolve citations before they become a matter for litigation. As of September, 2015, MSHA had conferenced about 17,000 violations, 60 percent of which were not contested. In addition to litigation, MSHA has taken other steps to reduce the backlog, such as improving the consistency of enforcement and implementing its examination rule in underground coal mines, a rule which requires operators to affirmatively find and fix violations of nine standards associated with ventilation, methane, roof control, combustible materials, rock dust, other safeguards, and guarding as violations of these standards, create unsafe conditions for underground coal miners.
In May 2015, MSHA launched an initiative requiring quarterly reports to be sent to MSHA Districts and Field Office Supervisors (FOS) showing summary results of contested citations and orders including the summary of changes to improve efficiency, consistency and sustaining of citations and orders. Some MSHA field offices did not receive the results of the citations and orders issued by their offices and were unaware of the overall results of the contested violations. Some field offices had a wider range of modifications of contested citations and orders than others. The newly implemented web tool contains data on all settled citations and orders and will allow MSHA districts and field office supervisors to drill down into each settled citation and order to determine what was modified.
On September 30, 2015, MSHA announced it had provided $8.441 million in grants to 47 states and the Navaho Nation. These grants support safety and health training courses and other programs.
In September 2015, MSHA launched its newly designed intranet. MSHAnet has an entirely new and sleek platform resulting in a page that is less cluttered and more user- friendly. Navigating the site is more intuitive and information easier to find as the content has been organized into a logical hierarchy. Plus, the team spearheading the intranet and internet revamp has made some of the most popular content easily accessible via a new “Quick Links” menu. It will be used to improve communications to MSHA staff with content about MSHA work added daily.
OSHA
In Q4 of FY 2015, OSHA continued to focus on preventing fall hazards through inspection targeting. OSHA published the National Campaign to Prevent Falls in Construction Final Report on the 2014 & 2015 Safety Stand-Downs, which indicated that thousands of employers received certificates, and over 1 million workers and over 1.5 million military and civilian personnel participated in the Stand-Downs OSHA partnered with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Center for Protection of Workers' Rights (CPWR), and the Department of Defense on the Stand-Downs. Fall protection continues to be the number one violation cited by OSHA. Falls are also the leading cause of death in the construction industry and account for 20% of all serious injuries. OSHA has National and Local Emphasis Plans (NEPs and LEPs), as well as a Strategic Plan that directs Compliance Safety and Health Officers (CSHOs) to those establishments with the most significant risk of fall hazards. In FY 2015, preliminary data shows that OSHA conducted about 11,024 inspections of worksites as a result of these programs, and about 9,133 fall-related violations were abated in FY 2015. This level of attention and proactive enforcement will directly impact the workers at these establishments by requiring abatement. More generally, this enforcement activity will alert and educate other employers about fall hazards in the industries affected and in the local areas. It will also serve to incentivize employers to proactively assess and address fall hazards in order to avoid enforcement actions.
OSHA will also address establishments and corporations which have been shown to have serious fall hazards and react with callous indifference to serious fall hazards. OSHA has several programs which can be applied to achieve positive outcomes in these situations. These programs include the Severe Violators Enforcement Program and the Corporate-Wide Settlement Agreement program.
This Agency Priority Goal will continue as a Department of Labor APG in FYs 2016 and 2017.
Next Steps
No Data Available
Expand All
Performance Indicators
Five-year rolling average of fatal injuries per 200,000 hours worked (All MSHA Rate) / Five-year total of hours worked
Number of hazards abated associated with falls in construction
Number of hazards abated associated with falls in general industry
Contributing Programs & Other Factors
Federal Agencies: EPA, NRC and USDA (through cooperative MOUs)
DOL Agencies: OSHA, SOL, OTI
Programs: Fall Strategic plan, National Emphasis Program, Severe Violators Emphasis Program, Corporate-Wide Settlement Agreement program, Site-Specific Targeting Program
Expand All
Strategic Goals
Strategic Goal:
Ensure workplaces are safe and healthy
Statement:
Ensure workplaces are safe and healthy
Strategic Objectives
Statement:
Secure safe and healthy workplaces, particularly in high-risk industries.
Description:
In the wealthiest Nation on earth, no mother or father should have to die for a paycheck. America’s working men and women deserve the opportunity to provide for their families without unnecessary risk to their health, safety, and livelihood. The Labor Department both promotes and protects the opportunity that has made America the country it is today, and American families are safer, more secure, and more prosperous because of it.
All workers have a right to a safe and healthful work environment. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) recognize that some workers are more vulnerable than others and that some workplaces are more hazardous than others. By strategically scheduling inspections and outreach in high-risk areas, in addition to completing mandated enforcement activity, DOL expects to have the greatest effect on overall compliance. With more employers in compliance, workplace injuries, fatalities, and illnesses should decline – the ultimate outcome for DOL and American workers and a critical component of the Secretary’s vision.
Agency Priority Goals
Statement:
By September 30, 2015, increase the number of abated workplace hazards associated with falls, through inspections at workplaces covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and reduce worker fatality rates in mining by five percent per year based on a rolling five-year average.
Description:
Each year, thousands of workers are killed and millions are injured on the job due to unsafe working conditions.[1] Department of Labor (DOL) agencies charged with improving workplace safety and health will use rigorous enforcement, science-based rulemaking, and stakeholder involvement to achieve this crucial strategic goal.
All workers have a right to a safe and healthful work environment. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) recognize that some workers are more vulnerable than others and that some workplaces are more hazardous than others. By strategically conducting inspections and outreach in high-risk areas, in addition to completing mandated enforcement activity, DOL expects to have the greatest effect on overall compliance. With more employers in compliance, workplace injuries, fatalities, and illnesses should decline – the ultimate outcome for DOL and American workers.
Therefore, the Department will continue its commitment to the Agency Priority Goal of reducing injuries, illnesses and fatalities.
[1] 2011 Injuries, Illnesses and Fatalities. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Available at www.bls.gov/iif/.
Strategic Objectives
Strategic Objective:
Secure safe and healthy workplaces, particularly in high-risk industries
Statement:
Secure safe and healthy workplaces, particularly in high-risk industries.
Description:
In the wealthiest Nation on earth, no mother or father should have to die for a paycheck. America’s working men and women deserve the opportunity to provide for their families without unnecessary risk to their health, safety, and livelihood. The Labor Department both promotes and protects the opportunity that has made America the country it is today, and American families are safer, more secure, and more prosperous because of it.
All workers have a right to a safe and healthful work environment. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) recognize that some workers are more vulnerable than others and that some workplaces are more hazardous than others. By strategically scheduling inspections and outreach in high-risk areas, in addition to completing mandated enforcement activity, DOL expects to have the greatest effect on overall compliance. With more employers in compliance, workplace injuries, fatalities, and illnesses should decline – the ultimate outcome for DOL and American workers and a critical component of the Secretary’s vision.
Agency Priority Goals
Statement: By September 30, 2015, increase the number of abated workplace hazards associated with falls, through inspections at workplaces covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and reduce worker fatality rates in mining by five percent per year based on a rolling five-year average.
Description: Each year, thousands of workers are killed and millions are injured on the job due to unsafe working conditions.[1] Department of Labor (DOL) agencies charged with improving workplace safety and health will use rigorous enforcement, science-based rulemaking, and stakeholder involvement to achieve this crucial strategic goal. All workers have a right to a safe and healthful work environment. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) recognize that some workers are more vulnerable than others and that some workplaces are more hazardous than others. By strategically conducting inspections and outreach in high-risk areas, in addition to completing mandated enforcement activity, DOL expects to have the greatest effect on overall compliance. With more employers in compliance, workplace injuries, fatalities, and illnesses should decline – the ultimate outcome for DOL and American workers. Therefore, the Department will continue its commitment to the Agency Priority Goal of reducing injuries, illnesses and fatalities. [1] 2011 Injuries, Illnesses and Fatalities. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Available at www.bls.gov/iif/.
