Pit & Quarry, May 2018
SAFETY P Q ROUNDTABLE our locations because we have a number of operations Their expectation of us because were a larger producer is that they dont cut us any slack We spend a lot of money trying to keep up with all of the regulations and adhering to the safety policies We do that one because its good business but two there is a pretty good expense going toward requirements for MSHA that may or may not be worthwhile But regardless we spend a lot of money on it And we dont see equal enforcement HAL WILLIFORD MEMPHIS STONE GRAVEL CO I think theres room for optimism with the MSHA alliance with the National Stone Sand Gravel Association and just the sheer fact that weve got some people from our industry that are going to be part of MSHA now Its got to improve From our companys standpoint former MSHA assistant secretary Joe Main when he said he was going to get rid of some of the bad actors out there we saw a big improvement in our area in our region We had a few inspectors that were just over the top and they were removed It took some political pull to have that happen but when it did we saw a much better relationship between operations managers and the MSHA inspectors that would come PAT JACOMET OAIMA I would add this One of the things that Joe Main did that I thought was very positive for the industry and our relationship with MSHA was go to regional meetings and meet with state associations and producers in the area When he first started doing that early in his tenure there were a lot of issues and a lot of inconsistencies in application of the Mine Act That did get better over his 48 PIT QUARRY May 2018 pitandquarry com PHOTO BY KEVIN YANIK Some aggregate producers would like MSHA to become a better educational partner and proactively work with them so they can operate more safely
You must have JavaScript enabled to view digital editions.
