Mining Training Courses for MSHA Certification

Let's face it, training videos can be a real snooze fest.  I've seen so many - some have been for my actual jobs, and the others I've seen because I review industrial safety products.

I've recently become aware of the Convergence Training Company, and they really seem to be embracing the idea of making training videos more informational without sacrificing high production qualities.  Today, I'm offering my opinions about the Surface Miner Training - Basic - Training DVDs

What I like about the Convergence series is that they don't go the weird background music route, and they have decided to do most of their videos using a relatively advanced computer generated images (CGI) for training video producers.

What you end up with is specific, accurate miner training information that will help your operation gain MSHA compliance, particularly Title 30 CFR - Part 46 regulations.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration is a division of the U.S. Department of Labor, and with help from the CDC's NIOSH studies and recommendations, the MSHA regulates mining operations in order to maintain a nationally-consistent level of safe working environments for mining employees, contractors, and other staff.

This particular DVD set covers the basics of surface mining, and will give your new employees MSHA compliant knowledge in a relative short amount of time. It's also great as a refresher course for more experienced miners who maybe need to get some more hours of required training time in.

Everything is very clear and these modules give "no-nonsense" explanations of each aspect of basic surface mining procedures, from proper use of mining equipment, emergency training, to PPE use.  The narration is clear, concise, and the graphics are easy to understand and won't bore your employees to tears.

That's the whole point!

Check out the rest of the Convergence Training Videos!

Amazon vs Ebay

I've been toying with buying an Epson LCD projector for awhile now--specifically the Epson EX7210.  I've read all the reviews at Amazon and CNET, but I've been wondering whether I should buy it through Amazon, or Ebay.

Frankly, I haven't used Ebay for a long time, as it seems to be a haven for scammers, but I don't really have any other guarantee that Amazon is scam-free either--the only thing they've got going for them is that you can buy directly from them and cut out the possible middle men or scammers.

Bottom line is that Amazon makes me feel a lot safer to buy from than Ebay nowadays.

Why have an emergency spill response plan?

I was walking around or facility the other day, and I was amazed by the amount of leaky oil drums.  They all had those spill containment pallet things, but they still leak--I didn't realize how leaky they were, I guess.  Because I like to review things, I asked a passing maintenance guy about whether they liked those pallets, or would rather fix the drum.  He said, whether they fix the drum or not, they have to have the pallet--because of their plan for emergency spill response.

As I am not actually in a place where I have to know what the heck that is, I asked him what it is.   He said it's from OSHA, so I looked it up.  Actually, it is within the OSHA 1910 parameters, and it pertains to each industrial facility having some kind of emergency containment contingency plan in case of spills.  And, in most cases, the ony way to contain multiple drums of oil is to keep them inside a plastic pallet with some kind of high berm.