Ic8886 Meeting Needs Of Small Mine Operator

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MEETING THE NEEDS OF THE SMALL-MINE OPERATOR 1

by Thomas H. Savage2 and Nettie Farkas3

ABSTRACT

The Department of the Interior1 s Bureau of Mines, through a contract awarded to the the Mining Extension Service of West Virginia University are currently engaged in assessing the needs of the small-mine operators and developing mechanisms through which these needs can be met. The project will provide concepts, materials, and vehicles of delivery for miner training not currently available to the small-mine operator. This paper reports on the progress of this project. In particular, the method of assessment being used to identify the needs of the small-mine operator, the types of materials and delivery systems being developed in response to these needs, and the conclusions and recommendations that are developing from this project will be dis-

cussed. INTRODUCTION

The Bureau of Mines reports that over 60 percent of the mining operations in the United States employ less than 50 people. Because such operations do not contain the support personnel found in the management structure of larger operations, it may be assumed that this segment of the industry has substantially different training needs than larger operations. To date, though, there has been little research to identify these needs.

The Bureau of Mines and Mining Extension Service of West Virginia University are currently engaged in assessing the needs of the small underground coal mine operator, and are developing mechanisms through which these needs can be met. This project is an attempt to meet the expressed needs of the industry to design instructional materials and to develop a delivery system specifically applicable in the small mine setting.

THE SMALL MINE OPERATION--IIHAT CRITERIA For the purposes of this project, a mine will be categorized as small mine if (1) it has 50 or less employees and (2) there is a limited management structure serving the mine. The first criterion for the category, small mine, is a fairly common one. The second criterion was established in order to eliminate small mines that are operated by major coal producers. This is not a common criterion and bears further explanation. 'This work was conducted under Bureau of Mines contract J0188053. 2Associate director.

3Curriculum designer. Both authors are with Mining Extension Service, West Virginia University,

Morgantown, 1/. Va.

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Several large coal companies (such as Island Creek and Peabody) operate mines with 50 or fewer employees. Unlike the typical small mine, however, these mines have at their disposal the management, and safety and training resources of a major coal company. For this reason, it was decided that they should be excluded from the small-mine category, and so the second criterion was established. APPROACH TO THE PROJECT

This is a I-year project that will culminate in the development of information materials to aid small-mine operators in their day-to-day operations. The work of this project can be divided into two phases: assessment and curriculum development. The assessment phase entails identifying the small -mine operator's problems and needs and identifying the mechanisms that can be developed to meet these needs. To accomplish this, the decision was made to conduct a personal interview with a sampling of small-mine operations. The curriculum development phase entails developing materials to meet the identified needs and designing the material to fit the delivery system or systems most appropriate for the small mine. In addition, the materials that are developed will be tested in the field. An important feature of this project is that while there are two separate functions to perform--assessment and curriculum development--there is total integration of these functions in terms of conceptualization and personnel. Often, projects deal with only one of these two areas: research or development. Or, if both functions are required, they may be staffed by two separate sets of personnel. In this project, the people who are designing the needs assessment and conducting the interviews are also the people who will be

invol ved in designing and developing the curriculum materials. The benefits of this approach are twofold. The designers of the materials will have a heightened awareness and sensitivity to the problems of the small operator due to their exposure to various operators during the assess-

ment phase. And, the designers of the materials will have a solid basis for

dealing with the first problem of any writing assignment: knowing the potential audience. Because of this integration of functions, the materials bêing produced should have greater relevancy and acceptance in the field. THE ASSESSMENT PHASE

Preliminary investigations seemed to indicate that the typical small-mine operator, although well aware of particular problems and needs, does not have the resources, the personnel, or the time to properly address and resal ve such problems. Additionally, in many instances, the programs and materials currently available do not provide delivery systems appropriate to the small

operator. The needs assessment has been designed to cover the following three

broad areas: 1. The need for informational materials. What specifically is needed?

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2. The appropriate delivery system for these materials. In terms of the smaii -mine operator's situation, would instructor guides, self-study guides, seminars, etc., be most useful?

3. Is there a need for an ongoing technology transfer system? Such a system might provide a means for small operators to receive answers to their questions on various topics. It could also provide a means to inform the small operator of new developments in the field.

Personal Interviews To fulfill the assessment phase of this project, the Mining Extension Service is conducting interviews with a sampling of smaii-mine operators. The interview format was chosen because it affords the greatest flexibility. The interviewer can clarify questions for the benefit of the respondent and can ask respondents to elaborate on certain answers. Also, it allows for personal action contact between the developers of the materials and the potential users of the materials. A1 though the interviews were meant to be informal in nature, they were not intended to be unstructured. Thus, a set of questions was devised for use in the interviews. In the process of developing the set of ques tions, a few operators were contacted for their reactions to the project. Also, a few trial-run interviews were conducted to determine if the questions were clear and would elicit relevant information. The set of questions was refined and modified after these preliminary interviews.

In the final interview form, 37 questions were used and, as mentioned before, the interviewer could always solicit extra information when appropriate. The sample consisted of 20 small operators from a three-state area. These operators represent mines in northern and southern \vest Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

In terview Ques tions The questions on the interview form can be broken down into the following

5 main areas: 1. Mandatory training.

2. Safety programs. 3. Special problems of foremen, electricians, and maintenance personnel.

4. Special problems of small-mine management. 5. Effectiveness of various delivery systems and the need for the technology transfer systems.

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First, possible needs relating to mandatory training were examined. From the study by John Short and Associates4 on manpower and training needs in the mining industry, it was known that small operators find complying with state and Federal training regulations more costly than do larger operators. Also, the study found that to minimize their costs, small operators tend to use external training sources--for instance, schools, private companies, or

consultants. Although this information on the small mine and mandatory training was available, the topic requires further investigation. The authors were interested in such questions as: who does each type of mandatory training, and how worthwhile the operators believe the training to be. Furthermore, the answers to questions to be asked about training plans--who writes them and how frequently are they updated--are not directly available. In terms of safety programs, the important points of interest are what programs, either formal or informal, are now in place, and whether or not the opera tors feel they have a need for information in this area.

In terms of foremen, electricians, and maintenance personnel, the important questions to be asked are how satisfied the operators are with performance in these areas, how are people being trained in these areas, and do the operators feel there is a need for further information in any of these three

areas. The fourth category is related to the problems of small-rine management. Here the operators are asked about their backgrounds and backgrounds of their management personnel, as well as what needs they might have in terms of mine management. That is, the operators are asked if they feel they or their management personnel need information on lahar relations, on supervisory and management skills, on engineering problems, and so on.

Questions falling into the last category concern delivery systems and the problem of technology transfer. In this respect, once a particular part or topic has been identified, how should the training material or information relating to this need be written and packaged--for instance, as an instructor's guide for use in class or seminars, or, perhaps, as a self-study guide? Also, the authors are trying to determine if other nontraditional delivery formats would have value in the small operator's situation.

4Short, J., J. Harris, J. Waldo, and S. Barber. A Study to Determine the Manpower and Training Needs of the Coal Mining Industry. BuMines OFR 14-80, 1979, 145 pp.; available for reference at Bureau of Mines facilities in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Denver, Colo., Avondale, Md., Twin Cities, Minn., Rolla, Mo., Boulder City and Reno, Nev., Albany, Oreg., Pittsburgh, Pa., Salt Lake City, Utah and Spokane, Wash.; National Mine Health and Safety Academy, Beckley, W. Va.; Office of Surface Mining Library and National Library of Natural Resources, U. S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D. C.; and from National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Va. 22161,

PB 80-164472.

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Closely allied to this determination is the issue of technology transfer. A number of questions are aimed at determining what vehicles now exist for the transfer of informatiollt such as information on new regulations, technical developments, and mining techniques. In addition to determining the technology transfer systems currently in place, operators are being asked if they feel these systems are adequate, and if they have need for other systems. Specifically, operators are asked if a newsletter focusing on current information pertinent to the small-mine operator would be helpful. Also, operators are being asked if a toll-free telephone source that small-mine operators could use to ask specific questions and receive answers on lists of resource materials would be helpful.

Mining Extension Service Survey Independently, the Mining Extension Service is also conducting a formal survey of smaii~ine operators. This survey is directed toward the same main areas of i.nvestigation as the personal interviews. The survey instrument, in fact, incorporates early findings from the personal interviews for further validation, but it also builds on these findings to further probe the problems

and needs of the small opera tor. The Mining Extension Service survey is being mailed to approximately 600 smaii-mine operators throughout a seven-state area. As a mail survey, this instrument will reach a broader spectrum of small coal mines than was possible in the personal interviews. Findings from this survey will be included in the final report of this project. PRELIMINARY FINDINGS OF THE ASSESSMENT PHASE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF CURRICULUM MATERIALS

It is becoming clear that small mines do have specific needs. These needs can be linked, to a great extent, to the fact that the small mine operates with limited management personnel, and many of these people tend to have

very general mining backgrounds. The small mine often does not have people trained in such areas as safety, training, or maintenance. Also, the small mine probably does not assign people to devote their full attention to these

areas. At the time this paper was prepared, not all the data from the interviews had been completely analyzed. Early findings, however, have clearly identified certain areas of need, and curriculum development work has begun. One of these areas relates to evaluating training--for instance, what the operator should expect from training, and how operators can update and alter training plans. A second topic relates to human-relations skills, more specifically, improving the communication and human-relations skills of mine supervisors.

As the content of the curriculum materials is being determined, decisions are being made about format and delivery. It was found during the early interviews that most operators would be reluctant to release personnel for classes or multiple-day training sessions, such as workshops. With this in mind, curriculum materials are being developed and targeted directly to the

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mine personnel needing the information. Rather than instructor materials, these materials will be designed and written as booklets for self-use. For instance, one booklet may be directed to section foremen; another may be directed to the person who is responsible for setting up a safety program. If they are to gain acceptance, such materials must be highly relevant to the need. The information must be delivered in small increments and in an easyto-use format. To validate the curriculum materials being produced, a representative group of small-mine operators is currently being selected to field test the materials. Comments and alterations from these people wiii be incorporated in the final drafts of the materials.

The Mining Extension Service is also investigating a second information delivery system: informal organizations of small-mine operators. These would provide a chance for operators within a particular region to discuss issues and problems of mutual interest. Preliminary data from the interviews suggest that for every problem a particular operator has, another operator has developed a successful solution. Currently, plans are being made for the Service to set up and serve as f acili tator for a number of trial small-mine operator's roundtahles, where operators can meet to discuss one or two particular issues or problems. Although one solution may not transfer directly to another mine, a meaningful dialogue and sharing of problems and solutions among operators could prove

very valuable. What is learned from these initial roundtables could later be used in facilitating roundtables in other areas. CONCLUSIONS

From the work that has been completed so far, several preliminary findings about the needs of the small-mine operator are beginning to crystalize. For one thing, it is being discovered that the traditional delivery systems for information and materials are not appropriate. If small-mine operators are going to do more than the mandatory training, then there is a need to develop materials that are especially relevant to the small operator's situation. In particular, the materials must be learner directed. Also, the information must be delivered in snaIl increments and in easy-to-use formats. Also being investigated is the usefulness of mine operator's roundtables as a delivery system for information on particular problems. In addition to specific needs that can be addressed in booklets and guides, the authors have found that there is a need for a technology transfer system for the small operator. Toward this end, an investigation of the value of a specialized newsletter and toll-free information source is being

explored. These, however, are only the preliminary findings. Final conclusions and recommendations will be presented in the final report of this project.