Second POV Screening of 2024 Shows No Mines Met Violations Criteria

• The results of the U.S. Department of Labor’s second Pattern of Violations screening for 2024, issued Friday found that none of the nation’s mines met the POV criteria for the existence of a pattern of violations, for the first time since 2021.
• POV screenings enable the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) to identify chronic violators and mine operators that show a disregard for miners’ health and safety. 
• For the second year in a row, the agency conducted at least two POV screenings in a calendar year.
• The MSHA conducted a POV screening of all the nation’s mines for a 12-month enforcement period ending Nov. 30, 2024.
• “MSHA’s POV screenings have helped improve compliance beyond just the mines that have met the screening criteria,” said Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health Chris Williamson.
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NY State Teachers Union Helping Implement Workplace Violence Prevention

• Staffers with the New York State Union of Teachers are now conducting workplace violence prevention training across the state after the group lobbied to have the state’s Workplace Violence Prevention Act expanded to include public schools in 2023.
• NYSUT’s two-hour “Creating Safer Schools” presentation covers best practices for integrating the legislation into educational environments.
• The legislation requires that all school districts perform a risk assessment of their employees’ working conditions, collect data on all violent incidents, and develop effective mitigation measures to prevent future incidents.
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USDA Finds Chicken, Pork Plant Workers Face Higher Risks

• Workers in U.S. chicken and pork plants face higher risks than other manufacturing workers for musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), according to two studies issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday.
• A USDA-funded study of 1,047 poultry workers at 11 plants operating at faster processing speeds found that 81% of employees were at increased risk of MSDs.
• Researchers compared their risk for carpal tunnel syndrome to another study of 4,321 manufacturing workers.
• Several workers expressed concerns about reporting pain to their supervisor due to the risk of retaliation or out of frustration that their problems would not be helped, the study said.
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 W Va Researcher Uses AR Training to Enhance Mine Safety

• A West Virginia University researcher is creating a training program that uses augmented reality headsets to prepare workers to operate around high-risk vehicles used in mining operations.
• “Powered haulage” vehicles like dump trucks and front-end loaders account for nearly 50% of all mining-related deaths, partly because they offer such limited visibility. 
• In response, WVU mining engineer Deniz Tuncay is enabling powered haulage operators and miners to enhance their awareness of blind spots and their ability to identify hazards with his augmented reality training technology, which will project blind spots directly onto the trainee operator’s surroundings.
• The research is supported by more than $173,500 from the U.S. Department of Labor Brookwood-Sago Mine Safety Grants Program.
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