Training Plan Requirements and Approval
What this domain tests
You must know who writes, approves, updates, and keeps the training plan, and what the plan must contain. The central contrast is Part 48's MSHA-approved plan versus Part 46's operator-maintained plan.
Core rules
- Part 48: the operator submits a written training plan to the MSHA District Manager and may not conduct training under it until MSHA approves it. The plan identifies the mine and operator, course content and objectives, hours, instructors and their qualifications, facilities and materials, evaluation methods, and records.
- Part 48 changes-new instructor, new course, revised hours-require plan revision and MSHA approval before use. The approved plan must be available at the mine.
- Part 46: the operator prepares and maintains the plan; it is not submitted for MSHA approval. It must be available for inspection and must identify competent persons, course content, hours, and records. The operator updates it as conditions change.
- Both parts require training to be delivered as written and documented; a plan that exists but is not followed is a violation.
- MSHA can review either plan and require correction; lack of approval does not make a deficient Part 46 plan acceptable.
Worked example
A Part 48 underground coal mine wants to add a new task-training module and a new instructor. The operator must submit a plan revision and obtain MSHA approval before the instructor teaches under the plan; a supervisor's verbal authorization is not enough. At a Part 46 sand and gravel pit, adding a new competent person requires updating the operator-maintained plan and verifying the person's qualifications, but no MSHA approval is required.
Traps
- Saying MSHA "approves" Part 46 plans. It does not.
- Assuming a Part 48 plan approved for one mine automatically covers another mine or a contractor.
- Listing only hours and omitting instructors, content, and records.
- Conducting training first and seeking approval afterward.
- Treating the plan as a file-cabinet document rather than the operating procedure.