Carl Baisden, the director of the Academy for Mine Training and Energy Technology at Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College, guides a visiting Chinese delegation through the academy’s facility in Logan.
By Dennis Jarvis, II
When you hear the term “outsourcing,” it is usually associated with corporations and organizations seeking cost-effective employment needs in markets outside of their region or outside the United States. The definition of this trend, however, has begun to change as the international coal industry has turned to the Mountain State for its mine safety and rescue knowledge and expertise. Two of West Virginia’s higher education institutions now share the state’s rich knowledge in these fields with the international coal industry.
West Virginia University (WVU) and Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College (SWVCTC) have become recognized in the Mid-Atlantic and Appalachian regions as centers of excellence for the type of training now being sought by international groups looking for information on training programs. In some cases, they are also engaging in training at these schools.
The similarities between the programs at WVU and SWVCTC go beyond the training and shared resources, such as the 5DT simulated continuous miner and truck loader. The two schools also share a bond and a mission on the mandate for training in the region of the Appalachian coal fields. Jim Dean, the director of the WVU Mining Extension Service Program, and Carl Baisden, the director of the Academy for Mine Training and Energy Technology at SWVCTC, meet on a regular basis to discuss innovations and training needs in the mining industry to ensure the mine safety training the two schools offer to both students and visiting delegations are in line with the current trends of the mining industry.
West Virginia University
In 2009, WVU opened the Academy for Mine Training and Energy Technologies, which runs a simulated underground coal mine for the academy’s training programs. In line with the academy’s motto of “So others may live,” the WVU Mining Extension Service has worked tirelessly to train mining professionals in a variety of programs, from apprentice miner classes for surface and underground mining to advanced classes like mine foreman continuing education, diesel training and mine electrical training. Since 2009, the academy has trained more than 15,000 miners in an 80-100 mile radius of Morgantown through both the training facility and a mobile SCR (self-contained breathing respirator) training facility.
While WVU doesn’t promote their mine safety training facility in Dolly Run, located in Monongalia County, the reputation of the academy has spread quickly and far beyond the state’s borders through word of mouth. The facility has hosted mining delegations from 10 states as well as a delegation from Australia and four from China.
According to statistics, the Chinese mining industry is one of the deadliest in the international mining community. With an increased demand for energy and coal, Chinese mining officials have developed a new acumen for enhanced safety and mine safety rescue teams. A Chinese delegation recently toured the Dolly Run facility to study mine safety practices developed and implemented by the federal mining agencies. The ultimate goal of this fact-finding mission was to gather the best practices
of the western mining industry to improve health and safety conditions in the Chinese mining industry.
According to reports, Chinese officials were pleased with the visit.
“We came here to see western technology in mine safety,” says Ma Heping, the deputy bureau chief of the Party Leadership Group. “We want to learn the technology to improve mine safety in our country.”
The ultimate outcome of the sessions with the various international delegations has been two-fold: replication of the training facilities at Dolly Run in countries like Australia, as well as a new dialogue and options for improving mining technology. “The interest from the various delegations that have visited is a testimony to our program,” says Dean. “WVU is being recognized as an international leader in mine safety training.”
Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College
The Academy for Mine Training and Energy Technology at SWVCTC, located in Logan, WV, offers classes for apprentice miners as well as refresher training and other federal and state required training needs for other members of the mining industry. The academy also operates as a training facility for mine safety rescue teams. The academy’s facility occupies a three-story former cold storage warehouse in downtown Logan, and each floor has been converted into training and classroom space with underground mine equipment simulation labs, a mine rescue ready room, a simulated mining environment of high and low coal seams and a mine rescue chamber.
The recent mining accidents at Sago, Aracoma and Upper Big Branch have provided the concept for the design and the implementation of the focus of training mine safety rescue teams at the academy.
“After Sago and Aracoma, mine safety rescue was transformed with new equipment, new techniques and a new focus on training,” says Baisden. “We saw the need for an advanced training center for mine safety rescue, and we worked with the State of West Virginia and private companies to incorporate new training programs that would bring advanced training into areas like life support underground, the ability to extricate miners from equipment and rescue chambers.”
The academy at SWVCTC has trained more than 22,000 students since coming online in 2006 and is utilized by mine safety rescue teams for training industry leaders, including CONSOL Energy and Alpha Natural Resources, as well as state and federal mine rescue teams.
In the fall of 2011, officials from SWVCTC and its academy joined a delegation of mining officials and industry leaders for a tour of the mining operations in several provinces of China. The purpose of the trade mission was to promote safety equipment innovations and introduce coal mining vendors from West Virginia to China. Under the direction of Joanne Tomblin, the First Lady of West Virginia and the president of SWVCTC, an agreement was reached to provide training for Chinese mine safety rescue teams at the Logan-based facility. A different team or delegation is trained every five to six weeks.
The programs focus on specific aspects of enhanced mine safety training, including real-time emergency situations in several mining environments and hands-on learning with new and enhanced mine safety technologies and equipment, including communication and tracking systems and escape chambers. The program also helps the visiting delegations develop an understanding of emergency response and emergency management techniques, and it assists them in understanding western mine safety regulations while providing the template for development of new safety regulations for China.
The academy at SWVCTC hosted one team in early September from the Shanxi Province. The delegation, consisting of mining executives, mining engineers and coal operations and safety management officials, represented a highly structured mining operation that consists of 2,000 mining operations and nearly 22,000 employees.
The clear advantage of this partnership with the People’s Republic of China and SWVCTC’s academy is the ability for the staff and trainers at the academy to understand and communicate with the delegations. “Mining is a brotherhood, a fraternity,” Baisden says. “When we talk about mining techniques and aspects of the industry, we all speak the same language.”
Our adopted state song, “Country Roads,” contains the lyric, “Country Roads, take me home.” These roads now bring international recognition to the dedication of our educators, our training facilities and our mine safety professionals. This is, indeed, an honor for the entire Mountain State.
Photography by Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College
