A record that identifies a hazard but never connects it to a correction leaves an important operational question unanswered. MSHA's final metal and nonmetal mine rule requires the corrective-action date to appear in the examination record, either initially or through supplementation when correction occurs. Published January 23, 2017, the rule announced May 23 effectiveness rather than immediate application of its new duties. [2017-00832][2016-13218]

The documentation mechanism keeps the examiner's name, examination date, places examined and description of adverse conditions. It also requires the record before shift end. These fields connect responsibility and location to the finding. Their presence does not itself prove that an operator acts faster, but it specifies what information should exist for examining whether a condition received follow-through. [2017-00832][2016-13218]

The June 2016 proposal would have required a signature from the examiner. The final omitted that proposed requirement while retaining identity and timing information. That is a concrete change in the compliance design, not evidence of a quantified reduction in administrative cost. Both documents belong to the same agency proceeding, so their agreement on other features is not independent corroboration of benefits. [2017-00832][2016-13218]

Nor can documentation replace action. Examinations must precede work in the place concerned, while adverse findings require prompt notification and prompt initiation of correction. A later correction-date entry does not authorize delay. MSHA anticipated more effective and consistent examinations but claimed no monetized benefit; actual productivity gains, injury reductions or changes in operator behavior would require evidence beyond these regulatory texts. [2017-00832][2016-13218]

Source documents

  1. Examinations of Working Places in Metal and Nonmetal Mineshttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2017-01-23/html/2017-00832.htm
  2. Examinations of Working Places in Metal and Nonmetal Mineshttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2016-06-08/html/2016-13218.htm