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	System Safety Evaluation Program

As a result of a number of accidents and incidents involving mining machinery utilizing programmable electronics, MSHA and The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) have entered into a joint effort and developed a set of recommendation documents for addressing the functional safety of programmable electronics for mining. The recommendations are organized to form a risk-based safety framework, based on a system safety process, that considers the interfaces and interaction between the mining machinery hardware, software, human interface, and the operating environment for the equipment's full life cycle. The equipment's life cycle includes the stages of design, certification, commissioning, operation, maintenance and decommissioning.

These recommendation documents are intended to provide assistance to manufacturers and end users of complex mining equipment incorporating programmable electronics in addressing hazards associated with the design, operation and maintenance of their equipment. Equipment applications where these recommendations are applicable and where a number of accidents and incidents have occurred include remote controlled mining equipment, and longwall mining systems. The recommendations are organized into five sections :

Programmable Electronic Mining Systems:
Best Practice Recommendations (In Nine Parts)

All files are PDF.

Part 1: 1.0 Introduction

Part 2: 2.1 System Safety

Part 3: 2.2 Software Safety

Part 4: 3.0 Safety File

Part 5: 4.0 Independent Functional Safety Assessment

Part 6: 5.1 System Safety Guidance

Each of the four sections, following the Safety Introduction, will be accompanied by a "guidance" document providing specific examples of compliance with the recommendations.

MSHA is seeking voluntary adoption of these recommendations by the mining industry.

Each of the recommendation and guidance documents will be posted on this site as they are completed. After all of the recommendation documents are completed, a Workshop will be conducted to present the voluntary system safety program to the mining industry.

For assistance, please contact

Chirdon.David@dol.gov


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