Coal Age Magazine - For nearly 100 years, Coal Age has been the magazine that readers can trust for guidance and insight on this important industry.
Issue link: https://coal.epubxp.com/i/144796
alpha academy continued "The improvement the U.S. coal industry is seeing today in reduced fatalities and injury rates is a credit to everyone who has 'leaned in' to identify ways to make mine health and safety a central focus. Having said that, we are going to work vigilantly to make sure that these gains do not slip away," Main said. Quinn said the event showcases the best capabilities of the U.S. coal industry. "Alpha's Running Right Leadership academy not only demonstrates the company's commitment to the health and safety of its workforce, it also demonstrates the leadership that every industry needs: companies like Alpha to set exemplary standards for others to follow," Quinn said. "If the coal industry could be divided between leaders and followers, Alpha shows today why it's among the true leaders in our industry. "When we speak of leadership in the care and safety of our workforce, it begins with taking responsibility, and accepting ownership for ensuring that miners benefit from best-in-class training, technology, and most importantly a true culture of safety—one built on a foundation of shared commitment," Quinn said. "These are fundamental principles of both Alpha's Running Right philosophy and NMA's CORE Safety initiative." NMA's CORE Initiative has set two very clear industry-wide safety goals: zero fatalities and reduce the injury rate by 50% over the next five years. It's no coincidence the two are so closely aligned. Crutchfield was part of the team of several mining industry CEOs that set the vision and formulated the expectations for the CORE Safety initiative. "Both programs reflect a safety culture that is proactive rather than reactive," Quinn said. "Ones that analyze and anticipate what should be done to safeguard miners with a systematic approach that identifies safety challenges and then applies the appropriate resources and measures to meet them. This idea is beginning to take a firm hold in American mining." Quinn concluded by saying that history will judge [the academy dedication] as one of most transformative moments for the U.S. coal mining industry. The Road to Zero A little more than two years have passed since Massey Energy officially became part of Alpha Natural Resources. "We knew going into this we had a big piece of work ahead of us," Crutchfield said. "We knew we were squarely in the spotlight. We knew that change had to occur and expectations were high. We knew we had to make good on the promise of Running Right. A lot of things needed mending and it wasn't going to happen overnight." Crutchfield acknowledged the skeptics. Above all, he believes they wanted to see how serious Alpha was about this new Running Right program. "Today, we stay the course with this enduring answer: Nothing matters more to this company than the safety of our people," Crutchfield said. "It has to be and will continue to be at the core of everything we do." For the past two years, Alpha has set clear standards for safety and training and they have clear results to show for it. Crutchfield attributes the success to listening to the right people—the miners and the other employees whose safety hangs in the balance. "We 28 www.coalage.com July 2013