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consol energy continued Those efforts continue today with the same high level of enthusiasm the company has had for nearly 150 years. "During the past five years, the Bailey Complex has implemented a lot of changes and every one of those decisions were based on improving safety for our workers," said Jimmy Brock, COO-Coal, CONSOL Energy. He cites the decision to widen all of the longwall faces, which decreases the number of panels in a district, the number of longwall moves, and the amount of development work. All of this eliminates employee exposure. Brock talks about new overland and slope conveyor sys- tems, which have allowed the miners to seal major portions of Bailey and will allow them to eventually do the same for Enlow Fork. Similarly, these projects reduce exposure to potential hazards. Today, the company has established an Underground Training Academy at the BMX mine, the first of its kind in the U.S., and a new communications center on the surface at its headquarters in Canonsburg, Pa. At the Bailey mine, experienced miners are working with stakeholders to test proximity detection systems and other technologies that will protect miners in the future. CONSOL Energy's competitors will say mining coal from the Pittsburgh No. 8 seam, which has plenty of headroom, a competent roof and manageable amounts of gas, is much easier than other parts of the country. They would also say that a complex running four longwalls should be productive. The competition would have a hard time comprehending the manage- ment and engineering skills required to execute these projects. What may surprise them is that CONSOL Energy does not compare itself with competitive coal com- panies. It compares itself relative to where it stands in relation to Absolute Zero. Operational Overview The Bailey prep plant accepts coal from the new Bailey Crabapple slope and exist- ing Enlow Fork slope. Soon it will take on a third stream from the BMX slope. For now, BMX is sealed from the Bailey mine and uses the old Bailey slope to bring its coal out. Bailey and Enlow Fork essentially mir- ror each other. They both operate two longwalls and four supporting gate devel- opment sections. The mines also have con- tinuous miner sections developing the Building a Bridge to the Future Waiting to meet Nick DeIuliis in the boardroom on the top floor of the new CONSOL Energy headquarterd just south of Pittsburgh, it quickly becomes apparent that this company is not your father's Consolidation Coal Co. Architecturally aesthetic, the new building emits a modern yet industrial vibe. CONSOL TV, a company-wide high definition network of 200 screens, broadcasts company news and safety messages on LCD panels placed in strategic, high-traffic locations. It does seem like the kind of place where financiers and investors could meet with engineers and executives to chart the future course of the coal and natu- ral gas industries. Wearing a suit, DeIuliis greets us with a smile. "Coal Age is celebrating 100 years?" he asked. "Welcome to the 100- year club. We're quickly approaching 150 years." DeIuliis has been the president of CONSOL Energy since February 2011; pri- or to this role, he was chief operating offi- cer of CONSOL Energy and was instrumental in building CONSOL Energy's gas division. He started his 23- year career with CONSOL Energy in the company's research department as a chemical engineer upon graduation from Penn State. After eight years of working with customers, he had visited countless coal-fired power plants east of the Mississippi River. He then moved to the strategic planning department and at the same time earned an MBA and a law degree from Duquesne University. According to DeIuliis, three areas— the value system, applied technology development, and a long-term hori- zon—set CONSOL Energy apart from other coal operators. "Our value sys- tem is consistent with our day-to-day decision making process," DeIuliis said. "If you put production ahead of safety, it's a career killer. It's some- thing that we have made taboo by continually talking about our core Nick DeIuliis, president, CONSOL Energy. values and backing it up with decision making." Citing the recent conveyor collapse as an example, DeIuliis explains that the first decision was to stop everything. "We needed to perform a risk assess- ment before we put anyone in harm's way," DeIuliis said. "The flagship opera- tion for the company is down. If it takes three weeks to bring it back online safely vs. cutting corners to bring it back online in one week, we take the three week route. If any vendors or contractors sug- gest any other route, a CONSOL Energy team member will steer them in the right direction." DeIuliis believes the most impor- tant value is continuous improvement. "You have to have your values straight as far as safety and compliance certain- ly, yet we are in a commodity business so production and costs matter," DeIuliis said. "Continuous improve- ment in my mind is the bridge between those two areas. With a continuous improvement mind set, if we embrace that Absolute Zero culture, then not only are we going to improve safety by adapting new technologies, such as proximity detection, production and unit cost performance will improve too. "We have been operating under the Absolute Zero program for five years Continued on pg. 28... August 2012 100th Anniversary Special Issue www.coalage.com 23