Since September 2002, all Heavy Equipment Operators and Truck Drivers who extract materials from a quarry or a sand pit are now required by law to be trained. The Mining Act covers this new provincial regulation. For this reason, the operator is now defined as a Surface Miner.
All production employees, working full and part-time, in a Surface Mining operation, must be trained in the Surface Miner Common Core and the Specialty modules for machines they will operate.
The Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (Workplace Support Services Branch – Apprenticeship) is responsible for the implementation of this program.
An entry-level Surface Miner is a worker who has achieved accreditation in the three modules that make up the Common Core:
- Work Safely in the Job Environment (U5030)
- Lock Out and Tag Equipment (U5031)
- Operate Hand and Power Tools (U5032)
- The Common Core must be completed by workers within the first twelve months of their employment and must be completed before training can begin for any Specialty Modules.
