Ninety-nine men entered the cold, dark tunnels of the Consolidation Coal Company's No.9 Mine in Farmington, West Virginia, on November 20, 1968. Some were worried about the condition of the mine. It had too much coal dust, too much methane gas. They knew that either one could cause an explosion. What they did not know was that someone had intentionally disabled a safety alarm on one of the mine's ventilation fans. That was a death sentence for most of the crew. The fan failed that morning, but the alarm did not sound. The lack of fresh air allowed methane gas to build up in the tunnels. A few moments before 5:30 a.m., the No.9 blew up. Some men died where they stood. Others lived but suffocated in the toxic fumes that filled the mine. Only 21 men escaped from the mountain. No.9: The 1968 Farmington Mine Disaster explains how such a thing could happen--how the coal company and federal and state officials failed to protect the 78 men who died in the mountain. Based on public records and interviews with those who worked in the mine, No.9 describes the conditions underground before and after the disaster and the legal struggles of the miners' widows to gain justice and transform coal mine safety legislation.

August 2010: the San Jose mine in Chile collapses trapping 33 men half a mile underground for 69 days. Faced with the possibility of starvation and even death, the miners make a pact: if they survive, they will only share their story collectively, as 'the 33'. 1 billion people watch the international rescue mission. Somehow, all 33 men make it out alive, in one of the most daring and dramatic rescue efforts even seen.

New breakthrough thinking in organizational learning, leadership, and change Continuous improvement, understanding complex systems, and promoting innovation are all part of the landscape of learning challenges today's companies face. Amy Edmondson shows that organizations thrive, or fail to thrive, based on how well the small groups within those organizations work. In most organizations, the work that produces value for customers is carried out by teams, and increasingly, by flexible team-like entities. The pace of change and the fluidity of most work structures means that it's not really about creating effective teams anymore, but instead about leading effective teaming. Teaming shows that organizations learn when the flexible, fluid collaborations they encompass are able to learn. The problem is teams, and other dynamic groups, don't learn naturally. Edmondson outlines the factors that prevent them from doing so, such as interpersonal fear, irrational beliefs about failure, groupthink, problematic power dynamics, and information hoarding. With Teaming, leaders can shape these factors by encouraging reflection, creating psychological safety, and overcoming defensive interpersonal dynamics that inhibit the sharing of ideas. Further, they can use practical management strategies to help organizations realize the benefits inherent in both success and failure. Presents a clear explanation of practical management concepts for increasing learning capability for business results Introduces a framework that clarifies how learning processes must be altered for different kinds of work Explains how Collaborative Learning works, and gives tips for how to do it well Includes case-study research on Intermountain healthcare, Prudential, GM, Toyota, IDEO, the IRS, and both Cincinnati and Minneapolis Children's Hospitals, among others Based on years of research, this book shows how leaders can make organizational learning happen by building teams that learn.

Coal in the United States was discovered in the 18th century by landowners and farmers on the slopes of the hillsides in the Appalachian region. It was not until the late 19th century that this black rock would become a part of an industrial revolution. One of the first mines to commercially produce coal was in Fairmont, West Virginia, and began the Consolidated Coal Corporation. On November 20, 1968, the Farmington No. 9 mine explosion changed the course of safety for future mining and the lives of 78 families whose sons, husbands, fathers, and loved ones never came back from the cateye shift the next day.

In Mining Engineering operations, mines act as sources of constant danger and risk to the miners and may result in disasters unless mining is done with safety legislations and practices in place. Mine safety engineers promote and enforce mine safety and health by complying with the established safety standards, policies, guidelines and regulations. These innovative and practical methods for ensuring safe mining operations are discussed in this book including technological advancements in the field. It will prove useful as reference for engineering and safety professionals working in the mining industry, regulators, researchers, and students in the field of mining engineering.

Advance Praise for 47 Down "A gripping mystery story: Will the men trapped deep underground in a mine by fire be reached by rescuers in time? And why do these mining disasters occur, and reoccur, in our nation’s history?" –Gerald M. Stern, author of The Buffalo Creek Disaster "This is as much a story about journalism as it is about a mine disaster. Women reporters assigned to chronicle the human side were called ‘sob sisters’ for their ability to evoke emotion with words. O. Henry Mace pays tribute to the tenacious and creative Ruth Finney, whose storytelling skills framed the story for decades after her passing and established her as one of the early giants among women in journalism." –Eleanor Clift, contributing editor, Newsweek "Most disaster books are predictable and dry, but O. Henry Mace’s 47 Down, the story of the 1922 Argonaut mining tragedy, is, quite simply, one of the best disaster books to come along in years. Mace’s taut, lyrical, intelligent prose combined with his thorough research and his film director’s eye for detail and focus make 47 Down as compelling as The Perfect Storm and as memorable as Young Men and Fire. Mace takes the reader inside the Argonaut mine shaft and doesn’t let go. This is a necessary book." –Denise Gess, coauthor of Firestorm at Peshtigo

In To Punish or Persuade, John Braithwaite declares that coal mine disasters are usually the result of corporate crime. He surveys 39 coal mine disasters from around the world, including 19 in the United States since 1960, and concludes that mine fatalities are usually not caused by human error or the unstoppable forces of nature. He shows that a combination of punitive and educative measures taken against offenders can have substantial effects in reducing injuries to miners. Braithwaite not only develops a model for determining the optimal mix of punishment and persuasion to maximize mine safety, but provides regulatory agencies in general with a model for mixing the two strategies to ensure compliance with the law. To Punish or Persuade looks at coal mine safety in the United States, Great Britain, Australia, France, Belgium, and Japan. It examines closely the five American coal mining companies with the best safety performance in the industry: U.S. Steel, Bethlehem Steel, Consolidation Coal Company, Island Creek Coal Company, and Old Ben Coal Company. It also takes a look at the safety record of unionized versus non-unionized mines and how safety regulation enforcement impacts productivity.

For five days in July 2002, the world's attention was focused on the fate of nine coal miners trapped 245 feet underground in western Pennsylvania, not 13 miles from the horrific end of September 11's Flight 93. Seven hours into their afternoon shift, a machine they were operating suddenly broke through a wall, unleashing a torrent of water from an adjacent abandoned mine. With the miners out of sight and the aboveground heroics largely shielded from view, the drama that captured the public imagination was far from complete. Their desperate struggle to survive as the water continued its inexorable rise was played out in cramped darkness. The final, heart-stopping moments provided the storybook ending, but the real story was yet to be told--until now. The miners are home, the rescuers are back at their day jobs, investigations have begun, and, as the story inside All Nine Alive reveals, what really happened in those desperate hours was more breaktaking than we knew.

Why do mine disasters continue to occur in wealthy countries when major mine hazards have been known for over 200 years and subject to regulation for well over a century? What lessons can be drawn from these disasters and are mine operators, regulators and others drawing the correct conclusions from such events? Why is mining significantly safer in some countries than in others? Are the underlying causes of disasters substantially different from those that result in one or two fatalities?This book seeks to answer these questions by systematically analysing mine disasters and fatal incidents in five countries (Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the USA) since 1992. It finds that there are 10 pattern causes which repeatedly recur in these incidents, namely:engineering, design and maintenance flaws,failure to heed warning signs,flaws in risk assessment,flaws in management systems,flaws in system auditing,economic/reward pressures compromising safety,failures in regulatory oversight,worker/supervisor concerns that were ignored,poor worker/management communication and trust, andflaws in emergency and rescue procedures.The vast majority of incidents entailed at least three of these pattern causes and many exhibited five or more. The book also demonstrates these pattern deficiencies are not confined to mining but can be identified in other workplace disasters including aircraft crashes, oil-rig explosions, refinery and factory fires, and shipping disasters. At the same time, the examination finds no evidence to support other popular explanations of mine safety which focus on behaviour, culture or complex technologies. It finds that there is little to differentiate the failures that lead to single death or multiple deaths and 'disaster' studies would benefit from also examining near misses.The book examines why pattern causes have proved so resistant to intervention by governments while also identifying instances where lessons have been learned. How, for example, do governments strike a balance between prescriptive regulation and risk management/system-based approaches? Only by understanding and modifying the political economy of safety can these problems be addressed. It concludes by proposing an agenda for change that will address pattern causes and contribute to safe and productive work environments. The book is written for those studying OHS, mine safety and risk management as well as those involved in the management or regulation of high hazard workplaces.In the news...Ten steps from disaster, The International Trade Union Confederation - Health & Safety News, 20 April 2015 Read full article...Disasters in high hazard workplaces are 'predictable and preventable', Hazards Magazine, March 2015 Read full article...Mine Accidents and Disaster Database, Mine Safety Institute Australia, March 2015 Read full article...OHS Reps - Research News, SafetyNetJournal, 12 February 2015 Read full article...The 10 "pattern" causes of workplace disasters, OHSAlert, 11 February 2015 Read full article...New book challenges current OHS trends, SafetyAtWorkBlog, 2 February 2015 Read full article...Tasmania needs more mines inspectors, Australian Mining Magazine, 2 October 2014 Read full article...Australian mine deaths preventable if warnings heeded, WorkSafe seminar hears, ABC News, 2 October 2014 Read full article...Lessons from Tasmania's mining industry for all workplaces, TasmanianTimes.com, 1 October 2014 Read full article...Auditor Says Tasmanian Mine Safety in need of Urgent Review, Australasian Mining Review, 16 July, 2014 Read full article...Damning report on Tasmanian mine safety finds inspectors over-stretched, poorly paid, ABC News, 15 July 2014 Read full article...Call for support for grieving families backed, The Examiner, 22 April 2014 Read full article...