All personnel physically present on Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) property must be trained to safely execute their work commensurate with the hazards to which they are exposed. Specific training requirements for individuals are developed using documented processes.
This chapter applies to all individuals when present on SURF property. Specific training requirements related to Guides are collected in a separate document (Guide Training chapter).
When a definition is used in the document, that word or term is italicized.
Contractor: A person, partnership, corporation, subsidiary of a corporation, firm, association or other organization that contracts to perform construction on SURF property. As used in this chapter, this term includes employees, all tiers of subcontractors, and employees of all tiers of subcontractors of contractors. Contractors have defined scopes of services, defined locations of work, and defined durations of agreements.
Functional Role: A set of activities or tasks, hazards and controls performed in the usual course of duty related to an occupational responsibility and generally shared by multiple individuals. Any individual may have one or more functional roles that describes all or part of their activities.
Project Manager: A person who undertakes specific responsibilities to organize and support a trip, project or visit and serves as a point of contact for the individuals, groups or agencies.
Sponsor: A designated individual responsible for a person/group ensuring that SDSTA and host research organization processes and safety requirements are being fulfilled.
SURF Access Request Form (SARF): An electronic form used to determine access and training requirements for individuals requesting access to SURF.
Supervisor: Any individual at SURF who has authority to control (describing, assigning, directing, or is responsible for the completion of) work. A Supervisor is both a role and a function at SURF. Being a supervisor does not require formal authority. Other terms that mean that same thing include Principal Investigator, Lead Researcher, Project Manager, Work Lead, Activity Lead, Activity Lead Designee, Foreman and Manager.
Training: Acquiring of a skill; the process of teaching or learning a skill or job.
-
Equipment Training: Training that provides the student with instruction and the means to safely and effectively operate a specific piece of equipment.
-
Safety Training: Training that focuses on safety or regulatory compliance. Generally, safety training is higher level training that describes safe ways of accomplishing tasks. Examples of safety training include emergency plans, SURF safety orientations, and hazard communication.
-
Task Training: Training that addresses efficient and effective means to accomplish a given task. The safe ways to accomplish this task are an essential part of task training; the focus of task training is job performance. Task training may be documented, or it may be delivered through one-on-one, on-the-job training.
Train the Trainer: A process which allows for the training and certification of personnel to become instructors.
User: A collaborating partner such as a scientist, researcher, or educator conducting a scientific experiment or engineering research at SURF underground and/or on the surface.
Visitor: A person who has an appointment with a designated point of contact (Sponsor) at SURF and who requires temporary access to site facilities.
Worker: An individual engaged in an authorized activity or task.
4.1. Executive Director
- Ensures accountability with the requirements of this chapter with direct reports.
4.2. Department Directors
- Ensure that their employees are properly assessed and trained in accordance with this chapter.
- Ensure that their employees do not perform any activity until proper training for that activity has been determined and completed.
- Ensure that their employees adhere to this chapter.
- Ensure they take appropriate corrective actions where necessary.
- Provide the time and resources to ensure hazard analysis is prepared by their employees.
- Ensure all training documents have been submitted to the ESH Department.
- Ensure new equipment is reported to ESH Department in order for courseware documents to be developed.
4.3. Project Managers
- Ensure SARF is completed, which identifies areas the individual will be accessing (and corresponding training requirements) as well as other training needs. Ensure appropriate training is completed.
- Schedule training for the proposed individual with the ESH personnel.
- Complete a final review of the training matrix and turns it into the ESH Department for record keeping.
- Ensure personnel within their department or work section are provided the approved hazard analyses (JHAs, SOPs, etc.) and are properly trained for each.
- Appoint a designee if he/she is unable to participate in a trip, to plan or escort personnel for the contract.
- Ensure personnel working on the project meet all refresher training requirements.
4.4. Sponsors
- Ensure SARF is completed, which identifies areas the individual will be accessing (and corresponding training requirements) as well as other training needs. Ensure appropriate training is completed and notifies appropriate people (e.g., Project Manager).
- Schedule training for proposed individual with ESH Department.
- Complete a final review of the training matrix and turns it into the ESH Department for record keeping.
- Appoint a designee if he/she is unable to participate in a trip, planning or escorting personnel for the contract.
- Ensure personnel within their work section are provided approved hazard analyses (JHAs, SOPs, etc.) and are properly trained on each.
- Ensure personnel working on the project meet all refresher training requirements.
4.5. Supervisors
- Ensure SARF is completed, which identifies areas the individual will be accessing (and corresponding training requirements) as well as other training needs.
- Ensure new equipment is reported to ESH Department to ensure instructional materials are available or can be developed.
- Ensure that individuals for whom they are responsible are properly assessed and trained in accordance with this chapter.
- Ensure individuals for whom they are responsible for do not perform any activity until proper training for that activity has been determined and completed.
- Ensure personnel within their department or work section are provided approved hazard analyses (JHAs, SOPs, etc.) and are properly trained on each.
- Assure that their employees adhere to this chapter.
- Take appropriate corrective actions where necessary.
- Ensure employees complete their required training as identified on training matrices.
- Ensure employees complete all refresher training.
- Monitor overdue training and ensure that it is completed.
4.6. ESH Department Director
- In addition to the Department Directors responsibilities listed above, ensures that training required as determined within this chapter is available and current.
- Authorizes Trainers.
4.7. Training Supervisor
- Ensures a sufficient number of trainers are qualified to meet all training requirements.
- Coordinates periodic reviews on training courses.
- Updates training records.
- Develops new training courses.
- Ensures completion of training is recorded.
- Performs reviews of SURF training associated documents.
4.8. Trainers
- Maintain proficiency in their required roles.
- Sign-off training activities on the individual’s training matrix.
- Update training records.
- Ensure classrooms and supplies are ready for a given course.
- Assist with the development of new training courses and reviews existing training materials.
5.1. General Description of Training Assessment Process
- At least two business days prior to the individual’s arrival at SURF, the Project Manager, Sponsor, Supervisor determines the individual's training needs and ensures a SARF is submitted.
- The Project Manager, Sponsor, Supervisor assures the individual’s training needs are assessed commensurate with his/her intended work location and specific work activities.
- A summary of the requirements for training needs assessment is given in Appendix A: Summary of Assessment Methods, Training and Documentation Requirements.
- In some cases, SURF may not be able to provide training in certain topics (pressure, LN, etc.). For these topics, the group must arrange to provide training for its personnel and manage equivalences if there are various options to receive the training; such training must be acceptable to SURF.
5.2. Assessment Documents
A number of tools and forms are used to assess training needs as described below.
5.2.1 SARF is used to determine the training needs that are appropriate for each individual based on the scope of work and work location. It must be filled out at least two business days before training is required.
5.2.2. The Contractor Safety Policy addresses the safety issues pertaining to contractor workers in their area and outlines their employee training and training documentation. Specific safety plans are project documents and are maintained by the Project Manager for the duration of the project and filed with the project file at closeout.
5.2.3 Training Matrix lists training (courses, SOPs, JHAs, equipment, etc.) assigned to a Functional Role. The Training Matrix also lists suggested completion times, refresher training intervals for selected training and provides a system to document completed training. The training matrix is developed in conjunction with the Supervisor and approved by their appropriate department director and reviewed annually for changes.
Training Matrices for each individual are maintained electronically. Periodically this system is queried and the training deficiencies and upcoming retraining requirements are generated. The ESH Department refers these lists to the applicable Supervisor for their review and approval.
5.2.4 Experiment Hazard Assessment Summary (as appropriate, for experiments) lists hazards for all relevant sites and for all phases of the project with associated control measures and mitigation strategies (which may include training) identified for each hazard.
5.3 Equipment Training
Equipment shall be operated by trained personnel only. As equipment is introduced to site, the ESH Department shall be notified so:
- Training materials can be identified, created or updated.
- Training can be made available to personnel tasked with operation of equipment.
- Training records can be completed/updated.
5.4 Refresher Training
Refresher training for SURF Safety Orientation Surface and Underground is required for anyone who has been away from SURF property for over a year. Purpose of this training is to provide these personnel with up-to-date SURF hazards and risks that have changed within the last year. If a contract project lasts longer than one year, contractor personnel working on the project will receive up-to-date information on any new hazards or risks that may impact their work site by SDTSA personnel during their daily/weekly toolbox meetings. For General Safety Basic (GSB), if it is deemed necessary by management, project managers, supervisors, etc. personnel can be enrolled in the web-based learning management system that SURF utilizes. All Users and SDSTA personnel who have attended the GSB course will receive the web-based learning. In addition, refresher equipment training can be scheduled through the ESH department e.g. forklift.
5.5. Completion of Training
Completed training must be documented on a SURF Training Certificate and provided to the ESH Department. This information is then logged into an electronic database and can be accessed upon request.
5.6. Annual Training Review
5.6.1. At least annually, or whenever the individual’s work changes, the department director and associated designee (Supervisor) must review the matrix and:
- verify that the functional role matrix remains valid; or
- annotate the changes and forward to ESH department to incorporate those changes into the matrix and route for approval of updated matrix.
5.6.2. If the reassessment shows additional training needs, then the supervisor, etc., ensures that the individual receives the additional training prior to performing the tasks.
5.7. Train the Trainer process:
5.7.1. Provides the process to adequately train additional instructors. In these instances, an individual will be designated to go through the Train the Trainer process. Upon completion of the process, those individuals will serve as a qualified instructor for the selected courses.
6.0 REFERENCE AND RELATED DOCUMENTS
- Contractor Safety
- Training Matrix
- Training Certificate
- Guide Training Chapter
- Experiment Implementation Program
6.2 Appendices
-
Appendix A: Summary of Assessment, Training and Documentation Requirements