Does task training have to happen before the miner performs the task?

Yes — 46.7 requires it before the miner is assigned to a new task, unless the miner has relevant prior experience and can demonstrate they can perform it safely.

Does changing equipment automatically require new task training?

Not automatically. Training is required when a change affects the health or safety risks the miner faces. A minor equipment swap with no meaningful risk change may not trigger it; a real change in hazards does. This is a judgment call for the site to document, not a fixed list.

Who can provide Part 46 task training?

A competent person named in the mine's training plan for that subject area — someone with the abilities and experience to teach it. Part 46 does not require an MSHA-issued instructor card.

Is there a minimum number of hours for task training?

No. Unlike new miner training's 24-hour minimum, 30 CFR 46.7 sets no fixed hour count for task training — it must cover what the task actually requires.

MSHA Resource Center · Task Training

MSHA Part 46 Task Training Requirements

Q: What is MSHA task training?

Training required under 30 CFR 46.7 before a miner performs a task they have no previous experience in, or when a task changes in a way that affects the health or safety risks involved.

When new task training is actually required, what counts as a “new task,” who can provide it, and what the record must contain — plus a free task-training record and checklist. No signup required.

1. What is MSHA task training?

Task training, under 30 CFR 46.7, is the training a miner gets before doing a specific task they haven’t done before — separate from the broader new miner (24-hour), newly hired experienced miner, and annual refresher categories covered in the Part 46 training requirements guide.

MSHA requirement30 CFR 46.2 defines a task as “a work assignment or component of a job that requires specific job knowledge or experience.”

2. When is task training required?

MSHA requirementTraining is required before a miner is assigned to a task in which they have no previous work experience, or when a change occurs in an assigned task that affects the health or safety risks the miner faces.

There’s an exception: if the miner has already received training on a similar task, or has relevant prior experience, and can demonstrate they can perform it safely, new training isn’t required for that task.

3. What counts as a “new task”?

Part 46 doesn’t define “new task” as a fixed list. It comes down to two triggers: the miner has no previous experience with the task, or something changed about the task that affects the health or safety risk involved. That second trigger is a judgment call for the site to make and document — not every equipment swap or process tweak automatically requires retraining, but a change that genuinely changes the hazards does.

Recommended practiceWhen it’s not obvious, document the reasoning either way — why a change didn’t require new training, or why it did. That record is what protects the site if the decision is ever questioned.

4. Practical examples

These are illustrations of how the two triggers above might apply — not a regulatory determination for your specific situation. Every site’s equipment, procedures, and risk picture are different.

Situation	Likely outcome
New hire assigned to run a haul truck for the first time	New task — no prior experience
Experienced loader operator moved to a different loader, same controls layout	Likely no new training if they can demonstrate safe operation — document that assessment
Operator moved from a manual-control loader to one with a new electronic control system	Likely triggers training — the controls and how the miner interacts with hazards changed
Crusher operator assigned to a new task: clearing jams on a different crusher type	New task — different hazards, different procedure
Conveyor belt gets a new guard design and E-stop layout	Likely triggers training for anyone who works around it — the hazard controls changed
Forklift operator, same forklift, new warehouse layout with different traffic patterns	Judgment call — if the layout materially changes the hazards, site-specific hazard awareness or task training may apply
Maintenance tech assigned to a repair procedure they've never done, on familiar equipment	New task — unfamiliar procedure, even on familiar equipment
Skid steer operator, same machine, routine annual refresher week	Not task training — that's the separate annual refresher requirement

5. Can supervised practice count as task training?

MSHA requirement“Practice under the close observation of a competent person may be used to fulfill the requirement for task training… if hazard recognition training specific to the assigned task is given before the miner performs the task.”

In other words: hazard recognition first, then supervised practice can satisfy the rest — but the order matters, and the hazard-recognition piece has to happen first, specific to that task.

6. Who can provide task training?

A competent person — someone with the abilities and experience to teach that subject — named in the mine’s training plan for the relevant subject area. Part 46 does not require the trainer to hold an MSHA-issued instructor card; that requirement doesn’t appear in the regulation. (Your own site or corporate policy may still require one — that would be a site choice, not a federal rule.)

7. What subjects, and how many hours?

Health and safety aspects of the task, including safe work procedures
Physical and health hazards of chemicals in the work area
Protective measures against those hazards
The mine’s hazard communication (HazCom) program

Recommended practiceNo fixed hour count is required — unlike new miner training’s 24-hour minimum, task training must simply cover what the task actually requires. A quick task may take minutes; a complex one may take much longer.

8. How is task training documented?

The record requirements are the same as every other Part 46 training category — see the Form 5000-23 & training record guide for the full breakdown. In short, under 30 CFR 46.9(b), the record must include:

The miner’s printed full name
The type of training, its duration, and the date received
The name of the competent person who provided the training
The mine name, MSHA ID number, and location of training
The false-certification warning statement, in bold letters
A certification signed by the person the training plan designates as responsible

MSHA Form 5000-23 isn’t required for this — any form containing that information works. Records are kept during the miner’s employment plus at least 60 days after termination.

9. Part 46 vs. Part 48

This page covers Part 46 — the surface operations listed in 30 CFR 46.1 (sand, gravel, surface stone, surface clay, colloidal phosphate, surface limestone, shell dredging). Part 48 covers underground mines and coal mines, with its own separate task-training and recordkeeping rules — don’t assume this page’s specifics (no fixed hours, no instructor card requirement, 5000-23 optional) carry over to a Part 48 operation.

10. Free task training record & checklist

A practical record built around the exact 30 CFR 46.9(b) fields, plus a trainer’s checklist so nothing gets skipped in the field. Free, no signup, no email required.

↓ Free task training record & checklist (PDF)

This is a DocuCircuit-created template, not an official MSHA form. Fields marked REQUIRED are drawn from 30 CFR 46.9(b); the rest are recommended detail, not federal requirements. MSHA also publishes its own sample new-task training record — linked below.

Keep your forms. Lose the paperwork.

Task training records piling up across equipment and crews?

One mine might generate task-training paperwork for dozens of people across dozens of pieces of equipment over time — hard to distribute, organize, retrieve, or match back to the right person and task months later. Send us the task-training form you already use and we’ll convert it into a guided electronic record for DocuCircuit: completed on a phone, tablet, or computer, including offline, signed electronically, routed to the people who need it, and stored where you can actually find it again.

Send Us Your Existing Forms See How DocuCircuit Works

11. Official sources

30 CFR § 46.7 — New task trainingRequirement
30 CFR § 46.2 — Definitions (incl. "task")Requirement
30 CFR § 46.9 — Records of trainingRequirement
MSHA — Sample New Task Training Record/CertificateMSHA guidance
MSHA — Part 46 Training Assistance: FormsMSHA guidance

Regulations change — check the linked source for the current text before relying on a summary, including this one.

This page is a practical resource, not legal advice, and does not create or modify any MSHA requirement. DocuCircuit supports your inspection and recordkeeping processes; it does not determine or guarantee regulatory compliance and does not replace a competent person, your own procedures, training, or legal review. Whether a specific equipment or procedure change requires new task training is a judgment call for your site to make and document — this page’s examples are illustrations, not a determination for your situation. Confirm which Part (46 or 48) applies to your operation. Where this page states a specific requirement, that is drawn from the cited regulation above; where it offers a suggestion beyond that text, it is labeled as a recommended practice, not a requirement.

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