Top officials with the James River Coal Company got the chance to try out some of the state-of-the-art training tools on board the Success Xpress, EKCEP's mobile training facility built into a 53-foot truck trailer.

The Success Xpress was a featured attraction during James River Coal's two-day "Safety Summit," held Feb. 28 and March 1 at the Perry County JobSight workforce center operated by the L.K.L.P. Community Action Council. Officials from the company's multi-state operations gathered at the JobSight to discuss mine safety regulations and ways the company's mines can remain both safe and productive.

As part of the event, corporate administrators and officials from the company's five Kentucky subsidiaries-including Blue Diamond Coal and Leeco in Perry County-and its two-county operation in southern Indiana climbed aboard the Success Xpress for demonstrations of the equipment that is providing high-quality training in mining skills to working miners and students in eastern Kentucky.

Several James River Coal officials tried their hand at operating the Success Xpress' computerized continuous mining machine simulator. The Success Xpress' simulator features a virtual reality helmet that allows trainees to experience the sights and sounds of a three-dimensional underground coal mine.

The officials were guided through the simulator's operations by Dennis Mayo, coordinator of the Coal Careers Program at the Hager Hill Campus of Big Sandy Community and Technical College, and Shannon Carter, systems architect with the Center for Rural Development.

The simulator allows trainees to see and hear a continuous mining machine cut underground ribs of coal into smaller chunks for transportation out of the virtual mine while they use a hand-held control panel-an exact replica of the controls on the actual continuous mining machine-to control the cutting operation.

The James River Coal officials also viewed the electrical training panel in the Success Xpress' hands-on lab area. The panel, manufactured by Joy, Inc., is filled with working electrical equipment identical to that found on actual continuous mining machines and other underground equipment.

Jesse Campbell, an instructor with Hazard Community and Technical College (HCTC), explained how miners use those panels to pursue advanced electrical training. Jennifer Chester, dean of Community Development for HCTC, told the officials how partnerships between EKCEP and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) can produce grants that can cover many costs associated with that training.

The Success Xpress is owned and operated by the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program (EKCEP), Inc., a non-profit agency that administers workforce development programs in eastern Kentucky. Based in Hazard, EKCEP also administers the JobSight network of workforce centers in 23 eastern Kentucky counties. At JobSight "one-stop" workforce centers, job seekers and employers can access over a dozen state and federal employment and training programs and employer services in a single location.

Since late December, the Success Xpress has trained working miners and students in Harlan, Letcher, Martin, Perry and Pike counties. The Success Xpress recently completed a two-week stay at the Belfry Area Technology Center in Pike County during which more than 200 students from two area high schools spent time at the controls of the facility's continuous mining machine simulator. (Click here for comments from others on how the Success Xpress is being received in various locations in eastern Kentucky.)

The Success Xpress can be driven to remote coal mines, colleges, schools, or any other location in eastern Kentucky where mining training is needed. This mobility allows working miners to train on the Success Xpress for certifications in essential high-skill positions (mine electricians, METs, equipment operators, foremen, etc.) at their work sites, reducing the impact of training on their companies' productivity. It also allows students like those at the Belfry center to begin actively preparing for mining careers while in high school.

By using the Success Xpress' distance learning technology, mining courses can be taught by highly qualified instructors at remote locations and transmitted to students in the mobile classroom. Remote-controlled cameras in the classroom allow the class to interact with the remote instructor in real time. The Success Xpress classroom also includes wireless connectivity that provides internet access at nine computer workstations.

Hosting the two-day safety summit was the latest chapter in JobSight's working relationship with James River Coal. For over a year, JobSight has hosted weekend safety training sessions for employees of the company that are attended by 60 to 70 miners per session, according to Jack Duff, manager of the Perry County JobSight.

James River Coal Company is the sixth largest coal producer in Central Appalachia and the fifth largest in the Illinois Basin. The company mines and sells bituminous, steam-grade, and industrial-grade coal through its six subsidiaries in eastern Kentucky and southern Indiana.

James River Coal also has utilized several employer services provided through JobSight by EKCEP. The company has successfully used EKCEP's Employer-Specific Orientation and Screening (ESOS), On-the-Job Training (OJT) program, and JobFit on-line job-profiling system to pinpoint and hire miners who have the best attitude, aptitude, and abilities to become productive employees in the company's Perry County mining operations.

The Perry County JobSight also hosts Mine Emergency Technician (MET) and mine electrician training classes for James River Coal that upgrade the skills of working miners, preparing them to pass a state test and earn a certification.

Duff said James River Coal's decision to hold its second safety summit at the workforce center illustrates how JobSight's commitment to helping both sides of the workforce equation has established an ongoing sense of trust between JobSight and a key player in the region's top industry.

"We feel it's important to assist the coal industry-or any other major employer-in any way we can," Duff said. "Whether it's through upgrade training or through our services that help locate new workers, we pride ourselves on finding jobs for people and people for jobs."

For additional information on booking the Success Xpress for a visit to a mining operation, high school, vocational and technical school, or any other location, contact Crawford Blakeman at 606-436-5751.