Lamps-man Guide

By Martha Mataboge

A Lamp room is an essential part of the mine; no one goes underground without passing through it for their life saving devices such as cap lamp, self-contained self-rescuers and gas detection instruments. Every lamp room has to have a lamps man, one who is competent enough to manage the lamp room.

This book is aimed at equipping those who are interested in pursuing a career in the lamp room with the necessary skills and knowledge. As for a newly qualified lamps man, it provides an in-depth knowledge of how to manage the lamp room successfully. It also helps to fine tune the craft of long serving lamps man to improve their skills. Finally it caters for anyone who is interested in learning more about the lamp room and what it is all about.

In this book you will learn;

●Tools to manage the lamp room effectively
●The importance of safety compliance
●How to manage spare equipment in the lamp room
●How to avoid wasteful expenditures

The author Martha Mataboge is a qualified lamps man with 20yrs of successful experience in the lamp room which she acquired through serving different companies that managed lamp rooms for the mine. She is amongst the first group of women who acquired their lamps man qualification through the Department of Mineral Resources previously known as DME in the North West province (RSA). She also contributed enormously in helping others to become lamps man and through this book she is hoping to reach out and empower more people.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Martha Mataboge
• Release date: Nov 18, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005746704

Book preview

Lamps-man Guide

On how to manage a lamp room

Martha Mataboge

Copyright © 2020 Martha Mataboge

Published by Martha Mataboge Publishing at Smashwords

First edition 2020

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without permission from the copyright holder.

The Author has made every effort to trace and acknowledge sources/resources/individuals. In the event that any images/information have been incorrectly attributed or credited, the Author will be pleased to rectify these omissions at the earliest opportunity.

Published by Martha Mataboge using Reach Publishers’ services

Edited by Bronwen Bickerton for Reach Publishers

Cover designed by Reach Publishers

P O Box 1384, Wandsbeck, South Africa, 3631

Website: www.reachpublishers.co.za

E-mail: [e-mail]

Contents

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1.Lamps-Man Competency

Chapter 2.Lamp Room Compliance

Chapter 3.Lamp Room Equipment

Chapter 4.Equipment Control

Chapter 5.Reporting

Chapter 6.Know Your Lamp Room

Chapter 7.Maintenance And Repair

Chapter 8.Safety In The Lamp Room

Chapter 9.Stock Control

Chapter 10.Legislation

Lamps-Man Dictionary Of Terms

Acronyms

Bibliography

Acknowledgements

This is how I pass on the knowledge to others of my years of experience in the lamp room. With this book I hope to inspire you to become empowered and to enhance your knowledge of the lamp room.

My wish is for you to understand that being a lamps-man is easy but becoming a lamps-man is a process. It is a long journey. In my career many have asked me to help them become lamps-men, but I have advised them otherwise. Among those I have advised, some are rated the best lamps-men in the industry today. They came to realise I was right in delaying their intentions by saying they were not ready. This helped them to gain enough experience and knowledge and prepare them for the responsibility ahead. It is a total waste of time to apply for the lamps-man examination knowing very well you are not ready to take up the responsibility. People go through the lamps-man syllabus, memorise it and then apply for the exam. Those who have passed, apply for lamps-man positions and in no time, they become legally appointed; this is the easiest and quickest way. They don’t want to go through the training for a lamps-man because it is seen as a delay. They keep forgetting that once an appointment is in place you are on your own; you are considered competent enough to take up the responsibility because you are certified.

With my years of experience in this field I realised that being certified alone does not make one a good lamps-man. There are many people who are certified but who do not have what it takes to become a lamps-man. This is so risky, especially for someone who has to carry such a huge responsibility over many lives.

My intention with this book is not only to help those already qualified to improve their knowledge and skills, but also to help those intending on becoming a lamps-man. My aim is to share some critical knowledge and information with every lamps-man across the industry to strengthen their careers.

Remember the lamp room is the heartbeat of the mine, such an interesting place, where you can interact with different people of different races and cultures every day; so relax and enjoy it!

Finally, I would like to thank all those people who have contributed to the person I am today. Firstly, my husband a true partner and friend, and my children from whom I constantly learn a great deal.

Thanks go also to my Aunt Sophy Davids, who introduced me to this field of work, and out of her contribution and support I was able to gain experience and exposure.

To the people who welcomed me from the first day I set foot in the lamp room and taught me everything I needed to know, starting from how to repair a lamp to issuing a spare lamp, I thank Ntate James, Bra Ike and many more.

Thanks to all the companies for which I have worked in the lamp room business who saw a great potential in me and who never doubted my abilities.

To those who worked with me as a lamp room attendant and a lamps-man; I value your support. We spent a great deal of time together and you contributed to my growth, both personally and professionally.

To all the managers with whom I have worked in the different mining companies, my thanks too.

I extend my gratitude to everyone who contributed to my growth and establishment; those who were patient with me, who taught and supported me and stood by me throughout my years in the lamp room. I am forever grateful for your contribution in making me the best in what I do. To those who honoured my opinion, judgement and decisions; I shall forever value your impact.

This is from my heart to yours,

Martha

"To God be the glory who made heaven and earth and all that is in it

This is how I bow out!"

Chapter 1

Lamps-Man Competency

The Name Lamps-man by definition refers to an individual who has successfully passed a lamps-man examination and is a holder of a lamps-man certificate issued by the Department of Mineral Resources (RSA). The name finds its roots from the word lamp room. Traditionally this was a place where miners' lamps were kept, hence the name lamp room or lamp house. The person who was in charge of the lamp room was called a lamps-man. Looking at it from the gender perspective, it is easier to call a male person a lamps-man but when coming to a female person, it becomes a bit confusing. Some prefer to use a generalised term instead of lamps-man, they use lamps person to accommodate both sexes. Previously the word ‘man’ was used as a generalised term for both sexes, hence the name lamps-man is not gender-based; it simply is referring to a person who is in charge of the lamp room irrespective of their gender.

Lamps-man Competency

The word competency refers to the capabilities and ability of an individual to do a job properly.

It includes the knowledge, training, skills and experience of an individual.

Lamps-man competency is divided into two categories:

General Competency

It refers to the knowledge, skills, training and experience of a lamps-man together with the knowledge of the legal aspect of his or her job. This person has to have vast experience and knowledge of the lamp room and certification to prove it.

Certificated Competency

Certificated competency refers to a lamps-man who is competent by way of certification only but lacks experience as a lamps-man. Competency by way of certificate alone does not say a lot about a lamps-man, except that he or she has passed the lamps-man examination. This is an individual who has never managed a lamp room, has no experience, their competency is based on the lamps-man certificate and the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) certificates.

Steps towards a competent lamps-man:

Training

Developing a qualified lamps-man requires training to equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge for their position in the lamp room. The amount of legal responsibility attached to the lamps-man appointment does not require just a mere certificate but a well-trained, knowledgeable and most of all, experienced individual.

One of the duties of the employer pertaining to Health and Safety of workers, is to ensure work is performed and carried out under supervision of a competent person in terms of Section 7 (e) Mine Health and Safety Act (MHSA 29 of 1996). For many years, lamp room personnel have been informally trained, but the problem with informal development is there is no formal training programme. This is where it is expected of people to learn from others, those who are coming to work in the lamp room for the first time have to learn from the experienced personnel. This is the foundation phase which prepares one for work in the lamp room. Thereafter they undergo Original Equipment Manufacturers training, which enables them to work with lamp room equipment. It is an initial training given to lamp room personnel by the OEM to enable them to work with the equipment. This is what qualifies one to work in the lamp room. OEM training is purely based on the equipment used, basic maintenance, handling and use and is designed in relation to Section 10. (1) (A) of the MHSA 29 of 1996. Everyone working in the lamp room is expected to undergo this training; it is an employer’s way of ensuring safety of workers in a workplace by providing training and supervision. On completion of the OEM training a certificate is issued to every employee to be renewed annually or as per requirement of the mine. Since OEM certificates are valid for a certain period, they cannot be used beyond the lamp room sphere; once expired it has no value to the bearer.

Many lamps-men have gone through the same development phase. It is important to emphasise there is more to management of the lamp room than just maintenance of equipment. Many people understand OEM training as lamps-man training which is not the case; it only forms part of the development process necessary for preparing people to work in the lamp room. The OEM only trains and qualifies an individual on specific equipment in the lamp room. This misconception gives many people the wrong impression that once they are trained by different OEM they qualify to become a lamps-man because they meet the application requirements. There is still more to learn before one could take up a role as a lamps-man, for a mere fact that one does meet the necessary requirement does not mean one is equal to the task. It takes more than just repairing a cap lamp or calibrating an instrument to be able to handle the lamp room. The aim of this book is not to discredit the value of OEM training or to discourage people from becoming a lamps-man, but to give people an opportunity to explore other opportunities in the lamp room and not just focusing on one career, which is that of becoming a lamps-man. Secondly; to emphasise the importance of lamp room training as a means of developing all who want to become a professional lamps-man.

While other things which a lamps-man should be able to do as a responsible person who is in charge of the lamp room, is to be able to supervise all lamp room activities; maintain safety in the lamp room; prepare and compile reports; conduct stock taking; supervise staff; control lamp room budget and many more. Considering the level of responsibility that goes along with this position, OEM training alone cannot be enough to prepare one to become a proper lamps-man. For the fact that, as soon as one has signed their appointment letter it is expected of them to assume their duties, it means responsibilities assume immediately, one is expected to perform as required and uphold all legal requirements pertaining to the lamp room. And based on one’s qualification it is presumed that this person is ready to work on his or her own, never mind being responsible for the lamp room as a whole. Many people tend to think that when a person is officially qualified has a ticket (lamps-man certificate), it means he or she knows everything about the lamp room including how to manage the lamp room, but a different picture gets painted after that person is appointed and becomes in charge of the lamp room. We presume that, by virtue of their certificate they have been taught everything they need to know about the lamp room operations. Secondly; for the fact that responsibility commences immediately after signing the letter of appointment, it does not leave any room to fumble. There is no time to start learning how to do certain things in the lamp room; it is time for one to apply their knowledge and skill. It is for this reason that this book encourages people not to take shortcuts just because they want a promotion. The aim is to encourage people to follow the right path which will lead them towards becoming a professional lamps-man, one who is an expert in their own field. A proper lamp room training, which is made up of both practical and theory, would equip one with the necessary skills and knowledge. And only on completion of proper lamp room training, can someone consider making their application to the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) for the lamps-man examination. A shortcut only leads to certification without a know-how which is achieved by memorising the lamps-man syllabus, writing an examination, passing and becoming a certified lamps-man. Only to find that when responsibility comes along, such people tend to fall apart, they are beginning to realise that what they thought they know is nothing compared to what is expected of them. We all know that for one to become a lamps-man he or she should be in possession of a lamps-man certificate and most of all, be able to manage the lamp room. There is no use to being in possession of a certificate but being unable to manage the lamp room. It is the same thing as having a driver’s licence but being unable to drive.

Is there a career path in the lamp room?

Many people are of the opinion that there is no career path in lamp rooms, there is nothing beyond a lamps-man position. On the contrary there are many career paths in the lamp room. Gone are the days where lamp room personnel are made of people who are uneducated, today most of the people working in the lamp room have passed matric and more. As mentioned earlier, technology has played the biggest role in transforming the lamp room from being manually operated to highly computerised systems. These systems are managed by highly trained lamp room personnel. Gone are the days where lamp room personnel were known as repairers because their main task was to repair miners’ lamps. Today, lamp room personnel are doing more than just repairing lamps, they are operating lamp room