Mobile IAS replaces a system that involved laptops, cameras, reference material and prior inspection documentation – all carried around by the nation’s 1,500 federal inspectors to every visit, every day for the last 18 years – to what is now a lightweight, semi-ruggedised tablet.

The Windows-based device has a camera, video capabilities, a digital pen, voice recording and a touchscreen all on board, along with Bluetooth and WiFi, to streamline the entire inspection process. The application built on Microsoft’s Universal Windows platform includes photo capture and fillable, pre-populated forms. Secure data transfer will also become more efficient between inspectors’ devices and with the central MSHA Standardized Information System.

“Enabling mine inspectors to work more efficiently means more time to focus on the health and safety of America’s miners,” MSHA assistant secretary David Zatezalo said of the modernisation. “MSHA’s Mobile IAS is expected to improve the quality of information by eliminating redundancy, and provide more timely information for inspectors.”