Monthly bulletin: South Wales
Continuing professional development (CPD) is extremely important within the mineral extractives industry, ensuring continued professional competence and ‘fitness for purpose’. As part of the Institute of Quarrying (IQ) support network, IQ members regularly attend local branch events, which embed a culture of CPD.
The IQ South Wales branch recently hosted a highly successful CPD Technical Day. Held at the Brewery Field Rugby Club, Bridgend in South Wales, the event was attended by more than 50 guests, with thought provoking presentations delivered by industry professionals from Cemex, Schneider Engineering and Rock and Road Training.
Nicola Bartholomey MIQ, Production Manager at Tarmac, is Vice Chair of the South Wales branch. She reflects: “Sian Trow from Cemex kicked the day off with a group work session on ‘control of contractors’. This was followed by a presentation on ‘competence’ from Cath Picket, HSE Quarry Inspector, which generated a lot of interesting discussions on what competence is and how it can be demonstrated on site.
“Next, Brian Thomas and Gary Preece of Response Engineering, delivered a hard hitting message on arc flash, with a real example of an incident and the impact it had on the family, friends and work colleagues. David Dearden, Kevin Jones and Ken Jones, from Schneider Engineering, responded with a presentation focusing on the causes, impacts and preventative measures of arc flash. It was a real eye opener for many and stressed the importance of health and safety knowledge and competence in the industry.
“Following this, Gordon Dick from Rock and Road Training delivered an in-depth session on ‘Energy isolation and LOTOTO’. His interactive session featured demonstrations and isolation accessories for different energy sources as provided by Reece Safety. He also gave an insight into the MPA’s Fatal six topic, which covers the six areas of our industry that are still causing injury or harm.
“The final guest speakers of the day were Tony Welch and Gareth Brooks from Metso. Their presentation focused on ‘crusher optimisation and efficiencies’, with examples of common issues found with crushers and screens and solutions of how to improve the efficiency of the crushing process.
“Overall, it was an excellent day with positive feedback from everyone who attended. Our branch holds six technical meetings per year and we’d like to encourage as many members in South Wales to come along and join us.”
About IQ South Wales Branch
The South Wales branch of IQ is very active with 209 members throughout Pembroke, South, West and Mid Glamorgan, Gwent, Monmouth and Powys.
Upcoming Events:
- Thursday June 16th , Safety Day to be held at Aberthaw Cement Works, CF623ZR
- Friday June 28th 2019, Golf Day to be held at Radyr Golf Club, CF15 8BS
- Friday July 5th 2019, Summer Ball to be held at The Bear Hotel, Cowbridge, CF71 7AF
For any members in South Wales looking to get involved with their local branch, to find out more about events or register an interest, contact:
Chairman
Simon Swinford
[email protected] / 07557 418496
Vice Chairman
Nicola Bartholomey
[email protected]
Secretary
Brett Morris
[email protected] / 07841 569218
For more information visit: www.quarrying.org/members/branches
