Act now on moving machinery and isolation issues, says MPA

Mineral Products Association urges companies to address the risks using freely available resources

INCIDENTS involving contact with moving machinery often associated with reactive maintenance and a failure to correctly isolate all sources of energy, have the potential to kill and maim.

The Mineral Products Association (MPA) is, therefore, keen to remind companies of the free availability of resources designed to support their own initiatives to mitigate this risk.

Contact with moving machinery and isolation (including stored energy) has been identified by the MPA’s Health & Safety Committee as one of ‘The Fatal 6’ high-consequence hazards that have been the main cause of fatalities over the last decade.

A range of tools developed by the MPA and a dedicated working party of industry experts, and originally launched last year, are available for download free of charge from the Safequarry website (www.safequarry.com) to support member company initiatives. They are:

• Guide to Avoiding Contact with Moving Machinery and Isolation – a 171-page, A5 handbook, designed to assist supervisors and managers on site and support other industry technical guidance. Following the Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA) cycle, the narrative and practical examples have been taken from materials received from MPA members, both large and small, after a request to share best practice on this subject.
• Pocket Guide to Energy Isolation and LOTOTO – this A6 handbook, designed for operatives and site personnel, focuses on the Lock-Out, Tag-Out and Try-Out (LOTOTO) nine-step plan. To date, more than 40,000 copies have been distributed across the industry.

In addition, three posters on isolation are available to place on notice boards and in site canteens, together with stickers and artwork (available on request from MPA), whilst an auditing tool, developed by QNJAC, can be accessed at: www.mineralproducts.org

Chris Leese, the MPA’s special adviser on health and safety, said: ‘Even those companies who may think they have already rolled out this issue might consider re-auditing or repeating their campaign focus.

‘Experience shows that either people begin to forget what they have learnt or changes aren’t fully embedded. By embracing the MPA principles of ‘Safer by Sharing’ and maximizing the distribution and use of these materials, we are all helping to reduce the risk of another ‘The Fatal 6’ incident occurring.’

This approach forms part of a wider industry campaign supported by the Strategic Forum for Health and Safety.