Hanson safety day

Ninety-two delegates attended the Lancashire quarries' safety day held recently at Hanson's Shap site, which has undergone an upgrade of more than œ4 million to meet the latest safety and environmental legislation.

In his welcome speech, Malcolm Hedges, Hanson Quarry Products' head of quality, reminded industry delegates that despite extensive training, better systems and procedures, and improved machinery, the causes of deaths or injuries hadn't changed in the last 10 years.

'We have to instil a culture of safety into our employees so they are able to spot potential hazards. We must educate them to stop and think before carrying out tasks - to do a one-minute risk assessment. They have to ask themselves 'What could go wrong?' and 'What have I done to stop it going wrong?', he said.

Reoccurring accidents involved poor guarding, incidents with vehicles, falls, and children gaining unauthorized access to sites. On a more encouraging note data from eight major companies showed a slight decrease in accidents over the last two years.

The event, organized by the Lancashire branch of the Institute of Quarrying, was chaired by Hanson's Kevin Heywood and attracted delegates from Lancashire, Cumbria, the Scottish Borders and Yorkshire. Issues tackled included traffic management, mobile plant safety, guarding, fall-prevention measures, safe use of explosives, lock-off equipment and procedures, fire safety, personal protection equipment, noise and dust.