Health and safety remains top priority for Hills
Hills Quarry Products to continue ongoing health and safety commitment with fresh focus in 2021
FOR the sixth year in a row, Hills Quarry Products will delay the opening of all their sites on the first day back to work (Monday 4 January), to allow employees to participate in a morning of health and safety training sessions as part of the company’s ongoing commitment to excellent health and safety.
Hills’ focus for 2021 is ‘Targeting the Fatal 6 to achieve Vision Zero’ in collaboration with the Mineral Products Association (MPA), of which Hills Quarry Products is a member. Hills Quarry Products group director Peter Andrew (pictured) said: ‘Over the last few years we have taken time on our return to work to remind employees of the importance of everyone’s health and safety at our sites.
‘This includes a review of our achievements over the past year and setting new health and safety targets which are based on both feedback from employees and independent health and safety auditors.
‘This year, in collaboration with the MPA, our vision is to eliminate the causes of injuries and ill health from our workplace. To do this, our employees are encouraged to embrace the following six values: Empowerment; Engaged, visible and consistent leadership; Zero tolerance of unsafe working conditions; High-quality implementation; Collaboration and sharing; and Compliance.
Hills are focusing on these six values to use them to target the ‘Fatal 6’, which are recognized to be responsible for the majority of injuries within the mineral extraction industry. The Fatal 6 are:
- Contact with moving machinery and isolation
- Workplace transport and pedestrian interface
- Work at height
- Workplace respirable crystalline silica
- Struck by moving or falling object
- Road traffic accidents
Mr Andrew said: ‘Hills will start ‘Targeting the Fatal 6 to achieve Vision Zero’ on Monday 4 January 2021 with ongoing briefings and training throughout the year. By starting the New Year with training sessions, we reinforce our philosophy that health and safety remains a top priority for our business and supports the excellent health and safety record achieved so far.’
The training sessions will be held at the company’s sand and gravel quarries and ready-mixed concrete production plants across Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, and Dorset.
