New safety guidance from QNJAC

QNJAC releases Workplace Transport and Pedestrian Interface Self-Audit tool

THE Quarries National Joint Advisory Committee (QNJAC) has released its latest piece of guidance to support the activities of the Strategic Forum for Health and Safety in Mineral Products.

QNJAC is made up of representatives from across the industry to produce practical guidance that is adopted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and employers to improve safety, efficiency, and ultimately reduce accidents and injuries.

The Strategic Forum is formed of the senior leaders in the industry to co-ordinate activity to focus on key safety issues. Previously it focused the industry’s attention on safe Lock Off and Isolation (LOTOTO) procedures. Currently the attention is on pedestrian safety as workplace transport is responsible for 19% of industry fatalities.

As per previous campaigns, the self-audit tool for the workplace transport and pedestrian interface has been developed by a working group from QNJAC to complement the handbooks and posters produced by the Mineral Products Association (MPA) and a free e-learning module from Mineral Products Qualifications Council (MPQC).

Following the Plan-Act-Do methodology, users of the audit can record their findings, use them to write an action plan, and make a record of the actions taken as a result of the audit. The questions included in the audit represent a good starting point that will be adequate in most situations.

Simon Day, chair of the working group, said: ‘Sadly, workplace transport-related incidents still represent a significant proportion of the serious and fatal injuries in our industry. The audit tool has been put together with input from experienced industry professionals and should assist operators to identify areas where they can make real improvements at site level.’

Viv Russell, chair of QNJAC, said: ‘The tool represents the latest guidance from our working groups that support the industry in its ambition to improve its performance in key areas. The strength of the QNJAC groups is the collective experience and knowledge of the individuals developing these tools. They know the issues and the industry, which ensures the tools are relevant and can deliver real change when adopted by organizations.’

The QNJAC Self Audit tool can be found here. For MPA resources, click here, and for MPQC, click here.