QPA Awards showcase progress towards zero accidents

UK quarry companies battled it out to win the industry’s top health and safety awards last month, at the Quarry Products Association’s annual Health and Safety Best Practice Awards in London. On the day, well over 100 initial entries had been reduced to a final award-winning tally of 42 operators across nine categories.

This year the Sir Frank Davies trophy for the most outstanding health and safety performance specifically for smaller companies went to Blasting Services Ltd, while the prestigious John Crabbe Trophy for the overall winning company was presented to Tarmac Ltd.

Beyond the overarching awards, prizes were also presented for achievements in seven key areas: Management of Occupational Health and Hygiene (winners: Ennstone plc, De Lank Quarry); Road Haulage (LGV) Safety Innovation (Foster Yeoman, Purfleet Asphalt Depot); Management of Contractors (WBB Minerals, Preston Manor Works); Working at Height (Tarmac, Caldon Low Quarry); Innovation in Worker Involvement (CEMEX UK Operations); Safer Delivery and Storage of Bitumen (Aram Resources, Carnsew Quarry); and Other Innovation (Tarmac National Contracting, Low Moor).

Two other special awards were presented this year: CEMEX UK Operations Ltd received recognition for their ‘outstanding performance in reducing reportable incidents’, and Bathgate Silica Sand Ltd were presented with a special award for ‘outstanding performance in reducing accident incident rates’.

The event also provided a platform for the launch the QPA’s new web site, www.safequarry.com, a comprehensive best-practice web site featuring a cutting-edge incident alert system, allowing users to learn of incidents and how they are managed across the industry.

Speaking at the event, Simon van der Byl, director general of the QPA said: ‘The 2006 Awards have revealed that our members’ appetite for innovation in their approach to health and safety has not diminished. The emphasis on driving down the number of incidents across the industry is as strong as ever and today’s ceremony has showcased the quite remarkable work that goes towards our ultimate goal of banishing all accidents to the history books.’

Professor Peter McKie, principal guest speaker at the event and chairman of the Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland, focused on the QPA’s Hard Target initiative, which aims to reduce accidents by 50% by 2009 and ultimately eradicate them all together. He said: ‘I commend the quarrying industry’s commitment to improving health and safety and, although we have recognized individual companies’ successes today, as the record improves we are all winners.

‘It is vital that we celebrate successes and continue to drive towards an industry that has zero accidents – this should be our expectation rather than our aspiration. It’s a challenging target, and the last 10% reduction is likely to take half the overall effort, but with continued innovation and our managers leading by example, aided by the best advisory resources we can provide, we can get there.’