Quarries to achieve accident target

THE quarrying industry is on course to halve its accident rate by the end of March 2005, in line with targets set four years ago as part of the as part of the industry’s ‘Hard Target’ initiative. Confirmation of the achievement came from the Quarry Products Association’s chief executive, Simon van der Byl, at the association’s 2004 Health and Safety Best Practice Awards ceremony in London last month.

Mr Van der Byl said: ‘The QPA is proud to have been the first sector to sign up, voluntarily, to the Health and Safety Commission’s Hard Target of a 50% reduction in reportable incidents by the end of March 2005. With the ‘buy-in’ achieved at all levels in the industry, we believe we are on target to meet that reduction.’

James Barrett, head of HSE – manufacturing sector, added: ‘I sense a step-change in the commitment of people at the top of the industry to take it down the league table of incident rates and fatal rates. In 10 years time I would like to see quarries significant by their absence from the tables.’

The principal guest speaker at the awards ceremony was David Ballard, director general of the British Safety Council, who urged the industry to keep up its good work. ‘Although you are doing very well, you have to continue, and although it’s a hard slog, you have to keep at it,’ he said.

In this year’s awards scheme some 180 initiatives were entered into eight categories. Tarmac Group were the overall winners of the John Crabbe Memorial Trophy for outstanding excellence in health and safety, for the high quality of their entries, including winning projects in three categories, while the Sir Frank Davies Trophy for the best small-to-medium enterprise (SME) went to Brentford-based Day Group,

The winners in the six remaining categories were:

• Hanson Aggregates for interaction with safety representatives and committees at Tam’s Loup Quarry in Lanarkshire (Trevor King Trophy).
• Foster Yeoman for implementing a package of improvements that has transformed workplace transport at Glensanda Quarry, near Oban (Wimpey Minerals Trophy).
• Lafarge Aggregates’ Contracting Division for an action plan that ultimately aims to eliminate hand-arm vibration in its workforce (Blue Circle Trophy).
• Tarmac Central’s Area 3 for their efforts in behavioural safety (EPIC Trophy).
• Tarmac Northern’s Concrete and Mortar Division for developing a comprehensive package of training, induction and risk assessments (Tilcon Trophy).
• Tarmac Group for an innovative sensor system fitted to all large rollers to protect the 5m front and rear safety zones (QPA Trophy).

A guide summarizing all the entries in this year’s scheme will be published by the QPA later this year.