RMC ‘draw a line in the sand’ on safety

RMC’s newly appointed UK chief operating officer, Mike Ogden, has announced that from 1 April 2005 contractors who are not in possession of a valid Safety Passport will not be allowed to enter RMC quarries and Readymix sites.

Speaking on behalf of the RMC Materials Board, Mr Ogden said: ‘It’s time to make a stand. We are ‘drawing a line in the sand’ and stating our position quite clearly. We believe we are the first in the industry to make this commitment. Safety for our contractors and employees is not an option, it is a must.

‘There are over 8,000 contractors in the UK, approximately 50% already have a Safety Passport. We want to continue to guarantee this good practice, so if contractors and suppliers want to work with us and they haven’t got a passport, they must apply now.’

The 1 April deadline includes a three month grace period in which contractors can attend courses. To gain the Safety Passport contractors have to undertake a two-day course organized through EPIC training. The nationally recognized scheme, introduced in the quarrying industry by the Quarry Products Association, aims to give contractors a minimum level of health, safety and environmental knowledge and to create awareness of their responsibilities on site.

This latest move by RMC is part of the company’s commitment to the ‘Hard Target’ pledge set by the industry in 2000 to halve reportable injury accidents by 2005. RMC are continuing to reduce total days lost due to accidents and in 2003 achieved a further decrease of 17%.