Target Zero – Shotfiring shelter guidance
THE ‘Target Zero’ initiative for continuous improvement to safety and health in the quarrying industry is continuing to gather momentum, with steady reductions in injury numbers due to intensive effort within companies.
In support of this work, a series of teams drawn from the industry has been working on key industry-wide issues identified from discussions at the Quarries National Joint Advisory Committee (QNJAC), with the close involvement of the Health and Safety Executive.
The outputs from these teams will be communicated over time in various ways appropriate to the topics. However, the first tangible product has now been made publicly available.
‘Positioning a Shotfiring Shelter’ is the first of a series of toolbox talks to be produced by the Drilling and Blasting working group and provides various rules and guidance on the use, location and orientation of shelters during blasting. The product is available as a Powerpoint presentation that can be downloaded by visiting the Safequarry website and going to ‘Toolbox Talks’, where a ‘Target Zero’ button provides access.
The Drilling and Blasting working group says it intends to follow this toolbox talk with further similar presentations, with the next two anticipated to be on ‘Loading/Unloading’ and ‘Edge Protection’.
Geoff Cox, the HSE’s Head of Manufacturing, has expressed particular thanks to this working group for what he described as ‘an excellent first product’
