Tarmac host HSE safety awareness day

LAST month Tarmac played host to a Health & Safety Executive safety awareness day at Colchester Quarry. The HSE worked in partnership with the South East Quarries Liaison Group to manage the event, which is held twice a year at various sites across the UK.

The day was aimed at raising awareness of the key safety issues that affect the quarrying and landfill sectors and attracted around 120 delegates, mainly quarry supervisors and foremen, from companies of all sizes within the industry.

Terry Last, managing director of Tarmac Southern Ltd, chaired an industry safety forum, after which delegates were divided into teams. The teams visited a number of information stands, each highlighting a key issue such as manual handling or first aid, after which delegates were tested on what they had learned. The stands were manned by volunteers from across the industry.

Terry Last commented: ‘At Tarmac we expect our employees and others on our sites to follow at all times the stringent safety procedures that we have set out. Employees are always equipped with and using the correct protective wear.

‘It is absolutely essential that all companies operating within the quarrying and landfill sector are aware of the measures that need to be taken to put such an effective safety structure in place and are actively enforcing such a programme.’

Steve Banfield, HM Principal Inspector with the HSE, added: ‘The emphasis for such events is on good practical advice to ensure that people fully understand the dangers of working in these industries and the extent of their responsibilities in relation to health and safety.

‘These events also support the Revitalizing Health and Safety ‘Hard Target’ initiative, which aims to reduce the number of accidents in the industry by 50% by 2005. The industry has made an excellent start and in the first three years has achieved a 35% reduction in accidents overall.’