Home safely, every day

23 January, 2025

First published in the January 2025 issue of Quarry Management

Ensuring everyone returns home safely every day must always be the mineral products industry’s top priority

It is estimated that 33.7 million work-related ill health and injury days were lost in 20241 across the UK economy.

Whilst it is an economic issue, the health, safety and well-being of the mineral products workforce is, most importantly, a people-focused welfare imperative. Ensuring everyone returns home safely every day must always be the mineral products industry’s top priority.

Managing risks, both visible and non-visible, needs robust legislation, ongoing training and sector-wide collaboration, in order that significant strides can be made in minimizing workplace risks.

Businesses and individual professionals need to be equipped with the knowledge, understanding, and practical application of strategies, key regulations and standards that affect the sector to achieve the goal of delivering safe practices in the working environment.

Legislative foundations

The 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA) serves as the bedrock of workplace safety in the UK, mandating employers to ensure the safety, health, and welfare of employees and others affected by workplace activities. Key features include:

Duties of employers: Employers must ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety, and welfare of employees. This includes maintaining safe equipment, conducting risk assessments, providing training, and ensuring the workplace is free of hazards.

Employee responsibilities: Employees must take reasonable care of their own health and safety, co-operate with employers, and report hazards or unsafe conditions.

General safety duties: The Act extends protections to contractors, visitors, and the public, requiring organizations to manage risks associated with their operations.

Risk assessments: Employers must regularly evaluate risks and implement measures to mitigate them.

Role of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE): The HSE is the primary body enforcing the Act, offering guidance and conducting inspections to ensure compliance.

Supporting regulations: The Act is supplemented by specific rules such as the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) and Reporting of Injuries, Diseases, and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR).

For the mineral products sector, these duties are further reinforced by the Quarries Regulations 1999, which address specific risks associated with quarrying, such as slope stability, the handling of explosives, and equipment safety. The act requires the preparation of health and safety documentation, training, and risk-control measures.

The Strategic Safety Forum (SSF): A unified approach to collaboration

The Strategic Safety Forum (SSF) is a collaborative initiative launched at Hillhead 2024 to enhance health and safety practices within the quarrying and broader mineral products sector in the UK. The forum brings together five key organizations: the Mineral Products Association (MPA), British Aggregates Association (BAA), Institute of Quarrying (IQ), Mineral Products Qualifications Council (MPQC), and the Quarries National Joint Advisory Committee (QNJAC). Its primary objective is to foster co-ordination and shared initiatives across the industry to achieve the highest safety standards.

The SSF is designed to:

1. Promote collaboration and information sharing among industry stakeholders.

2. Address major safety risks, particularly in six critical areas:

Contact with moving machinery.
Workplace transport and pedestrian safety.
Working at height.
Exposure to respirable crystalline silica.
Risks from falling objects or moving materials.
Road traffic incidents.

3. Align industry standards, improve training and education, and encourage contractor engagement.

The forum seeks to centralize data collection and analysis to guide its safety strategies, ensure consistent communication across the sector, and create a unified approach to resolving safety challenges.

The initiative underscores a commitment to legal and moral responsibilities for ensuring employee safety and well-being in various segments of the mineral products industry, including aggregates, cement, precast materials, and more.

Newly appointed QNJAC chair Ben Uphill FIQ is passionate about the impact that the seven QNJAC working groups can have on operations and safety, drawing on the direct experience of workers. He said: ‘I want to support the volunteers of each group as they continue to guide people working in the quarrying and extractive industries, enabling everyone to stay safe.’

Training and educating to be safer: The work of IQ and MPQC

IQ and MPQC have a history of elevating health and safety standards through tailored training and qualifications.

As the individual membership organization for the mineral products sector, IQ champions the role of continuing professional development (CPD) in raising standards by developing a more engaged and fully trained and knowledgeable workforce.

It is through collaborations with influential industry partners and associations that IQ members have access to a comprehensive suite of CPD learning materials and educational resources, enabling them to raise standards, share knowledge, and be recognized as highly skilled professionals.

Its offerings, such as the Level 3 Certificate in Safety, Health, and Environmental Knowledge, empower supervisors and junior managers to implement best practices in workplace safety. Through CPD events and the Personal Development Wheel, IQ fosters a culture of lifelong learning, helping professionals assess their skills and plan career progression.

MPQC has several health and safety-related foundational and enhanced-skills courses including The Minerals Sector Safety Passport, Site Safety Awareness courses, and IOSH Working Safely. These are industry recognized, providing essential information and behaviours relevant to risk and safe operations on site, and are especially valuable to new workers in the sector.

The HSE reports 776,000 new or long-standing cases of work-related stress, depression or anxiety which include 300,000 ‘new cases’ for 2023/20242. This reinforces an increased realization that mental health is another risk factor relating to safety at work. MPQC is an accredited Mental Health First Aid Association provider of awareness and first aid, and champions mental health courses.

The MP Connect smartcard and app platform also provide further safeguarding to the sector via the real-time recording of qualifications and training completed by drivers and contractors entering sites. Their individual data is visible on the weighbridge to the quarry manager who can then decide if the driver or contractor will be allowed to access and work on their site.

IQ Health and Safety CPD Days

The IQ network of regional branches organizes regular events for members to network and socialize.

A highlight for many members is the Health and Safety CPD Days. Featuring a back-to-back schedule of presentations led by influential industry figures and leading businesses, the events are pivotal in educating and discussing health and safety best practices across the quarrying and extractives sector. Recent CPD days featured talks from the HSE, QNJAC, and Minerals Matter.

Along with more general health and safety topics, the events also provide a platform to delve into more personal and relatable topics currently faced within our industry. These lived experiences have included IQ Derbyshire branch chair Chris Rowan FIQ, who shared his experience with mental health in ‘Reflections of a former hostage’, and Katherine Evans MIQ, who led talks surrounding the importance of inclusive PPE, and the everyday challenges women face when working in the quarrying and mining sector.

Both IQ and MPQC collaborate with industry stakeholders to promote a safety-first culture through structured learning pathways and industry-specific certifications. Their work ensures that both technical competence and safety awareness are deeply integrated into quarrying operations, ultimately reducing risks for workers in this challenging sector.

James Thorne, IQ and MPQC chief executive officer, explains: ‘Encouraging our members to actively participate in CPD activities is at the heart of what we do. Investing in professional development means that each of us is equipped with the required skills to remain relevant and competent.’

Finding role models

MPQC also recently sponsored the Young Leader Award at the 2024 Mineral Products Association (MPA) Health and Safety Awards. By networking with industry and via the work of Minerals Matter, MPQC are strong advocates for finding role models who will take the sector forward and innovate in all areas, including health and safety.

A zero-harm mentality

However, there remains no room for complacency, because safety can very quickly become undermined by shortcuts. Nevertheless, the sector has made significant strides in balancing individual vigilance with collective action to consistently monitor and advocate for safe working practices.

With a zero-harm vision being universally agreed, it is testament to the sector that health and safety is taken very seriously, with safe practice woven into both regulations off site and operational actions on site.

REFERENCES

Health and Safety Executive (HSE): Work-related fatal injuries in Great Britain 2024 report.
Health and Safety Executive (HSE): Annual summary statistics of workplace injuries and ill health, 2023/24.