Assessing Operating Standards In Quarries

The British Aggregates Association’s site assessment scheme

In June 2007 the British Aggregates Association (BAA) launched its scheme for assessing operating standards in quarries following the completion of pilot assessments at three BAA members’ quarries. Currently, five BAA members have been assessed and a further 20 have expressed an interest in the scheme and are preparing for the assessment.

The scheme

The objective of the scheme is to provide ‘comfort’ to members that operational standards in their quarries meet the standards necessary to demonstrate that they are being managed and operated competently, in accordance with the guidance in the Approved Code of Practice to The Quarries Regulations 1999 and current environmental legislation.

The scheme is not a basis for demonstrating personal competence because, in effect, it is the competence of the team running the quarry that will be assessed. Nor is the scheme a detailed safety audit, because it would not be possible to achieve this in any but the smallest units on the basis of the one-day site visit envisaged.

However, the scheme does provide an independent expert view on the safety of quarry operations and, more generally, whether the level of compliance with health, safety and environmental legislation meets an acceptable standard. It is not intended to replace existing health and safety management arrangements, but rather to provide the owner/operator with reassurance that the management of health, safety and the environment are achieving the required effect.

It is considered unlikely, even in the best-managed quarries, that perfection will be found, and, therefore, the assessment is designed to identify points for improvement. In this way, the secondary objective of the scheme is to ensure that a process of continuous improvement, as illustrated in the flowchart (fig. 1), is established.

Where no significant problems are identified, a Compliance Certificate will be issued but the assessment report will have identified points for improvement which the member is expected to address over a pre-agreed period of either one or three years, at the end of which the independent assessment will be repeated.

The process is managed by a panel of member company representatives experienced in health and safety management. Currently chaired by Eric Darlow, former Head of HM Inspectorate of Quarries, the panel appoints independent assessors on the basis of their qualifications, reputation in the industry and, where considered necessary, by mean of an interview.

The assessment report

The assessment itself is carried out using a standard assessment report developed for the BAA by IM&S Solutions Ltd, the health and safety consultancy established by Rory Graham, former director of health and safety with Foster Yeoman Ltd.

In completing this appraisal, the assessor will use the guidance in the HSE Approved Code of Practice as the basis of their assessment, supplemented in due course by further guidance notes prepared by the BAA supervising committee on an iterative basis. 

Guidance notes

Before the assessment takes place members are encouraged to use the ‘Quarrysafe’ audit guidance and checklists developed by Camborne School of Mines as a basis for a ‘self-audit’. These can be downloaded from:
www.quarrysafe.com/SmallQuarryBusiness.AuditChecklist.Issue3jb.01.07

Guidance on the use of the system is located on the web page entitled ‘Management System’.

The assessment will be based on random samples of activities, supporting documentation and interviews carried out on the day. It should be borne in mind, therefore, that the existence of issues not identified during the visit is a possibility.

The assessor will ask a number of general questions to assess whether the regulations have been appropriately complied with in proportion to the hazards and risks associated with that particular operation.

He will talk to the operatives on site as well as the management team so that his assessment takes into account the safety environment at the unit, or the effectiveness of the provisions made, and is not simply an appraisal of the systems.

In attempt to simplify and standardize the assessment report, the level of compliance will be judged and scored on a ‘traffic light’ basis against the Approved Code of Practice and relevant legislation, as follows:

• Green: indicating adequate compliance, although the system will require ongoing review and demonstration of continuous improvement.
• Amber: indicating partial compliance or a single lapse of the system that needs to be investigated to determine the corrective action.
• Red: indicating a major failure of compliance that requires immediate corrective action and could, depending on the circumstances, result in a prohibition or improvement notice being issued.
• No colour: indicates not applicable in this operation.

The appraisal form covers 17 sections and comprises 149 questions covering all aspects of quarry operations. A typical section is illustrated in figure 2.

Observations may be raised against any particular section/question or as a general comment as part of the assessment. Similarly, comments can be raised for both positive or general guidance about a particular issue.

In the electronic version of the assessment report, a red or amber signal will be hyperlinked to a detailed note explaining the basis of the assessor’s decision.

The assessment panel will review the completed assessment portfolios together with the assessor’s appraisal and a report on the findings will sent to the member as a basis for developing an improvement plan. While carrying out the assessment in good faith, the BAA cannot be held liable for any failure to comply with current legislation.

All information relating to members’ organizations will remain confidential. The BAA, its staff and agents will not disclose any such information to third parties, except that which is already in the public domain or where required to do so by law.

The costs

The BAA is very conscious of the need to keep costs at a sensible level compatible with maintaining the rigor of the assessment. On the basis of the pilot scheme completed in June 2007, the cost will be in the region of £3,000 per unit, although obviously this will vary depending on the size and complexity of the operations at the quarry.

Also, where an operator runs more than one quarry, the cost of assessing individual units within a group will be less. However, at this early stage the Association lacks the experience to publish a price list and proposes, for the first cycle, to quote a fee on a unit/group-specific basis when a member signs up to the scheme.

The benefits

The potential benefits of the scheme should not be underestimated. The scheme has a strong endorsement from the HSE and, if it succeeds in creating a safer working environment, the investment of £1,000 per annum will, in the words of Phil Smith, HSE Senior Inspector, be ‘an ASDA deal’. Additionally, the BAA’s insurance brokers have reviewed the scheme and advised that a member’s commitment to the scheme could lead to significant reductions in insurance premiums.

The scheme has also been endorsed by James Barrett, former chairman of The Quarries National Joint Advisory Committee (QNJAC). He said: ‘As a contribution to the quarry industry’s ‘Target Zero’ initiative for reducing injury and ill health, the British Aggregates Association has developed a scheme for its members which provides an independent assessment of the extent to which operators are aware of their legal duties, operate their sites in a safe and competent manner and involve the workforce effectively in health and safety.

‘QNJAC, having examined the scheme, recognizes that it can make a significant contribution to achieving the aims of the Target Zero initiative. Although its use is not mandatory, on behalf of the Committee, I fully support the scheme and recommend participation in it as a means of achieving continuous improvement in health and safety performance by BAA members.’