News - latest content added to Safequarry

Damage to underground electrical cables can cause fatal or severe injury and the law says you must take precautions to avoid danger.

This can be achieved by a safe system of work based on planning, use of plans, cable locating devices and safe digging practices.

These four elements complement each other, and should all be used when working near buried cables. Please follow link to the HSE Guidance on these 4 elements.

Edition 4 of the MPA Driver’s Handbook, published in November 2023, provides a comprehensive summary of all aspects good practice and is part of MPA’s drive towards Vision Zero.

Designed for easy reference, the handbook has been jointly developed by the members of the Mineral Products Association (MPA) Transport Committee and Health and Safety Committee, as a tool for working drivers to help them understand and manage the risks that they face and create when driving and operating vehicles for work.

A new edition of the Code of Practice for Safe Stressing of Prestressed Concrete Products has been developed by MPA Precast to communicate good practice in the management of health and safety when manufacturing prestressed concrete products.

Prepared in collaboration with the membership of MPA Precast and with the support of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the Code of Practice (CoP) applies to all companies with prestressing activity on their sites. The aim is for the CoP to be shared at all levels within the precast industry.

In this Hot Topic, MPA is highlighting two recent examples of the benefits of sharing incident alerts.

1.Incident involving bagged product

Following a recent incident alert, which highlighted how an operator had been injured whilst assisting a colleague who was using a telehandler to move bagged product , a member suggested the use of an alternative bag design that might help to mitigate the risk the operator was exposed to. 

Tunnel bags differ from standard builder’s bags as they come with two sleeves at the sides of the bag in addition to the traditional 4 lifting loops. The sleeves are reinforced to stop the tunnel ripping or coming away from the body of the bag. The two sleeves create a tunnel in which the forklift truck/telehandler can slide into making bags easier to transport. These bags could be used for holding large amounts of granular products such as sand, stone and gravel. 

Whilst not suggesting that the use of this bag would have been appropriate in the incident highlighted, providing feedback of this nature can be helpful when shared with others.

2. Use of mobile phones whilst driving

An incident alert that was produced by CEMEX, it includes a graphic video which explains the consequences of using a mobile phone whilst driving, it is based on an accident in 2021. The video also outlines CEMEX's policies in relation to the use of mobile phones. 

The video has been viewed over 860 times in the last 2 weeks. Ensuring that these powerful messages relating to the use of mobile phones has been reinforced across the MPA membership and other users of Safequarry.

Please share your incident alerts.

A method used for cleaning many static concrete mixers in the United Kingdom involves workers entering the mixer to remove hardened concrete residue with hand-held power tools. Some of these workers have developed Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome, an occupational disease that is caused by regular use of these tools. Other health and safety risks, such as exposure to noise and entry into the confined space of the mixer, require duty holders to apply suitable controls for these residue cleaning operations.

Please see HSE research on alternative cleaning processes.