Hot topics

The deadline for submission of entries to the MPA and British Precast Health and Safety Awards has been extended to 2nd June.

Further information about the awards, the easy to complete entry forms and guidance are downloadable from Safequarry.

PLEASE ENTER NOW AND ENSURE RECOGNITION FOR YOUR HEALTH AND SAFETY INNOVATIONS.  

WE ARE ALL SAFER BY SHARING AND LEARNING FROM OTHERS

Following a court hearing concerning the death of one man and serious injuries to another, HSE inspector Michael Kingston said: ‘These tragic consequences could have been avoided. This case highlights the importance of implementing effective power isolation procedures when interacting with machinery and the need to monitor compliance to make sure these procedures are followed.

‘The HSE will not hesitate to prosecute companies or individuals who fail to implement and monitor safe systems of work.’

Stonegrave Aggregates Ltd was fined £200,000 and ordered to pay costs of £48,952. A Director was given a 12-month community order and the site manager was given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months.

Description of incident

Two employees at a recycling plant had stopped the trommel and entered the drum to clear a blockage. While they were inside the drum, two other employees, who were unaware anyone was in the machine, restarted the production line. The two men were trapped inside the revolving trommel drum for approximately four minutes before the line was stopped.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed the following

• There was a history of blockages occurring on the waste-processing line
• Operators were regularly having to enter the trommel to clear materials
• The line was not adequately guarded to prevent access to dangerous parts of the machinery
• Control systems, including emergency stops, were not compliant with relevant standards.
• Management did not adequately monitor or enforce machinery isolation procedures
• CCTV showed that the guarding that was provided on the trommel was regularly being bypassed by staff, including the site manager

Follow this link on Safequarry to the section on FATAL 1 - Contact with moving machinery and isolation – where you can download the MPA resources on LOTOTO.

HSE is aware businesses may have received a bogus email from Mark J. Burrows claiming to be from HSE. We are investigating the source of these emails and the content should be ignored. Please don’t open any attached files or follow any links. There is no need to contact HSE.

MPA has produced 3 PowerPoints on Vision Zero which include notes for a presenter.

1. Vision Zero summary
2. Vision Zero and the 6 Core H&S Values
3. Vision Zero and 'The Fatal 6'

All the resources can be viewed and downloaded from the Vision Zero page on the Safequarry and Safeprecast websites.

The purpose of the PowerPoints is to provide an off-the-shelf tool to help raise awareness and understanding of Vision Zero, and explain to individuals their role in achieving its goals.

The presenter can adapt or add their own company branding to the slides. They can be used as a stand-alone aide or in conjunction with other MPA  Vision Zero resources.

The notes accompanying the slides are to help the presenter generate audience interaction and question how Vision Zero could be applied to the audience's work environment. 

These MPA guidelines summarise good practice in the management of public safety and are complimentary to the existing statutory requirements. They recommend systems and actions to assist operators:

• To manage unauthorised access issues on operational, closed or mothballed sites
• To help deter members of the public from accessing their sites
• To warn members of the public about the potential hazards
• To manage public safety particularly when there is a public right of way on a site.

The recent announcements from the Government regarding the easing of COVID-19 restrictions provides a useful reminder for quarry operators to review their public safety risk assessments and any site specific mitigation measures.

Based on experience from last year, it is likely that there will be a significant increase in members of the public seeking to engage in water based activities at inland open water sites. Quarry lakes may be seen by some people as tempting locations for a for a quick dip. Therefore, MPA is urging its members to check their sites prior to the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions and warmer weather.

The following two documents provide guidance on the management of public safety. They include useful summaries of best practice and outline the statutory duties of those responsible for the land/site;

MPA's 'Guidelines for the management of public safety on MPA members' operational and non-operational sites'

RoSPA's 'Managing safety at inland water' 

MPA and British Precast have joined forces to launch a new health and safety awards scheme that builds on the success of the highly acclaimed MPA H&S Awards.

BRIEFING NOTES AND ENTRY FORMS CAN BE DOWNLOADED FROM SAFEQUARRY

The new scheme reinforces the core values of Vision Zero and includes the following;

• New - 8 Topic Awards based around activities
• New -  'The Fatal 6' Award
• New- Young Leader Award
• Individual Recognition Award
• John Crabbe Award
• Sir Frank Davies Award

Hanson has produced a suite of 3 posters that illustrate the correct way to wear and manage face masks.

Hanson have agreed to unbranded versions of the posters to be shared across the industry. The 3 posters can be downloaded from the Other Resources section of Safequarry.

Please find attached a letter from the Minister effectively confirming our sectors continuing essential role, and consequent guidance in terms of continued operations during the current heightened ‘lockdown’. 

Of particular note are the following highlights:

•  “firms and tradespeople in the construction sector and its supply chain, including merchants, suppliers and product manufacturers, should continue to operate during this national lockdown”
• “Whether delivering on large or small construction sites, and in peoples' homes across the country, in builders' merchants, designing and project managing schemes or producing construction and mineral products, you are making a major contribution to the economic recovery following Covid-19.”

 This guidance is no doubt issued on the assumption that as an industry we continue to operate in a Covid secure way. It remains of vital importance therefore that operators who are continuing to work, ensure that robust steps have been taken to protect their workforce and to continually check that high standards are being maintained. 

Once again we would draw attention to the MPA’s Covid guidance and resources which can be used to assist in the ongoing development and implementation of your own Covid security measures.

Please see attached a summary report from Highways England on a recent vehicle inspection exercise run by Warwickshire Police, covering 173 vehicles.

The report highlights that 35% of the vehicles checked were defective in some way. This included a variety of issues that drivers should have picked up as part of their normal pre-use checks.

The report reinforces the importance of regular and thorough pre-use checks. More information on vehicle checks can be found in the MPA Drivers Handbook which can be downloaded from Safequarry.