Safe Quarry - Health and Safety Authority
Safe Quarry - Health and Safety Authority
Safe Quarry - Health and Safety Authority
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PART 2 SAFETY AND HEALTH MANAGEMENT<br />
(i) arrangements made <strong>and</strong> the equipment<br />
<strong>and</strong> measures necessary to prevent<br />
explosions required by Regulation 31,<br />
(j) shotfiring rules made under Regulation 46,<br />
(k) operating procedures for excavations, tips<br />
<strong>and</strong> lagoons required by Regulation 53,<br />
(l) conclusions of any appraisal, site<br />
investigation or geotechnical assessment of<br />
an excavation, tip or lagoon undertaken<br />
pursuant to Regulations 54 <strong>and</strong> 55, <strong>and</strong><br />
(m) arrangements for health surveillance<br />
required by Regulation 63.<br />
(2) In addition to the matters referred to in<br />
paragraph (1), the safety statement shall, where<br />
appropriate, also include -<br />
(a) a plan detailing the equipment <strong>and</strong> measures<br />
required to protect persons at work at<br />
the quarry from the risk of explosion or fire<br />
in compliance with Regulations 31 <strong>and</strong> 32(1),<br />
(b) where toxic gases are or may be present in<br />
the atmosphere at the quarry in such concentration<br />
that the atmosphere may be<br />
harmful to the health of persons at work, a<br />
plan detailing the protective equipment <strong>and</strong><br />
measures required to protect persons at work<br />
at the quarry from the harmful atmosphere<br />
in compliance with Regulation 32(2), <strong>and</strong><br />
(c) a diagram of the quarry indicating those<br />
areas to which these Regulations do not<br />
apply by virtue of Regulation 3(2).<br />
All quarries are required to have in place a site specific<br />
safety statement by virtue of Section 20 of the <strong>Safe</strong>ty,<br />
<strong>Health</strong> <strong>and</strong> Welfare at Work Act 2005, based on an<br />
identification of hazards <strong>and</strong> a written risk assessment<br />
prepared in accordance with Section 19 of the Act.The<br />
basic purpose of the safety statement is to set out how<br />
the safety,health <strong>and</strong> welfare of the employees will be<br />
secured <strong>and</strong> managed at the quarry.<br />
The safety statement should be communicated<br />
appropriately so that all those on whom it places<br />
responsibility underst<strong>and</strong> their duties.<br />
The safety statement should be reviewed to ensure<br />
it meets all requirements. It should be drawn up<br />
before the work starts, <strong>and</strong> in the case of a new<br />
quarry at the design stage.It should be continuously<br />
developed to keep it up to date as more is learned<br />
about the geology of the site, or as management<br />
systems or working methods change.<br />
To be of use the safety statement must be a working<br />
document providing practical information to people<br />
at the quarry about safety <strong>and</strong> health measures <strong>and</strong><br />
their role in implementing them. Consultation<br />
processes <strong>and</strong> the involvement of the workforce are<br />
needed to produce an effective document.<br />
In some cases the safety statement will not be a single<br />
document, but a collection of documents. Existing<br />
material does not need to be re-written as long as all<br />
of the requirements are addressed,<strong>and</strong> the composite<br />
document is properly cross-referenced <strong>and</strong> indexed.<br />
The document must set out a management structure<br />
<strong>and</strong> explain each person’s authority <strong>and</strong> the<br />
duties of those in that structure. This needs to<br />
include relevant off-site staff such as area managers,<br />
geologists,engineers <strong>and</strong> surveyors.Where managerial<br />
responsibilities are given to sub-contracted staff<br />
they must also be included in the structure.<br />
The level of detail recorded should be in proportion<br />
to the degree of risk <strong>and</strong> complexity of the operations.<br />
Some quarries probably only need simple<br />
documentation, while large quarries are likely to<br />
need something more detailed.<br />
The document must contain enough information to<br />
demonstrate that the risks have been properly<br />
assessed <strong>and</strong> that adequate measures have been<br />
taken to safeguard the safety <strong>and</strong> health of people<br />
at work at the quarry <strong>and</strong> others that might be<br />
affected under normal <strong>and</strong> abnormal conditions.<br />
Operators must ensure that all the measures specified<br />
in the safety statement are taken <strong>and</strong> that any<br />
plans are followed in practice.This involves putting<br />
in place appropriate monitoring arrangements.<br />
A copy of the safety statement should be held on<br />
site <strong>and</strong> must be available to every employer <strong>and</strong> all<br />
who work at the quarry,so that they can underst<strong>and</strong><br />
the risks <strong>and</strong> the control measures relating to their<br />
work. A copy of the whole document need not be<br />
given to everybody, but everyone needs to have<br />
copies of those parts that may affect him or her <strong>and</strong><br />
with which they have to comply.<br />
The safety statement needs to address how information<br />
is communicated to, <strong>and</strong> how the impact of<br />
SAFE QUARRY GUIDELINES TO THE SAFETY, HEALTH AND WELFARE AT WORK (QUARRIES) REGULATIONS 2008 19
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