Safe Quarry - Health and Safety Authority

PART 3
GENERAL SAFETY PROVISIONS
Even when the driver’s visibility is considered
adequate, pedestrians should,so far as is reasonably
practicable, be kept out of the area where vehicles
operate.
Significantly smaller vehicles may be at risk of being
crushed. Like pedestrians, they should ideally be
kept away from areas where large vehicles operate.
If this cannot be achieved small quarry vehicles
should be painted with distinctive colours, fitted
with flashing lights or otherwise made readily
visible to drivers of other vehicles.
Restraining Systems
Many injuries are the result of vehicles overturning.
All drivers and passengers, when reasonably practicable,
should wear appropriate seat belts and, if
necessary, the wearing of such seat belts should be
required by the Quarry’s Vehicle rules.
Seats
Vehicle seats should be maintained and adjusted to
minimise the adverse affects of whole-body vibration
on the driver, particularly where vehicles are
used on rough terrain. Vehicle seats will generally
not last as long as the vehicle itself and will need to
be replaced a number of times during the lifetime of
the machine.
Maintenance
(a) Brake Testing
A suitable inspection scheme should be in place to
ensure brakes are in good condition at all times.The
interval between brake testing is dependant upon a
number of factors such as vehicle type, vehicle
history, road conditions and usage but should
generally not exceed 6 monthly intervals. This is
often combined with other maintenance work
using electronic brake efficiency meters. These
meters are portable or can be permanently fixed
into a vehicle, easy to use and produce a hard copy
evidence of the test results. Electronic brake testing
of dumper trucks and loading shovels can indicate
brake performance over a period of time and should
indicate the need for any remedial action before any
loss or failure of the braking system occurs. These
meters measure brake effort, which takes into
account the vehicle speed and ground slope. The
minimum brake performance for rubber tyred
machines, derived from BS EN ISO 3450 1996, is a
brake efficiency of 28% for a loading shovel without
payload and 19% for rigid frame and articulated
steer dump trucks with a machine mass over 32
tonne and tested with payload.
(b) Tipping Bodies
Suitable and adequate measures should be in place
and/or vehicles should be fitted with devices to
prevent tipping bodies from accidentally collapsing
from the raised position during maintenance.
It is useful to put a notice on the vehicle to
reinforce the use of the devices. Raised body
alarms can reduce the risk of vehicles being
‘tipped’ and striking objects.
Figure 23: Two means of supporting a tipper body
Two Acceptable Methods of Supporting a Tipper Truck Body During Maintenance Operations
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SAFE QUARRY GUIDELINES TO THE SAFETY, HEALTH AND WELFARE AT WORK (QUARRIES) REGULATIONS 2008