Safe Quarry - Health and Safety Authority

PART 3
GENERAL SAFETY PROVISIONS
3 metres
minimum
clearance
If work needs to be carried out below power lines
and it is possible that cranes, excavators or other
vehicles, could reach into the danger zone, the lines
should normally be isolated and earthed before
work begins. If this is not possible, physical
safeguards such as chains on the boom may be
required to prevent vehicles reaching into the
danger area. Guidance should be sought from the
Electricity Supply Board (ESB)
Figure 26: Overhead cable protection at a traffic route
Warning sign board
(e) Road Vehicles
These include all road vehicles used at a quarry,
including those operated by hauling companies or
owner-drivers, except for purely private vehicles. If
the on-site risk is the same as when a vehicle is used
on public roads then additional safeguards are
unlikely to be needed.If,however,the risk is different
or greater because of the way a vehicle is used or
because of site conditions, additional precautions
may be required. In such cases, these should be
included in the vehicle operating procedures, for
example, a requirement to have reversing lights or
sirens or possibly CCTV and convex mirrors installed.
(f) Carrying Passengers
Passengers should never be carried on vehicles
unless the vehicle has a designated passenger seat.
Passengers should not be carried on the side of or
the back of vehicles even if for only short distances.
It is important that any contraventions of this are
acted upon immediately and that the dangers from
such actions are explained to both the driver and
the person riding on the vehicle. The only acceptable
exceptions to this would be when brake testing
is carried out, as the person carrying out the test
may need to be in the cab alongside the driver, or
when the driver is showing a maintenance person
a particular fault that can only be observed inside
the vehicle cab.
21. DANGER AREAS
(Regulation 24)
24. (1) The operator shall ensure that -
(a) danger areas are clearly marked,
(b) equipment or barriers are installed at any danger
area to restrict inadvertent entry to that area by
persons at work not authorised to enter,
(c) where a person at work is authorised to enter a
danger area, appropriate measures are taken to
protect his or her safety, health and welfare.
(2) In this Regulation “danger area” means an area of
the quarry at which there is a significant risk to
the safety, health or welfare of persons working
there, due to the nature of the work being carried
out there (including a risk of a person falling a
distance likely to cause personal injury) or for any
other reason.
All parts of quarries by their nature can contain a
number of potential hazards and unauthorised
entry should be discouraged by, for example, the
placement of warning signs and barriers.
Additionally, risk assessment should be used to
identify particularly hazardous areas which merit
being treated as danger areas.
Workers should only be authorised to enter
hazardous danger areas if it is essential to do so and
when appropriate safeguards have been adopted. A
safe system of work is required for all work activities
and in danger areas this may involve a permit to work
system as detailed under Section 12 of this guidance.
Areas of the quarry where there are significant
health hazards may also need to be identified and
treated as danger areas, for example, where there
are high noise or dust levels. It is always better,
however, to control these risks at source.
SAFE QUARRY GUIDELINES TO THE SAFETY, HEALTH AND WELFARE AT WORK (QUARRIES) REGULATIONS 2008 41