Safe Quarry - Health and Safety Authority

PART 5
EXPLOSIVES
41.1 Explosives Supervisor
The requirement to appoint an explosives supervisor
is effective as and from the commencement
date of the Quarries Regulations, with an 18 month
lead-in period in relation to the holding of a skills
registration card. The explosives supervisor is the
person in overall day-to-day charge of work with
explosives at a quarry. Provided the individual is
competent the explosives supervisor can be the
quarry manager, another manager or supervisor on
site, the shotfirer or a blasting contractor, one of the
contractor’s employees or an outside consultant.
The operator must be satisfied that an explosives
supervisor has sufficient practical and theoretical
knowledge and experience for the work he or she is
expected to do.To obtain the necessary theoretical
knowledge, an explosives supervisor needs as a
minimum to have successfully completed a course
of training covering:
(a) blast calculation and design;
(b) ground vibration and air blast overpressure; and
(c) shotfiring.
It is recognised that there are a number of persons
who will be required to receive the training set out
above and a lead-in period of 18 months following
the commencement of these Regulations is set to
allow time for training to be provided.
A quarry may require more than one explosives
supervisor to cover all the work, for example, where
blasting takes place on several shifts or where a
blasting contractor is appointed and a number of
their representatives are authorised to be the explosives
supervisor at the quarry. If this is necessary for
the working of the quarry:
(a) only one person may act as the explosives
supervisor at any one time;
(b) all explosives supervisors must be familiar with
the shotfiring rules and the site, as far as that
relates to the safe use of explosives; and
(c) there needs to be good communication and coordination
between them, for example, to deal
with any hand-over or maintenance issues.
41.2 Appointment of Shotfirer
The operator must ensure that shotfiring operations
are carried out by a competent shotfirer or by a
trainee shotfirer acting under the close personal
supervision of a shotfirer.
The procedure for appointing shotfirers is required
to be detailed in the Shotfiring Rules and a record
of the appointment is required to be kept at the
quarry for at least 3 years after that shotfirer ceases
shotfiring operations at that quarry. Where a
blasting contractor is to provide the shotfirer then
each shotfirer they intend to use must be duly
authorised and hold the required skills registration
card after the date by which it is required. The
operator should also take reasonable steps, such as
obtaining a relevant career history, to ensure that
the shotfirer is competent and has relevant and
recent experience.
Training of shotfirers
All shotfirers must possess sufficient practical and
theoretical knowledge and experience to perform
their full range of duties. Shotfirers should not be
appointed unless they have successfully completed
a recognised course of training. A trainee shotfirer
must work under the personal supervision of an
experienced shotfirer, until the necessary competence
has been acquired and demonstrated.
Figure 35: Survey instruments
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SAFE QUARRY GUIDELINES TO THE SAFETY, HEALTH AND WELFARE AT WORK (QUARRIES) REGULATIONS 2008