Safety & Health in the Stone Crushing Industry - Occupational ...

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Picture 2: women collecting dust under the conveyer belts
The "Hierarchy of Controls"
When thinking about solutions, consider the principles below, if possible in order, the so-called
hierarchy of controls:
1. try a less risky option (e.g. switch to using a less hazardous chemical);
2. prevent access to the hazard (e.g. by guards around machinery or rails);
3. organize work better to reduce exposure to the hazard (e.g. don't allow on-lookers during
unloading or stop running the crusher while cleaning up to reduce dust exposure);
4. provide personal protective equipment (e.g. clothing, footwear, goggles etc); and provide
welfare facilities (e.g. first aid and washing facilities for removal of contamination).
Improving health and safety often does not cost a lot. For instance, placing a mirror on a dangerous
blind corner to help prevent vehicle accidents is a low-cost precaution considering the risks. Failure to
take simple precautions can cost you a lot more if an accident does happen (you will find a cost
calculation in chapter How much does an Accident Cost?). We can only encourage you to involve your
workers in this discussion, so that you can be sure that what you propose will work in practice and will
not introduce new hazards.
Step 4 Record your findings and implement them
Putting the results of your risk assessment into practice will make a difference when looking after
people and your business. Writing down the results of your risk assessment, and sharing them with
your staff, encourages you and them to follow your solutions correctly, for instance your new work
practices and work orders. If you have only few employees, you do not have to write anything down.
However, notes are useful so that you can review them later when something changes.