Health & Safety Management for Quarries
Topic One
An Introduction to Health &
Safety in Industry
Objectives of this Section
 To define the basic terminology of the subject
area.
To outline the reasons for a safe and healthy
workplace.
 To show the accident trends in the UK industry
as a whole and the quarrying industry in
particular.
Accident –
Undesired circumstances which give rise to
ill-health or injury, damage to property, plant,
products or the environment; production
losses or increased liabilities.
Incident –
Undesired circumstances and ‘near misses’
which could cause accidents.
Ill health –
Acute and chronic ill health caused by
physical, chemical or biological agents as
well as adverse effects on mental health.
Hazard –
The potential to cause harm. Harm including
ill health and injury, damage to property,
plant, products or the environment,
production losses or increased liabilities.
Risk
Means the likelihood that a specified
undesired event will occur due to the
realisation of a hazard by, or during work
activities or by the products and services
created by work activities.
Hazards/Danger
Observable or predicted from knowledge

Risk
Not directly observable - probability of harm to system elements
being realised from exposure to hazards and danger.

Harm
Damage to system elements - long or short term
Injuries

Accidents

Ill-Health Damage
Safety
The ‘control of accidental loss’.
Reasons for Preventing Accidents
There are three main reasons for preventing
accidents and ill-health.
Moral / Humane
No-one comes to work to be injured or killed
Cost
Accidents cost organisations money.
e.g. Piper Alpha – 167 people killed – estimated to
have cost over £2 billion including £746 million in
direct insurance payouts.
Legislation
Organisations have a legal obligation.
In the UK – Health & Safety at Work Act, 1974 and
associated Regulations
e.g.
Management of Health & Safety at Work Regs 1999
Quarry Regulations, 1999
Accident Costs ‘Iceberg’
Insurance Costs
£1
£8-36
Covering Injury,
health, damage
ill
Uninsured Costs
Product and material
damage.
Plant & building damage
Tool & equipment damage.
Legal costs
Expenditure on emergency
supplies.
Clearing site
Production delays
Overtime working and
temporary labour
Investigation time.
Supervisor’s time diverted
Clerical effort.
Fines
Loss of
expertise/experience
Injuries in the UK
(1989/90 – 1998/99)
Fatal
1989/90
1990/91
1991/92
1992/93
1993/94
1994/95
1995/96
1996/97
(a)
1997/98
1998/99
681 (b)
572
473
452
403
376
344
654
667
625
Major
Workers
21706
21222
18698
18053
17979
18354
17734
29320
30002
28821
Non-fatal
Public
11378
9981
11009
10669
11552
12642
13234
35694
28613
23588
+3 day
167109
162888
154338
143283
137459
142218
132976
129568
135773
131191
TOTAL
220874
194663
184518
172457
167393
173590
164288
195236
195055
184225
Notes:
(a) Figures from 1996/97 are higher than previous years because of changes in accident reporting brought about by RIDDOR’95 (Reporting of Injuries,
Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulation). Hence these figures cannot be compared with those of earlier years.
(b) This figure includes the 95 persons killed in the Hillsborough Stadium Disaster.
Comparison of Accident Rate
(1997/98)
Quarry
Industry
Construction
All Industry
Fatal
20
6
1
Major
400
382
128
+3 Day
1,400
966
589
Accidents in the Quarrying
Industry (1994-99)
250
200
193
150
100
144
115
108
5
8
124
50
3
8
5
0
1994/95
1995/96
1996/97
1997/98
1998/99
Fatal
Major
Types of Fatal Accident (1983-1993)
Conveyors
OHL
Falling Objects
Vehicles
SFS
Crusher
Blockages
Other
Maintainence
Types of Fatal Accidents (1983-93)
OHL (3%)
Maintenance (5%)
Contact with Overhead Electricity Lines
While maintaining plant or equipment
Other (11%)
Crusher Blockages (4%)
Other accidents involving machinery,
asphyxiation, burns or explosions
While clearing crusher or feeder
blockages
Vehicles (41%)
SFS (13%)
Runover by a vehicle, vehicles running
over open edge of quarry face, bench or
ramp, trapped under vehicle body,
vehicle overturned on quarry floor or
road and vehicles colliding with plants or
other vehicles
Stumbling, Falling or Slipping
Falling (8%)
Struck by falling objects or ground
Engulfed (4%)
Conveyors (11%)
Buried in material
Trapped between belt and head/tail drum
rollers