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Quarries
These are the most common injuries and hazards for people working in quarries, as shown by injury claims.
Injury Hotspot skeleton diagram, text information below.
Hazards
- Hazard 1Exposure to hazardous substances dust fumes gases and other airborne substances
- Eliminate or reduce health risks by designing work and the workplace to prevent contact with hazardous substances (eg crystalline silica).
- Utilise dust mitigation methods such as wet sprays, plume chutes, water carts.
- Provide equipment such as dust extraction hoods in dust-producing processes.
- Prevent people from entering the quarry after blasting until safe (eg ventilation and monitoring).
- Ensure appropriate placarding is installed, material safety data sheets (MSDS) are made available, hazardous substances are properly stored, and all controls are maintained.
- Provide appropriate personal protective equipment (eg respiratory protection). Ensure fit test to face is undertaken.
- Conduct atmospheric and personal air monitoring to determine employee exposure levels and undertake health surveillance
- Hazard 2Falling rocks and debris
- Scale pit walls to prevent fall of loose material onto personnel or plant.
- For manual rock splitting activities ensure appropriate controls are in place to prevent crushing injuries.
- Bund edge protection should be provided for benches and other potential fall areas.
- Establish exclusion zones using signs and/or earth barriers when access is not required or is restricted to areas of the quarry face.
- Ensure rock traps are in place where necessary to allow any falling rocks to be stopped at the foot of a face without falling into a working area).
- Use a blast management plan for each shot.
- Provide appropriate personal protective equipment (eg hard hats, gloves that absorb impact energy, safety boots) and ensure they are worn.
- 13 per cent of the injuries were to a persons hands / fingers.
- 8 per cent of the injuries were to a persons leg.
- Hazard 3Heavy lifting repetitive movements pushing / pulling objects and awkward postures
- Mechanise repetitive work and work involving high force such as drilling, hammering, shovelling or pounding by using powered equipment.
- Provide appropriate mechanical aids and equipment (eg automatic in-feed, adjustable and ergonomically designed tools) to assist in moving heavy objects or when undertaking repetitive work that involves high force, and ensure they are used and maintained in accordance with manufacturer specifications.
- Where manual handling is required, locate frequently used objects at waist height, and minimise loads by reducing the size and or weight of objects or use mechanical aids including trolleys, conveyors or lifting aids.
- Ensure plant controls are positioned for easy use / reach.
- Provide such information, instruction, training or supervision to employees as is necessary in the selection and use of any mechanical equipment and aids and safe handling methods (eg work is done between shoulder and mid-thigh height and with the elbows close to the body, work upright where possible).
- Ensure employees are not exposed to repetitive work for long periods (eg by using job rotation, work variation, breaks).
- 5 per cent of the injuries were to a persons arm.
- 5 per cent of the injuries were to a persons forearm / wrist.
- 6 per cent of the injuries were to a persons shoulder.
- 18 per cent of the injuries were to a persons back.
- Hazard 4Noise
- Ensure employees are not exposed to noise that exceeds the exposure standard by implementing risk control measures.
- Eliminate the source of the noise. If this is not reasonably practicable then reduce the noise level so far as is reasonably practicable (eg buy the quietest tools / machinery available, enclose or isolate noisy machinery, reduce vibration, use barriers or screens, use silencers on air exhausts).
- Arrange for a noise assessment if employees are exposed to excessive noise (eg workers have to raise their voices to communicate over a distance of one metre) and there is uncertainty as to whether employees exposure may exceed the noise exposure standard.
- If hearing protectors are required to ensure the employee exposure to noise does not exceed the noise exposure standard, the employer must clearly identify by signs, labelling of plant or other appropriate means, when and where hearing protectors are to be worn.
- Separate noisy and quiet processes.
- Implement job rotation to limit employee exposure.
- Provide hearing protection and ensure it is worn at all times, and provide employees with audiometric testing.
- 11 per cent of the injuries were to a persons ear.
- Hazard 5Operating vehicles and mobile plant
- Construct haulage roads with appropriate material type and size, and maintain roads including filling in potholes to reduce vibration / jarring through vehicles.
- Ensure that all vehicles and powered mobile plant (eg trucks, drilling rigs, and front end loaders) are used and maintained in accordance with manufacturer specifications, including regularly servicing to minimise vibration and sudden shocks.
- Ensure plant is set up in a stable manner on firm, level ground, within working radius.
- Where possible, position equipment so it is facing any quarry face edge to reduce the need to manoeuvre when it is close to the edge.
- For mobile equipment, bunds should not be less than half the height of the wheel of the largest vehicle operating near the quarry face to stop it driving over the edge.
- If guards are used to control risk in relation to plant, ensure so far as is reasonably practicable, that guarding will prevent access to the danger point or area of the plant (eg moving parts).
- Ensure that seatbelts are installed and operable. Where practicable seatbelts should be interlocked to the vehicle.
- Ensure all operating levers, controls and instruments are suitably identified to indicate their nature and function and located to be readily and conveniently operated.
- Ensure that vehicles and mobile plant access is the appropriate height to reduce strain when getting in and out of vehicle.
- Ensure that any fall from height risks when accessing plant are controlled by using handrails or other appropriate fall prevention systems where practicable.
- Ensure that traffic management plans are in place and followed by all employees and visitors.
- Train employees in the safe operation of vehicles and mobile plant, including the use of fire suppression systems.
- Develop and implement strategies to control any risk associated with fatigue.
- Develop and implement strategies to protect persons at the quarry from any risk to health or safety arising from the consumption of alcohol or the use of drugs by any person.
- 13 per cent of the injuries were to a persons hands / fingers.
- 10 per cent of the injuries were to a persons knee.
- 6 per cent of the injuries were to a persons shoulder.
- 18 per cent of the injuries were to a persons back.
- 8 per cent of the injuries were to a persons leg.
- Hazard 6Slips trips and falls
- Ensure floor surfaces in work areas are even, well drained and kept clear of obstructions / debris.
- Ensure that corrosion of support structures is controlled (eg implement an inspection and maintenance regime which identifies and rectifies rusty or broken handrails, guards).
- Ensure engine bay access can be performed from the ground or within protected floor areas fitted with perimeter handrails.
- Provide adequate lighting for work areas and walkways
- Regularly undertake ground inspection, maintenance and housekeeping
- Ensure there are no uncovered / barricaded openings (eg service pit).
- Keep emergency exits unobstructed.
- Ensure all stairs and steps have handrails and appropriate slip resistance.
- Equip mobile plant with non-slip steps to prevent slips and falls.
- Ensure employees use three points of contact when entering / exiting vehicles.
- 5 per cent of the injuries were to a persons arm.
- 5 per cent of the injuries were to a persons forearm / wrist.
- 13 per cent of the injuries were to a persons hands / fingers.
- 10 per cent of the injuries were to a persons knee.
- 6 per cent of the injuries were to a persons shoulder.
- 8 per cent of the injuries were to a persons leg.
- Hazard 7Using machinery and hand-held equipment
- Assess if a fixed, rig or vehicle mounted powered equipment could be used in place of a hand held tool.
- Provide appropriate powered tools and ensure they are used and maintained in accordance with manufacturer specifications.
- Provide powered equipment for breaking and shifting drill rods.
- Ensure plant support structures (eg columns, beams, grid mesh flooring, support bases) are structurally sound.
- Ensure machinery has appropriate safety features (eg interlocked guards are in place, emergency stops are within reach of employees, machinery cannot start during repair, unblocking, maintenance or cleaning).
- Ensure machinery is guarded and where practicable interlocked to prevent possible entanglement (eg drilling mechanism, rods, general shaft drive, belts, chains, coupler parts, tail drums / head drums and rollers).
- Install and maintain warning systems (eg for start-up of conveyors and crushing plant).
- Provide appropriate personal protective equipment (eg hard hats, gloves that absorb impact energy, welding masks, hearing protection, respiratory protection, safety boots, suitable eye protection) and ensure it is worn.