HSE to stage sheeting blitz
Page 8
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
by Kathy Watson • A crackdown is planned against hauliers who fail to protect their drivers from falling from their vehicles while sheeting up.
The Health & Safety Executive is consulting quarry operators on a draft guidance note as it warns of an upsurge in the number of falls. Once the draft is published, hauliers who fail to follow its best practice are likely to be heavily penalised.
HSE senior quarry inspector John Crabhe is spearheading the new policy. He says: "There could be prohibitions and prosecutions using HSE powers unless things improve."
The draft points out that the advice is not compulsory but warns that inspectors will use it to decide whether an offence has been committed.
The document has been drawn up by a sub-committee of the Quarries Joint Advisory Committee. It recommends mechanical sheeting systems as "the preferred option", warning against manual sheeting methods because they give too little protection against accidents.
I I The Environmental Protection Act 1990 made sheeting of quarry loads compulsory. As a result, says the HSE's guidance note, "numerous accidents have occurred". Drivers are at particular risk when gaining access or alighting from the load or falling when spreading, folding or tightening the sheet. Mechanical sheeting manufacturers such as Dawbarn and George Neville say orders are running high as companies rush to comply.