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Call for sheeting regulations
Page 21
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• Quarry operators countrywide are redoubling their insistence that all tippers leaving their sites must have their loads sheeted, The aim is to prevent injury to other road users from loose product falling out of moving vehicles.
"It's a key part of our code of practice and written into the contracts of the franchised owner-drivers we use, who run 500 tippers between them," says David Weeks, head of communications at Hanson Building Materials Europe. "What's more, we're telling third-party operators who enter our premises that they cannot collect loads if they don't follow our rules," Hanson, Tarmac and others are also pressing operators to install sheeting systems that can be operated from the ground, so that drivers don't have to climb up and risk falling. Tarmac wants to see such systems made compulsory by law, "We provide dedicated sheeting areas which drivers must use, and would support any moves to make the use of ground-based sheeting systems a legislative requirement," says a Tarmac spokesman. "It would create a level playing field for a" vehicle owners, and ensure health and safety both on and off the site." With sheeting bays at most of its 120 sites, Hanson favours ground-operated sheets too. It would have no objection to legal compulsion. says Weeks.
At £1,000-£3,000, ground and caboperated systems aren't cheap. If a sheet has to be replaced—they should last for two to three years—then the bill could be anything from £120 to £350.
There's strong evidence that tipper owners are gritting their teeth and making the necessary investment, however, "Our sales are up to Elm for our current financial year, up from £550,000 during the previous year," says Carl Hinds, general manager of sheeting system supplier Cover-All Europe.
The Quarry Products Association points out that any quarry that fails to ensure tippers are sheeted may be in breach of its planning consent, and could face legal action as a result.
• The Health & Safety Executive (HSE1 has published guidelines entitled "Sheeting and Unsheeting Tipper Lorries" (11S(G1148). 01787 881165 or see mvw.hsebooks.co.uk