Quarry Safety: The Top 5 Hazards & How Signage Can Help

It’s no secret that any workplace, especially ones where workers are operating machinery, working at a height, and tackling extreme weather conditions, can present safety concerns. Particularly, working on a quarry can be incredibly dangerous, and potential risks need to be spotted and averted. Below are some of the most common causes of accidents within the quarry industry. It’s important to remember that awareness of potential risks can prevent injury, and save lives. 1. Slips & Trips on the Same Level An article from HSE shows that there are three key aspects in preventing trips and slips: Suitable Walkways Design & Maintenance Housekeeping It’s incredibly important to identify areas of walkways which may create issues. Whether it’s loose surface, wet floor, or an obstruction, workers need to be made aware with clear and concise messages. See below the range of signs that you can use to create a safer environment for workers. For example, temporary signs can be used for rain or ice in a walkway, whereas permanent signs can be used for loose surfaces or poor lighting. Stocksigns offer a wide range of slip hazard signs to help make workers more aware of potential danger and improve quarry safety. Home > Blog > Quarry Safety: The Top 5 Hazards & How Signage Can Help Quarry Safety: The Top 5 Hazards & How Signage Can Help Posted by Josh on 22nd November 2019 It’s no secret that any workplace, especially ones where workers are operating machinery, working at a height, and tackling extreme weather conditions, can present safety concerns. Particularly, working on a quarry can be incredibly dangerous, and potential risks need to be spotted and averted. Below are some of the most common causes of accidents within the quarry industry. It’s important to remember that awareness of potential risks can prevent injury, and save lives. 1. Slips & Trips on the Same Level An article from HSE shows that there are three key aspects in preventing trips and slips: Suitable Walkways Design & Maintenance Housekeeping It’s incredibly important to identify areas of walkways which may create issues. Whether it’s loose surface, wet floor, or an obstruction, workers need to be made aware with clear and concise messages. See below the range of signs that you can use to create a safer environment for workers. For example, temporary signs can be used for rain or ice in a walkway, whereas permanent signs can be used for loose surfaces or poor lighting. Stocksigns offer a wide range of slip hazard signs to help make workers more aware of potential danger and improve quarry safety. 2. Falls from a Height 17% of all serious injuries and fatalities in the quarry/aggregate industry occur as a result of falling from a height. There are many causes of this, but the most prominent ones are workers climbing onto loaded vehicles and inspecting silos. It is strongly recommended by MPA that clear signage is placed at the entrance to any site (and within site) to advise against climbing onto high ledges such as loaded vehicles and improve quarry safety. Signage can also help to ensure workers are wearing appropriate clothing for working at height. Site safety signs can advise workers to wear helmets, safety footwear and even harnesses if necessary. This should help to ensure everyone onsite complies with safe practices when working in dangerous areas and minimise falls. Stocksigns can provide a number of various site safety and height hazard signs to suit the needs of quarry workers. To browse our range of site safety signs, visit our “Construction Site Safety Notices” section. To browse our selection of height hazard signs, visit our “Scaffolding Signs” section. 3. Falling/moving Objects Falling or moving objects cause 31% of the serious injuries and fatalities that occur within the quarry industry. Often this is due to workers not wearing the correct PPE such as safety helmets, or the site not having protective netting/overhead protection. Making workers aware of such risks will encourage the proper use of safety equipment, preventing major accidents in the workplace. It’s also very important that any pedestrian areas are inaccessible if there is any risk of falling debris. Signage can be used to mark areas that shouldn’t be accessed by the general public, alongside barriers to ensure quarry safety. To view our range of building site hazard signs, visit our “Construction Hazard Signs” section. To view our range of PPE signs, visit our “Personal Protective Equipment Signs” section. 4. Contact with Moving Machinery Injury caused by contact with moving machinery is often due to failure to isolate all sources of energy correctly. Risk assessments and worker education help to greatly reduce incidents onsite – as machinery operators will know the exact procedures to follow in the event of potential danger. In dangerous situations, it is vital that workers keep calm and follow instructions to prevent further risks. Signage can help drastically with this, if areas with machinery are clearly marked, and state the procedures concisely. Incidents within the industry have shown that a push on guidance and education can greatly improve quarry safety within all areas, with moving machinery being no exception. In fact, with machinery being one of the more complex aspects of quarry work, it’s one of the most important parts. To view Stocksigns’ collection of machinery warning signs, visit our “Machinery Hazard Signs” section. 5. Workplace Transport Workplace transport poses a risk to not only site workers, but also pedestrians, as every year pedestrians can be seriously injured or even killed by vehicles on a mineral products site. The importance of correct signage on these sites is huge, to both allow the work to be done properly and prevent harm to a worker or pedestrian. Stocksigns offer a wide range of vehicular hazard signage to warn people of the potential risks both onsite and off. A risk assessment and corresponding safety measures are simple to carry out, and yet have a great impact on site safety. A clear outline of areas where pedestrians should not enter, and hazard signs stating the potential risks are vital. To browse our selection of safety signs for building site vehicles, visit our “Vehicle Warning Signs” section.