QSCS Quarry Skills cheat sheet

Employer duties under health and safety law are commonly framed as: provide safe plant and systems of work, safe handling and storage, information/instruction/training/supervision, safe premises with safe access and egress, and a safe working environment with adequate welfare.

A risk assessment is legally required to be 'suitable and sufficient' - it must identify hazards, evaluate risk, and record significant findings where five or more employees are employed.

Employees have a duty to take reasonable care of themselves and others, cooperate with the employer on safety matters, and report defects or hazards they cannot themselves remedy.

The hierarchy of control is: eliminate, substitute, engineering controls, administrative controls, then PPE - PPE is the last line of defence, not the first.

Environmental permitting for quarry operations typically covers dust, noise, water discharge, and waste; breaches are enforced by the regulator, not just internal discipline.

Site rules are enforceable instructions; breaching a site rule is a disciplinary matter and can also be a criminal offence where it breaches a legal duty.

Near-miss and dangerous-occurrence reporting is a legal duty in many jurisdictions, not optional - record the event even where no injury resulted.

A 'competent person' means someone with sufficient training, experience, knowledge and other qualities to properly undertake the task - not simply a senior employee.

Risk = likelihood × severity. Reducing either factor reduces the risk score; eliminating the hazard removes it entirely.

The five steps of risk assessment: identify hazards, decide who might be harmed and how, evaluate risks and decide controls, record and implement, review and update.

A safe system of work is a formal procedure documenting the sequence of work, the hazards, the controls, and who is responsible - it must be communicated and understood before work starts.

Residual risk is the risk remaining after controls are applied; it must be tolerable, not necessarily zero.

Dynamic risk assessment is a mental or short written reassessment made when conditions change on site - it supplements, but does not replace, the written assessment.

Hierarchy of control applies in order: the most effective controls remove the hazard at source; the least effective rely on behaviour or PPE.

A hazard is a source of potential harm; a risk is the chance, high or low, that harm will occur together with its severity.

Review triggers for a risk assessment include: change of process, change of plant, an incident or near miss, new personnel, and a set review date.

Pre-start checks typically cover: fluid levels, tyre condition and pressure, guards and covers in place, lights and alarms, seat belt, fire extinguisher, brakes, steering, and the presence of any leaks or damage.

Defects found at pre-start must be recorded and reported; plant must be tagged out of service if the defect affects safe operation.

Isolation for maintenance follows lock-out/tag-out: isolate the energy source, lock it, tag it, prove dead (test), and only then work on the plant.

Stored energy (hydraulic pressure, gravity, compressed air, springs) must be released or restrained before work begins - isolation alone does not remove stored energy.

Guards must never be removed or defeated while the plant is running; interlock switches must not be bypassed.

Only trained and authorised operators may operate plant; the operator is responsible for the daily pre-start check and for reporting faults.

Before starting plant, the operator checks the area for people, confirms the horn and alarms work, and ensures nobody is in the machine's sweep path.

When parking plant, lower attachments to the ground, apply the parking brake, remove the key, and chock where required.

A traffic management plan defines haul routes, one-way systems, speed limits, pedestrian walkways, crossing points, and reversing areas.

The hierarchy for reversing is: avoid reversing where possible, then use a trained banksman, then rely on reversing aids and alarms - never reversing aids alone.

A banksman must remain in clear view of the driver and use agreed signals; if the driver loses sight of the banksman, the driver stops immediately.

Segregation of pedestrians and plant is the primary control - physical barriers and marked walkways are preferred over painted lines alone.

Blind spots on large mobile plant are significant; operators must use mirrors, cameras and spotters, and pedestrians must never assume they have been seen.

Speed limits, load limits and stability limits on site are set for the plant and conditions; exceeding them is a common cause of overturning and loss-of-control incidents.

Haul roads require maintenance - potholes, rutting, spillage and dust all increase the risk of loss of control and must be reported.

Loading and unloading areas must be level, clear of overhead lines, and controlled so that only one machine operates in the loading zone at a time.

An excavation must be supported, battered back to a safe angle, or otherwise made safe; unsupported vertical faces in loose material are a collapse hazard.

Spoil and materials must be kept back from the edge of an excavation - a common rule is a distance at least equal to the depth of the excavation, and never less than the site standard.

Excavations deeper than a set depth (commonly 1.2 m in many jurisdictions) require shoring, benching or a documented safe system, and access must be by ladder.

Before digging, use service plans and a cable avoidance tool, plus hand-dig trial holes near marked services - never rely on drawings alone.

Stockpiles and tips must be stable; over-steepening, undercutting the toe, or loading the crest can cause run-off or collapse.

Water ingress, vibration, and adjacent loading all reduce the stability of excavations and tips; monitor and reassess after rain or blasting.

The angle of repose is the steepest angle at which loose material remains stable - exceed it and the slope fails.

Edge protection, barriers and warning signs must be provided around excavations and the crests of tips and stockpiles.

Blast exclusion zones must be cleared and guarded before firing; the shot firer confirms all personnel are accounted for and gives the warning signal.

Warning signals are standardised: a series of audible signals before firing, a distinct signal at firing, and an all-clear after the area is confirmed safe.

Explosives must be stored in licensed magazines, kept secure, and issued only to authorised persons with records of issue and return.

Misfires must be treated as live; the area is kept clear, the shot firer is informed, and the misfire is dealt with only by a competent person following the site procedure.

Drilling operations require dust suppression (water or extraction), hearing protection, and control of the risk from rotating parts and compressed air.

Before drilling, confirm the hole pattern and check for misfires or remnants from previous blasts - drilling into a misfire can initiate it.

Vibration and flyrock are controlled by blast design: burden, spacing, stemming, charge weight and delay sequence all affect the outcome.

After the blast, the area is inspected for misfires, unsafe ground and damaged services before the all-clear is given and work resumes.

The primary hazards of crushers and screens are entanglement, crushing, and ejection of material - guards and interlocked access doors are the key controls.

Conveyors present nip points at head and tail pulleys, and the belt itself can trap or drag a person; nip guards and pull-cords are essential controls.

Before clearing a blockage or working on a conveyor, isolate and lock off, prove dead, and release stored energy - never clear a blockage while the plant is running.

Pull-cords (emergency stop cords) along conveyors must be tested and must stop the belt when pulled; they are not a substitute for isolation during maintenance.

Dust and noise are the main occupational health hazards in processing plant; water sprays, enclosures and extraction control dust, and hearing protection controls noise.

Start-up and shutdown sequences must follow the site procedure; conveyors are started in the correct order so that material is not left on a stopped belt.

Walkways, handrails and stairs around plant must be kept clear of spillage and tripping hazards; spillage is a slip and fire risk.

Access to crushers and screens is only via interlocked doors - bypassing an interlock is a serious safety breach.

Emergency procedures must cover fire, explosion, major injury, entrapment, and environmental release, and must identify the alarm, the assembly point, and the responsible person.

The first action on discovering a fire is to raise the alarm and evacuate by the nearest safe route; fighting the fire is only attempted if trained and if it is safe to do so.

First aid arrangements must reflect the site's hazards and workforce; first aiders, kits and, where required, a first aid room must be provided and their locations known.

DR ABC (danger, response, airway, breathing, circulation) is the primary survey sequence for a casualty.

Incident reporting must be prompt and factual: record what happened, when, where, who was involved, the injuries, and the immediate actions taken.

Reportable incidents typically include fatalities, specified injuries, over-seven-day injuries, dangerous occurrences and certain occupational diseases - check the jurisdiction's list.

Preserve the scene after a serious incident so that the investigation can establish cause; do not move equipment unless it is necessary to save life or prevent further harm.

The purpose of investigation is to find root causes and prevent recurrence - not to apportion blame.

Dust controls include water sprays, dust suppression on haul roads, enclosures, extraction and reduced drop heights when loading.

Noise controls follow the hierarchy: reduce at source, enclose, isolate, then administrative controls and hearing protection; noise is measured in decibels (dB(A)).

Silica dust from cutting and crushing is a serious health hazard; control it with water or extraction and do not rely on respiratory protection alone.

Water management includes settlement lagoons, silt traps, and bunding around fuel and chemical storage to prevent pollution of watercourses.

Spill response uses the 'contain, absorb, dispose' approach - stop the source, contain with absorbent or bunding, and dispose of contaminated material correctly.

Waste must be segregated (for example, general, hazardous, and recyclable), stored in labelled containers, and disposed of through licensed carriers.

Dust, noise and water discharges are often regulated by permit conditions with set limits; monitoring records must be kept.

Runoff from stockpiles and tips can carry suspended solids; settlement before discharge is a standard control.

Supervisors are responsible for ensuring that the safe system of work is followed, that personnel are competent, and that hazards are reported and controlled.

Toolbox talks are short, task-specific briefings delivered before work; they must be understood, and understanding should be confirmed by questioning.

Effective communication uses clear, agreed signals and terminology; where language barriers exist, use interpreters, pictograms or demonstrations.

A supervisor must stop work where there is an imminent risk to safety - the authority to stop work is a core supervisory responsibility.

Handover between shifts must cover plant status, isolation status, ongoing hazards, and any open defects.

Teamwork depends on clear roles and responsibilities; everyone must know who is in charge and what to do in an emergency.

Reporting lines must be clear: defects, near misses and hazards are reported to the supervisor, who escalates as required.

A supervisor should verify competence and authorisation before allowing anyone to operate plant or carry out a task.