QSCS Quarry Skills key terms

The core UK law setting out general duties on employers and employees to protect the health and safety of people affected by work activity, including quarry operations.

Sector-specific regulations covering quarry design, tips and excavations, blasting, emergency procedures and the appointment of a quarry manager and competent persons.

A legal test weighing the risk of harm against the cost and effort of controlling it, so action is required unless grossly disproportionate to the benefit gained.

The legal and moral obligation on everyone at a site to act sensibly, follow rules and avoid actions that could endanger themselves or others.

Written local instructions covering access, speed limits, PPE, pedestrian routes, isolation and emergency arrangements that everyone on site must obey.

Someone with the training, knowledge, experience and practical skills needed to carry out a particular task or inspection safely and correctly.

The appointed person responsible for the day-to-day control and supervision of quarry operations, including safety, health and welfare of everyone on site.

A structured process of identifying hazards, deciding who could be harmed and how, and recording suitable controls before work begins.

Anything with the potential to cause harm, such as an unguarded conveyor, unstable stockpile face, moving vehicle or exposure to silica dust.

The combination of how likely a hazard is to cause harm and how serious that harm could be, used to judge whether controls are adequate.

The order in which controls should be chosen, preferring elimination and engineering measures over administrative rules and personal protective equipment.

The routine of spotting and reporting conditions or behaviours that could cause harm, using inspections, near-miss reports and team discussion.

A document describing the sequence of steps, controls and responsibilities for carrying out a task safely and consistently.

The agreed combination of procedures, equipment, training and supervision that ensures a task is completed without unacceptable risk.

A formal written authorisation allowing specified high-risk work to proceed under stated precautions, valid only for a set time and location.

Physically disconnecting and securing energy sources such as electricity, hydraulics or compressed air so equipment cannot start or move unexpectedly.

A procedure using personal locks and warning tags to ensure an isolated machine cannot be re-energised until the person who applied them removes them.

The routine inspection of fluid levels, tyres, brakes, lights, guards and alarms carried out before operating plant or machinery.

The process of recording and reporting any fault or damage found on plant or equipment so it can be repaired and kept out of use until safe.

A site plan showing routes, one-way systems, junctions, speed limits, parking and pedestrian walkways to keep vehicles and people apart.

Keeping vehicles and pedestrians apart using barriers, walkways, crossing points and designated routes to reduce the chance of collision.

Driving a vehicle backwards, a high-risk manoeuvre requiring clear visibility, exclusion zones, spotters or reversing aids and controlled site layouts.

A trained person who directs vehicle movements, particularly reversing, using agreed hand signals and standing in a safe, visible position.

Any man-made cut, cavity or trench in the ground, which must be assessed for stability, services and safe access before people enter.

Sloping the sides of an excavation back to a safe angle so the ground cannot collapse onto people working below.

Buried pipes, cables and ducts that must be located and marked, and safe digging practices used, before any excavation begins.

The condition of ground, faces and structures remaining secure and not liable to collapse, subsidence or unexpected movement.

A built-up mound of loose material whose height, slope and base must be controlled to prevent collapse, run-off or engulfment.

A designed area for depositing waste or surplus material, requiring controlled construction, drainage and inspection for stability.

The area around a blast from which people and plant must be withdrawn and kept out until the shot has been fired and the site declared safe.

A trained and appointed person responsible for charging, connecting, firing and checking a blast, and for confirming the area is safe afterwards.

An explosive charge that fails to detonate as planned, creating a serious hazard that must be reported and handled only by authorised people.

Rock thrown beyond the intended blast area, controlled by good blast design, adequate burden and proper exclusion distances.

A place where moving parts run close together or against a fixed surface and can trap, crush or draw in fingers, clothing or tools.

Fixed or interlocked physical barriers that prevent contact with dangerous moving parts and must never be removed while the machine can run.

A documented set of arrangements covering alarms, evacuation routes, assembly points, rescue and communication for foreseeable emergencies.

A pre-agreed safe location where people gather after an evacuation so they can be counted and accounted for.

An unplanned event that did not cause injury or damage but had the potential to do so, and which must be reported so lessons can be learned.

The formal recording of accidents, dangerous occurrences and near misses so causes can be investigated and controls improved.

The reporting regulations requiring certain work-related deaths, specified injuries, dangerous occurrences and occupational diseases to be reported to the enforcing authority.

Clothing and equipment such as helmets, boots, hearing protection and respiratory masks worn to reduce exposure to remaining risks.

Very fine dust from quartz-bearing rock that can reach deep into the lungs and cause serious irreversible disease, controlled by water and extraction.

Methods such as water sprays, dust extraction, enclosure and damping down used to stop fine particles becoming airborne and spreading off site.

A settlement pond or structure that slows dirty water so suspended solids settle out before the water is discharged or recycled.

The formal authorisation setting conditions on emissions, water discharge, waste and noise that a site must comply with to operate lawfully.

The controlled storage, labelling, transfer and disposal of waste materials so they do not pollute the environment or harm people.

A short, focused briefing to a work team on a specific hazard, task or lesson learned, encouraging questions and confirming understanding.

A pre-task discussion confirming the hazards, controls, roles and emergency arrangements for the job about to be carried out.

The act of assembling and accounting for all personnel at a designated point during an evacuation or emergency drill.