The Port of London Authority (PLA) has issued a safety bulletin on the use of dangerously weighted heaving lines that could of relevance to any operator with a wharf or operating vessels.

This issue has also been highlighted in a BMAPA alert in January 2021 and the MCA has issued a policy on reporting and management of inappropriately weighted heaving lines.

The Port of London Authority reports all instances of dangerously weighted heaving lines to the MCA. This may result in enforcement action being taken against the vessel.

Occasionally, a bitumen delivery which has commenced cannot be completed for a number of reasons. When this happens, the weight of the remaining bitumen in the truck trailer puts pressure on the hose and this poses a safety risk for uncoupling.

Eurobitume has developed a new guidance document, ‘Recommendations to disconnect hoses in case still under pressure’, which shares good industry practises about how to safely disconnect hoses when a delivery is incomplete.

This new guidance document is available in English, German and French

A new edition of the Code of Practice for Safe Stressing of Prestressed Concrete Products has been developed by MPA Precast to communicate good practice in the management of health and safety when manufacturing prestressed concrete products.

Prepared in collaboration with the membership of MPA Precast and with the support of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the Code of Practice (CoP) applies to all companies with prestressing activity on their sites. The aim is for the CoP to be shared at all levels within the precast industry.

Over-pressurisation of silos during deliveries can result in silos rupturing or filter housings being ejected and a significant risk of ‘struck by’ injuries. ‘Struck by flying or falling objects’ is one of the MPA’s ‘Fatal 6’; the high consequence hazards responsible for most of the major injuries and fatalities within the sector.

The MPA checklist for bulk powder deliveries can be used by those businesses delivering mineral powders to take a structured approach to assess silo safety at customer sites. The checklist has been updated to emphasise that the main safety concern when delivering powders pneumatically is over-pressurisation, which can result in catastrophic failure. Checking that the measures and controls identified in this document are applied, fitted and functioning correctly will help to eliminate or reduce such risks.

A new guide has been produced by MPA and Hycontrol to help prevent incidents that are related to silo over-pressurisation. Pneumatic delivery/discharge of powders into silos is an everyday occurrence at both mineral company and customer sites. Deliveries that are not well controlled and monitored or silos that are not correctly equipped and maintained present a significant risk of silo over-pressurisation.

The explosive failure of silos as a result of over pressurisation puts workers lives at risk or serious injury from the impact of flying or falling debris - one of the MPA ‘Fatal 6’ hazards.

Please see the link below to the Information Sheet prepared by HSENI regarding ‘Safe cleaning procedures for truck mounted mixing drums’.
 

The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) is instructing ALL Concrete Operators to review their current risk assessment and safe system of work for cleaning the interior of truck mounted mixing drums.

Concrete Operators should eliminate the need to enter the mixing drum to perform cleaning activities where possible.

 
Inspectors from the Extractive Industry and Waste Group (EIWG) will be requesting evidence of Concrete Operators risk assessment, safe system of work and training records for this work activity during future inspections.

.Guidance on how to ensure control of the danger zone and what is expected from sentries.

Target Audience -  Managers, Supervisors, Shotfirers, Sentries and Explosives Supervisors

'Safe Stop'

Six separate ‘runaway incidents’ in 2024 highlight the importance of drivers ensuring that they follow “Safe Stop” procedures to prevent fatalities, serious injury and damage to property.

Tragically, one of these incidents did result in a fatality, any of the other incidents had the potential to have a similar outcome.

MPA urges members to ensure 'Safe Stop' procedures are in place for all employee and contract drivers, appropriate checks and training is in place.  See pdf for more information

A recent review of the guidelines on Safequarry that relate to the safe delivery and storage of bitumen highlighted that guidelines on safety showers were not included. Guidelines, which were produced by Eurobitume in 2016, have now been added.

They provide uniform minimum considerations for the performance, use, installation and maintenance of emergency safety shower equipment at facilities where bitumen products are handled in bulk and at elevated temperature. It is not an exhaustive list of considerations and, as such, anyone considering installing safety shower equipment should consult with a competent engineer or safety professional.

A specific risk and exposure analysis must be completed by the responsible party before any operation, new installation and reviewed if any modification is undertaken. 

Delivery drivers should be instructed not to make a delivery if the shower is found to be inoperable. Please note that during periods of cold weather it is especially important to check the emergency shower to ensure that trace heating or other measures designed to prevent freezing are operating correctly.