Quarry Products Association

	Health & Safety
	The health & safety of our employees and of all who visit our sites is the industry’s top priority and we're aiming for a zero accident industry.
	The fact that many of our employees work in rugged, outdoor environments and that heavy machinery is a key feature of our operations, makes safety a particular challenge. We have, nonetheless, made huge progress in recent years with a 52 per cent cut in incidents between 2000 and 2005. That meant that we achieved a “Hard Target” which we had set in partnership with the Health & Safety Commission. In fact, our six largest members exceeded the target by achieving a remarkable 73 per cent reduction. We have now committed to a further 50 per cent cut by 2009, with the ultimate goal of zero incidents. From the table you can see that we're continuing to make inroads against that challenging target.

	The tools for industry - www.safequarry.com QPA has a runs a successful Health and Safety Best Practice Awards scheme that has produced a wealth of advice and case studies to help industry improve health and safety performance.
	The latest tool has been the launch of the groundbreaking www.safequarry.com website. The site has an extensive best practice database, toolbox talks for employees and an incident alert system which ensures rapid awareness-raising when potential hazards are highlighted.