International live demonstration show for the quarrying, recycling and heavy construction industries at Hillhead Quarry, Buxton, UK.Having spent the day at the South East Quarries and Landfill Group H&S Day last week, giving a short presentation on Competence and CPD, I was quite shocked to have a guy (middle aged and "appeared" quite sensible) come up and explain to me "what you have just spoken about was an utter and complete load of rubbish!".
Taken aback by this and before given the opportunity to reply, he continued his rant with "I have been a quarry manager at XXXXXXXXX quarry for the past 22 years and no one knows it better than me, so why do I need to complete a log of my activities never mind do one of these stupid NVQ things".
Not to go in to the finer points of the later conversation on things like the demonstration of competence, HSE visits and Oh, not to forget legislation. He turned, huffed and walked off with his mates with a grin on his face.
I really thought all of the hard work that has been done over the years had brought people from the dark ages into this much better place where we are now with hitting things like the Hard Target, and now entering into Target Zero, never mind the 2010 date of A FULLY COMPETENT WORKFORCE. How wrong could I have been....I guess there are still some dinosaurs out there !!!
The monthly journal for the quarry products industry.
Comments
Mike
I think there is more of this attitude out there than you think. I still see far too much 'box ticking' going on. The competence and associated NVQ targets really offer an opportunity for staff at all levels to upskill themselves; refresh and update skills and bring real business benefit to all.
The first change that is required to make a difference to safety is attitude !
The second thing is that doing just enough is simply no longer enough.
Having worked in crusher and screening plant maintenance for almost 10 years now from a factory that produces these machines and exports globally to working for a dealership and being involved with field service.
I have yet to be offered the chance of doing any sort of NVQ training while it is great there is legislation in place that we all have these NVQ where is the legislation obliging the employers to provide this training?
The way in which the industry is heading (and rightly so) is that no matter what you do, you still need to be properly trained / have the required experience for the role that you perform. On the mobile plant comment above, I do know that MPQC (formally EPIC) do operate short courses on plant operator training. From what I have been told they are pretty good. Personally I would have a look through the options on the web site, choose some options and put them forward to your company and see what happens from there on !!!
Mark, it is true that other members of the EU27 are at different points on the H&S learning curve. We, in the UK, must concentrate on striving to become a world class industry. The QNJAC target of a "fully competent (quarrying) workforce by the end of 2010" is a case in point. We need engagement from ALL quarry companies, not just the 'majors', but everyone. MPA's policy is to pursue the 'gold standard' of NVQ/QCF+CPD - such a combination provides THE best demonstration of continuing competence AND the best defence if challenged by the Regulator or a Court of Law. And we are developing plans this year to assist our Members - and prospective members - in a way that will be unequalled by any other trade body.
22 April 2010
Martin Isles, Director Health & Safety, MPA