OSSGA names safety award winners

Dufferin Aggregates’ Flamboro Quarry in Dundas, Ontario, earned the Ontario Stone, Sand & Gravel Association‘s (OSSGA) 2021 Safety Innovation Award.

The award recognizes innovative practices, programs and projects in Ontario’s aggregate industry that improve the health and safety of employees, subcontractors and the public, OSSGA says. It was presented at the association’s Health & Safety Seminar.

According to OSSGA, Flamboro Quarry received the award in recognition of its conveyor belt headbox modification. The quarry’s health and safety team modified the side of the headbox in order to access inside, and a lockable gate was added to allow the worker to open the gate and clear jams safely. Prior to this, workers had to climb onto the conveyor belt to reach the jammed headbox.

Honorable mentions

The Flamboro Quarry also received an honorable mention for installing additional platforms with guard rails, eliminating a working-at-height hazard.

In addition, Dufferin Aggregates’ Millcreek Pit in Cambridge, Ontario, and Teedon Pit in Tiny, Ontario, earned honorable mentions for safety enhancements on-site.

Individual safety awards

OSSGA presented the 2021 Individual Safety Award to Walker Aggregates’ Roger McGillvray, CBM Aggregates’ Paul Noble and Miller Paving’s Bill Parsons.

McGillvray, superintendent of Walker Aggregates’ Severn Quarry in Orillia, Ontario, developed standard operating procedures for quarry operations, including blasting, drilling, loading-at-face and excavating.

Meanwhile, Noble has been a major contributor to CBM Aggregates’ health and safety by reporting hazards, near misses and daily risk assessments, OSSGA says, and was essential in navigating the pandemic and helping the team adapt to new policies.

Parsons is a superintendent of Miller Paving’s Carden Quarry in Brechin, Ontario, and was a member of its joint health and safety committee from 2007 to 2020, taking the lead on developing and upgrading work practices and procedures.