Mark Cowan’s Post

Last week I posted about mixer maintenance again being in the spotlight and the importance of following the mixer manufacturer handbook for the additional maintenance requirements needed for these specialist vehicles. This safety alert from Cemex further demonstrates the need to ensure everyone is aware of their responsibilities. This is the sixth major sub-chassis/stool/drum integrity issue we've been made aware of in the past two weeks. Section 4 of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) Concrete Operational Audit Standards covers the additional maintenance requirements, including walkaround checks, the integrity of the mixer and components, and maintenance in line with the mixer manufacturer's (not the OEM) safety instructions. It was included for this exact reason, as it's never been an industry focus, regardless of the number of incidents. We've also been working with companies, drivers, managers, maintenance providers, and mixer manufacturers, delivering DVSA-accredited MixerSURE© training on the additional maintenance requirements after last year's HS2 (High Speed Two) Ltd drum detachment incident with great success. "It's not only the drivers who have benefitted from MixerSURE©/SVCA© – Mark has also facilitated practical training course content for our in-house fitting/work-shop department on the physics, science and engineering aspects of keeping mixer trucks (drums/chassis, etc.) safe and road-worthy in line with mixer manufacturer and DVSA requirements..." This is why standards are sorely needed across the ready-mixed concrete sector, as 70 years of the same incidents haven't produced progress or improvements in safety. Department for Transport (DfT), United Kingdom House of Commons Health and Safety Executive National Highways CLOCS Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety Driving for Better Business BRITISH AGGREGATES ASSOCIATION Mineral Products Association This is UK Concrete TVS Interfleet Sterling Mixers Liebherr-Great Britain Putzmeister United Kingdom CIFA - Concrete Machinery IMER Group Rapid Truck Mixers Ltd Transport for London Metropolitan Police Breedon Group plc Heidelberg Materials UK Aggregate Industries UK Tarmac Lindsey Kevin Phil Amanda simon Shaun Jared FORS - Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme Mission Zero® Logico EMPI Awards Road Haulage Association (RHA) Logistics UK

A recent job advert on a Facebook forum looking for a mixer driver to work on a site in London—no driving on the road involved. The successful candidate must have a CPCS NOCN, NPORS, Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS), or a Mineral Products Qualifications Council (MPQC) card—but in what? None of these cards demonstrate competency in driving or operating a truck mixer on-site, so why would you need them? Regardless of clever marketing or misleading information, the MPQC card is NOT an industry requirement for all drivers and hauliers employed within the extractives sector. Shoehorning it into a plant scheme is irresponsible and dangerous, especially if there's an accident on-site. So what is it? A plant scheme or a driver skills card? The Mineral Products Association gives guidance that all drivers delivering for an MPA member require a driver skills card (MPQC or other industry-recognised scheme), so there's a choice. The SVCA© (On-Road) assessments from EMPI Awardsa aren't classrooms or webinar courses but a demonstration of competence in a specific vehicle type: tippers, skip loaders, and the world's first and ONLY qualification for drivers of drum and volumetric mixers regulated by SQA – Scottish Qualifications Authority. How does a CPC course demonstrate that drivers are competent in the vehicle type they are driving and operating? It doesn't. It's worth remembering that competence assessments for drivers are required for National Highways projects and HS2 (High Speed Two) Ltd deliveries but aren't enforced. Why? Because of misleading information, as seen in the image. Why don't these projects carry out due diligence on competence requirements? What is the Health and Safety Executive accepting when it's covered in the HASWA and PUWER? There are better ways to improve safety and minimise accidents, and it's not just the drivers who need encouragement to behave safely, is it? Department for Transport (DfT), United Kingdom Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) House of Commons Crown Prosecution Service Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety Driving for Better Business CLOCS Considerate Constructors Scheme Logico Aggregates Business Magazine Metropolitan Police Construction Leadership Council National Police Chiefs' Council Loveday Bill Transport for London CECA Scotland Transport Scotland Mission Zero® FORS - Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme Road Haulage Association (RHA) Logistics UK CILT (UK) Commercial Motor Concrete Connect Construction Enquirer

Why is it important to know the temperature of a forklift’s electric motor? This kind of valuable information can prevent failures, reduce maintenance costs, and improve the longevity of a machine. Combilift Australia #ForkliftMaintenance #ElectricMotorTemperature #PreventiveMaintenance #CostReduction #MachineLongevity #EquipmentEfficiency #manufacturing

This is curious and reminds me of a story I was told when I was a child. "The Emperor's New Clothes" is a story is about a pair of chancers who manage to convince an Emperor, and an entire town, to get them to do practically nothing, and still get paid handsomely for it. They convince the emperor that they can weave the finest clothing out of thin air, they then present him with a new outfit that consists of nothing. The emperor, either crassly arrogant or ignorant, believes the pair, because they sound convincing. All the townsfolk go along with it, because they too, have been taken in by their scheme. They all parade around town congratulating themselves. It takes a child to finally point out the obvious - there are no new clothes. The emperor is, in fact - naked. The interesting part about this tale is that it perfectly describes a ‘Bandwagon Fallacy’. When people are persuaded by ambiguous claims or misinformation. Repeating a claim, doesn’t make it true, but if you do it enough, you can persuade people to believe it. The problem with Bandwagon Fallacies is that they are often driven by the opinions of those with either vested or even conflicting interests. Fallacies are big on opinions but usually very small on facts or truth. Just because a lot of people can be persuaded to buy in to an industry narrative about training, doesn't automatically make it a good idea. For example, can you be sure that those pushing the narrative, are qualified or competent to make valid judgements on the matter? The 'Dunning-Kruger Effect' deserves an entire post of its own. But let's just go back to the Emperor's New Clothes. Just because an organisation appoints itself (with trade association backing) as the sole authority on industry training, qualifications & competence, and tells you that it is an 'industry requirement' to buy their products and services. Or that they have a ‘qualification’ which is not a qualification, it is merely a training course, that 'proves competence' (not my words) by means of a remote webinar and multiple-choice health & safety test… Then perhaps you should check to see what they sold you, and double-check what you are wearing.

Safety in materials handling operations requires constant focus and attention from forklift operators, pedestrians and supervisors. Today’s operators face intense pressure to perform at their peak and increase throughput. But the good news is, new high-performing technologies can be utilised to reinforce operating best practices, increase productivity and mitigate the risks of accidents. Hyster Europe takes us through them in their latest Forkliftaction article: https://loom.ly/f-M8h58 #forkliftsafety #materialshandling #Hyster ✳️ Hyster EMEA

Criterion Equipment’s TCM FB electric forklift trucks, which are engineered for high productivity and safe operation, are known for reduced operating costs, precise controllability, low noise levels and a modern ergonomic design. Find out more in this edition of Engineering Review. #CriterionEquipment #TCM #ElectricForklifts

Safety news: Read our new case study and how working directly with Ozinga, we were able to enhance safety and efficiency through a common, strategic approach. https://lnkd.in/g6BEgVNC Ozinga Sensata Technologies #SafetyTechnology

Familiarize yourself with the features and properties of autogas fuel and equipment in this month's Safety First column. (Image: tttuna/E+/Getty Images)

Friday frustration in agreement with these posts! So much hard work goes into industries by individuals, companies and groups, to solve the burning issues and problems faced by the governing bodies and deficiencies in the industries, but they're not yet enforced!! 😣 The products are there to avoid rollovers and other such industry issues, the training is there to educate in preventing the causes, the technology is even there to do it for you if the driver has a blip...simply just enforce it as standard and the problems immediately reduce at an exponential rate! Job done, move on!! The answers and solutions are there in plain sight, make them a legal requirement or process, the financial cost is minimal to unnoticeable in some cases, but the reward is both industry, and life changing 🤷♂️ Tarmac Aggregate Industries UK Heidelberg Materials UK CEMEX UK Breedon Group plc Ben Garner Tom Griffiths TVS Interfleet Department for Transport (DfT), United Kingdom Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) Phil Breen Gavin Brain BA(Hons), FIQ, ASET Pete Rushmer MixerSURE© Logico BRITISH AGGREGATES ASSOCIATION Road Haulage Association (RHA) Commercial Motor Motor Transport Transport News Bill Esterson Richard Wenham CMILT M.IMI-CAE Rob Beckers CMILT James Dawes. CMILT Garry woodcock Richard Dawson

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