Precast Concrete Industry – Application Series: 1 of 5

Gravel Pits: Conveyor Systems – Trapped Key Interlock Safety Solutions

An estimated 18-20 per cent of all recorded health and safety incidents in quarry operations result from conveyors, according to Rema Tip Top Industry UK Ltd

The extraction or storing of aggregate within a gravel pit serves a variety of purposes across many industries including the concrete & cement industries.

Conveyor systems are an important method in the process of transporting materials across the mine surface, into hoppers, over grating for sorting, and into trucks for distribution to plants and manufacturing facilities.

Injuries such as severed limbs can occur during the clearing of conveyor blockages and can cost an estimated £118,000 in fines according to the Health & Safety at Work Act

The continuous movement of belts, chains, and diverters place personnel working and operating the system at risk. Regular maintenance on these systems is required to ensure efficiencies. Safety processes must be followed to mitigate human error and save lives. The isolation of power prior to entry into the area is the first step in mitigating risk.

Trapped Key Interlocking conforms to UK and EU regulations for the proper isolation of electricity and equipment power so that there is no negative result in health and safety risks for personnel

Trapped key interlock safety solutions ensure a pre-determined sequence of operations each & every time. While LOTO provides a visual warning and identifies hazards, a TKI solution physically prevents a specific set of actions from being performed until previous action(s) have been fully completed!