A quarry health and safety audit is not a plant check and it is not a tip inspection. It is the periodic look across the whole site against the duties the operator holds: traffic, health hazards, faces and excavations, welfare, competence and the safe systems that tie them together. Its worth is entirely in the evidence it leaves. The scope below is a starting point; your own safety management system and the current regulations set the definitive audit.
Guide · Mining
Mines and quarries health and safety audit, UK.
What a site health and safety audit covers against the Quarries Regulations 1999 and the Mines Regulations 2014, from vehicle and pedestrian segregation to dust and edge protection, and how to record it on the phone your team already carries.
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The point
An audit is only worth its evidence.
A finding with no photo and no date is an opinion. Software makes the audit easier to complete walking the site, harder to skip a section, and faster to turn into actions. A good tool means the audit is the record of what was actually seen, not a form filled in from the office afterwards.
What the audit covers
Three areas that fail quarries.
Traffic management
Vehicle and pedestrian
Segregation, one-way systems, edge protection to haul roads, reversing controls and safe access, the biggest killer on quarry sites.
Health hazardsDust, noise, vibration
Respirable crystalline silica controls under COSHH, dust suppression, noise and hand-arm vibration, and health surveillance.
Faces and excavationsEdge and slope stability
Excavation and face stability, edge protection, exclusion and the geotechnical duties under the Quarries Regs.
The friction
The audit written up back at the office.
An audit reconstructed at a desk loses the photo of the missing barrier and the exact location of the fault. The audit walked on site, with each finding photographed where it stands, is the one that holds up. Quickler asks section by section and pins the photo to the finding as you go.
Run safety audits on WhatsApp
No app install. No training.
Auditors use the phone they already have. Text, voice note or photo. The report generates itself. Setup to first live workflow usually takes under a week.
The short version
- A mines and quarries safety audit is a periodic, site-wide review against the operator's health and safety duties.
- Quarries are audited against the Quarries Regulations 1999, mines against the Mines Regulations 2014, both under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and MHSWR.
- The highest-risk areas are vehicle and pedestrian interaction, dust and other health hazards, and face and excavation stability.
- Respirable crystalline silica is a serious health hazard controlled under COSHH; dust suppression and health surveillance are audited.
- The software captures the audit as photographed, dated evidence and tracks the actions. It does not make the site compliant; the competent person and the operator's management do.
The point
What a quarry safety audit is for
A health and safety audit is the operator's periodic, structured look across the whole site, checking that the safe systems of work described in the health and safety document are actually in place on the ground. It is broader than a plant check and separate from a tip inspection. It covers traffic management, health hazards, faces and excavations, welfare, competence and training, permits and isolation, and emergency arrangements.
Software does not make a site compliant. The competent person and the operator's management do. What software does is make the audit easier to complete walking the site, harder to skip a section, and faster to turn into a tracked list of actions. A finding with a photo and a date is evidence; a finding on a form filled in later is an opinion. This is general information, not legal advice; check the current regulations.
Traffic
Vehicle and pedestrian segregation
Vehicle and pedestrian interaction is the leading cause of death on quarry sites, so it is the heart of the audit. The audit checks segregation of people from moving plant, one-way and traffic management systems, edge protection and bunds to haul roads and tips, reversing controls and banksman arrangements, visibility aids on plant, speed control, and safe pedestrian routes and crossing points.
Quickler records each of these as a section, with a photo of any failing control pinned to the finding at the point it is seen. A missing edge bund on a haul road is photographed where it stands and flagged immediately, then tracked as an action until it is closed. The judgement of adequacy stays with the competent auditor.
Health
Dust, silica, noise and vibration
Quarrying is a dusty, noisy, high-vibration environment, and the health harm is slow and serious. The audit covers respirable crystalline silica (RCS) controls under COSHH, including dust suppression, extraction, wet cutting and enclosed cabs; noise assessment and hearing protection; hand-arm and whole-body vibration; and the health surveillance the operator is required to provide. Signage, welfare and the availability of the right PPE all form part of the picture.
Quickler records that controls were present and photographs suppression, signage and PPE as evidence. It does not measure dust, noise or vibration exposure and does not replace an occupational hygiene assessment. Treat exposure judgements as the hygienist's, and check current HSE guidance on RCS and noise.
Faces and excavations
Edge, slope and geotechnical duties
The audit also looks at the working faces and excavations: face and slope stability, the excavation and tipping rules in the site's geotechnical assessment, edge protection and exclusion zones, scaling and clearance of loose material, and the competence of those working near faces. These sit alongside the operator's geotechnical duties, which are assessed by an appointed specialist, not by the audit itself.
Quickler records the audit findings against faces and excavations with located photos. Where a finding touches stability, it flags a referral to the appointed geotechnical specialist. The audit records what was seen; the specialist assesses stability. See tip and tailings inspection reports for the routine side of that duty.
Pricing
Per report, not per seat
Audits are periodic but the people who file them and the managers who read them are many, so per-seat pricing punishes you for the whole safety team. Quickler charges per report instead, with unlimited users on every bundle.
Bundles run from Quickler 50 at 50 pounds a month for 50 reports, up to Quickler 500 at 500 pounds a month for 500 reports. Add every auditor, supervisor, manager and admin at no extra cost; you pay for the reports filed, not the people who could file them. Pricing is approximate and shifts, so check the current pricing page before you commit.
Questions, answered
What does a mines and quarries safety audit cover?
It is a periodic, site-wide review of the operator's health and safety arrangements: vehicle and pedestrian segregation, dust and other health hazards, face and excavation stability, welfare, competence and training, permits and isolation, and emergency arrangements. The definitive scope comes from the site's health and safety document and the current regulations, not from a generic template.
What regulations govern a quarry safety audit in the UK?
Quarries in Great Britain are audited against the Quarries Regulations 1999 and mines against the Mines Regulations 2014, both under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. Dust is controlled under COSHH. The HSE is the regulator. This is not legal advice; check the current regulations.
How is respirable crystalline silica handled in the audit?
The audit checks that RCS controls required under COSHH are in place: dust suppression, extraction, wet cutting, enclosed cabs, and the health surveillance the operator must provide. Quickler records that controls were present and photographs them as evidence. It does not measure exposure and does not replace an occupational hygiene assessment. Check current HSE guidance on RCS.
Can I run a safety audit over WhatsApp?
Yes. Quickler's audit workflow runs over the WhatsApp Business API. The auditor receives each section in their existing WhatsApp chat, records findings with photos pinned to each one, and the report generates automatically with a tracked action list. No separate app or login is required, and Quickler manages the WhatsApp Business API account on the firm's behalf.