Conveyor Safety and Machinery Guarding Auditing
Cove Engineering has become the industry leader in the provision of AS4024.1, AS4024.3610 and AS4024.3611 Machinery and Conveyor Safety auditing. Cove has developed a comprehensive AS4024.1, AS4024.3610 and AS4024.3611 audit and reporting database which allows us to provide our clients with an accurate and useful audit report.
Each Cove Engineering AS4024.3610 and AS4024.3611 Conveyor Safety Audit provides compliance information on the following areas:
- General Access
- Safety Guarding
- Controls & Isolation
- Signage
- Fire Protection
- Emergency Stops
- Site Systems & Procedures
Conveyors have long been acknowledged as one of the highest risk areas within a mine or plant, with regard to the health and safety of personnel. Troughed belt conveyors in particular, present more opportunities for personnel injury than any other type of machinery in its class, due to the hundreds of nip and shear points present on a typical conveyor.
To assist with the recognition and management of this issue, Cove Engineering has developed a comprehensive Conveyor Safety Auditing process with audits being undertaken by a highly trained and experienced team, who have been drawn from the conveyor industry.
Of the many hundreds of conveyor safety audits conducted, only a handful of conveyors have passed an audit with a complete bill of health. This is despite the very comprehensive safety, training, incident reporting and rectification systems installed on most sites.
The term “Domestic Blindness” has evolved in the industry, which explains why sites with such comprehensive systems still suffer from serious safety non-compliances. The “Domestic Blindness” phenomenon sees personnel become so familiar with their surroundings and work environment that they no longer see the most obvious of safety concerns.
The Conveyor Safety Auditing process developed by Cove Engineering ensures that all aspects of conveyor safety are evaluated and that the “Domestic Blindness” issue is eliminated throughout the process. This is achieved through the provision of skilled auditors familiar with conveyors, but independent of the site being audited.
The Auditing process can also include a “Risk Evaluation” of each non-conformance detected, which assists the conveyor operator in identifying the priorities for corrective action. Priorities are assigned to the results in order to facilitate effective corrective actions.
Conveyor Safety is a complex process that needs to be undertaken by skilled and experienced personnel. The follow-up process must then be backed-up by comprehensive systems that ensure proper solutions are identified and implemented.
Cove Engineering has the systems and procedures to ensure that this vitally important process is completed in the most efficient and cost effective manner.