INCREASED ONUS ON WORK AUTHORITY HOLDERS

Under the Extractive Industry Development Amendment Bill the compulsory requirement to have a ‘Certified Quarry Manager’ appointed to each site has been removed.  The Secretary of the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) and the Quarry Managers Advisory Panel (QMAP) now have no say in determining if a person is competent.

Instead the onus is now on the Work Authority Holder to ‘appoint’ a ‘competent’ person.  The definition of ‘competent’ according to the revised act [Extractive Industry Development (Amendment) Act] is: 

“…a person whom the holder of a work authority reasonably believes:

(a) has acquired appropriate and adequate knowledge and skills, through training or experience or both, to be able to safely and competently control and manage the extractive industry operation; and

(b) has an adequate knowledge of this Act and the regulations and any other relevant legislation; and

(c) is authorised to carry out, or supervise the carrying out, of any activity on the land in the work plan that is regulated by or under any Act.”

It is important to note that the holder of a work authority is entitled to appoint themselves if they believe they are a ‘competent’ person based on the definition above. 

Currently, quarry managers hold a quarry managers certificate, which requires a level of training deemed appropriate by the QMAP.  This level is based on annual tonnage, total employee hours and exposed area of the site and can require minimal or no training for shallow extraction up to the diploma level for larger sites.  Under the previous Act even a minimal level of training was a compulsory requirement for anyone operating a quarry larger than the classification for “shallow extraction”.  This is no longer ‘prescribed’, but is ‘implied’ under the definition of competent in the revised Act.

The potential quarry manager is no longer scrutinised by a panel of peers before being put in charge of a Work Authority.  In fact, it is now the sole responsibility of the owner or ones self to ensure that the appropriate training is undertaken that will enable the safe running of an extractive operation. 

The onus is now on the Work Authority Holder to ‘appoint’ a ‘competent ‘ person.

The impact of appointing a poorly trained quarry manager could carry through to all members of the quarry whose safety is in danger of being compromised. The Quarry will still be in operation, but there will be no check and balance on the quality and competency of the individual Quarry Manager.

This system will allow the quarries to operate as usual until someone gets injured at work and the company is taken to court. One question that may be asked is “How come the designated Quarry Manager didn’t have any formal training?”

It is a trend and will continue to be a trend amongst some in the industry to take the easiest route to achieving compliance i.e. non compliance.  Too many people find it easier to close their eyes and hope that the issue will go away.  While this may save a few extra dollars in the short term, it greatly increases the potential financial liability and risk associated with operating the site in the long term.

The reality is that training and assessment are an effective means for determining someone’s competence.  But it is not just about competence, appropriate training increases the ability of a person to run a profitable business, deal with safety audits, deal with environmental audits and deal with a vast range of other issues associated with operating an efficient quarry. 

For the new age quarry manager, this training can be accessed through the Extractive Industry Training Package.  It is a direct and indirect safeguard against many legal liabilities and assists the individual business run without incident.

The current Government has done away with the responsibility of appointing Quarry Managers and has laid this responsibility at the foot of the Quarry Owner.

Until the industry has the appropriate training facilities, funding and culture to effectively provide ‘competent’ Quarry Managers abandoning the need for compulsory certification of Quarry Managers is a decision that is fraught with danger. 

Some would argue that it is not the role of government to dictate who is competent.   On the other hand it is not fair to leave this responsibility to the holder of a work authority, someone who does not necessarily have the appropriate skills or knowledge to determine who is a ‘competent’ person. 

It is well and good to believe that you are competent but in a court of law, documented proof of training, documented proof of experience is what will save your business if it hasn’t done so already. 

Documented proof of compliance is what will save your business if it hasn’t done so already.

At the latest the  amended act will come into effect on the 1st of December 2005 but should be in operation within the next 18 months.  

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