STRONGER TOGETHER WITH ONE VOICE

Our recent MPANI annual general meeting and question time session was a great success and my thanks go to everyone who attended the event at the Dunsilly Hotel. In his address our Chairman, Paul Brogan, highlighted the importance of MPANIs collaborations with other Industry bodies and Associations in engaging with the Government on issues such as Brexit, red diesel rebate removal, energy costs, planning and skills.

As he said, “We are stronger together with one voice”. “Likewise, there are matters in all our sectors where, by working together through MPANI, all our companies can benefit from the strength of having one representative voice”. Paul also highlighted the ongoing unfortunate position we still find ourselves in relation to the lack of an Executive and no functioning government. As an Association we cannot point the political finger on what any party should or should not do. We would strongly recommend, though, to the MPANI membership to engage with your local MLA’s and give them your perspective, as business people, as to what you consider is in the best interests of the country. The dire predictions for 2023 that were given back in the latter half of 2022 thankfully have not come to pass and while the market in NI has taken a downturn it is not as bad as many had feared. Those sectors, such as highway maintenance, are being impacted by the lack of an executive and confirmation of budgets thus endangering the retention of a skilled and heavily invested-in workforce.

The continuing impact of the turbulent energy markets created by the war in Ukraine is having a significant and alarming impact on contracts with the costs of some materials, particularly bitumen, not being reflected in the monthly price fluctuation indices. MPANI has written to the Office of National Statistics and BEIS seeking information on a freedom of information basis asking how the price fluctuation indices information is collated and processed.

Biochar In Concrete

The MPANI Concrete Development Group recently met with QUB and the Agri-food and Bio-science Institute (AFBI) to discuss the use of Biochar in concrete and cement products in NI. Biochar is a lightweight black residue, made of carbon and ashes, remaining after the pyrolysis of biomass. According to Professor David Rooney and Thomas Cromie, this material can be a lower carbon alternative to be used by the Industry. QUB has written a report, the second draft of which has been submitted to the Department for the Economy. MPANI has reviewed the report and we are excited about the positive aspects the use of biochar can bring to reducing the carbon footprints of concrete products in NI.

Given that NI Agriculture produces enough food to feed 8 million people and we only have 2 million people we have enough biochar and biomethane from the biomass process to meet the needs of the NI Concrete Industry.

Mineral Planning For Mineral Planners

On the planning front, I recently facilitated a presentation on Mineral Planning for Mineral Planners by Julian Smallshaw of IoQ at the Strategic Planning Group meeting on 16th March in Mid Ulster Council Offices in Magherafelt. The course is aimed at local authority planners and is an updated version of the course we delivered to council planners some 5 years ago.

I am delighted to say Julian’s presentation was very well received and it was agreed the course will be delivered later this year to local council planners dealing with mineral planning applications. Also on the 26th April, our MPANI / NIEA liaison group held a Mineral Planning workshop to which council planners dealing with mineral applications regularly were invited. It was an excellent engagement and sharing of ideas and no doubt will help all stakeholders engaged in the mineral planning process towards a better understanding of each others position. More events and site visits are planned for later this year.

One of the key messages I made to the Senior Planners on the Strategic Planning Group was that MPANI were keen to engage with local planners to ensure a secure and sustainable supply of minerals for NI into the future. “Supply should never be assumed”.

“Mineral products represent the largest material flow in the economy, with the vast majority of supply used in NI construction but also supporting a variety of agricultural, industrial and manufacturing activities. As such, these resources are of strategic importance to the economy.

“The continued decline in aggregate reserves, nationally and regionally, is a stark reminder that the future ‘steady and adequate’ supply of these essential minerals cannot be assumed. It requires effective planning, management and monitoring and there is a continued clear desire from both local authorities and from industry for the National and Sub-national Guidelines for aggregates provision to be updated to support the Managed Aggregate Supply System (MASS). The case for a national statement of need has never been stronger and we will continue to press DLUHC Ministers for this.

“The under-replenishment of mineral reserves over the last decade represents an unsustainable position, and the fact that the decline continues, despite two years of reduced aggregate sales, should ring alarm bells given the role of these minerals underpinning Government ambitions around net zero, green recovery and ‘levelling up’. Looking forwards, there is certainly no evidence that demand for these strategic resources will reduce over the next decade and beyond. As such, the pressures on the reserve base will only increase unless something changes. “To secure the most sustainable and costeffective supply of these materials will require active support and management, backed by data to monitor performance, to ensure the right resources can be made available in the right place and at the right time.”

Pmi Points To Private Sector Growth Momentum

The recent Ulster Bank Purchasing Managers Index pointed to growth gaining momentum in the Northern Ireland private sector. Output, new orders and employment all increased at sharper rates. However, rates of inflation in both input costs and output prices continued to ease. Richard Ramsay commented, “Construction was the only NI sector not in expansion mode in March. The lack of a Stormont Executive and a paralysis in decision-making is being felt and will continue to be felt in this sector. This is reflected in the new orders indicator which has indicated declines for 21 months running. In the latest report, construction was the only sector not to see new orders growing, in fact recording a marked fall”.

He added “One of the few bright spots for construction is employment, with headcounts growing as firms fill vacancies that they perhaps were unable to fill when the labour market was tighter. Indeed, employment was strong across all sectors, growing at the joint-fastest pace on record and one that exceeded all other UK regions.

Safe Quarry Makeover And Toolbox Talks

Last but by no means least, can I again recommend to all readers our SafeQuarry.com, which has recently had a makeover. Safequarry is a longestablished website, managed by MPA as a resource for the whole industry. It provides an important central hub which includes circa 1,200 examples of good practice from the MPA Health and Safety Awards, guidance, incident alerts, toolbox talks, hot topics, over 400 videos and other resources that are relevant to all product sectors within the mineral products industry. Updated versions of both the Safequarry and QNJAC websites were jointly launched on 1st March at an industry health and safety forum. MPA has launched a series of nine toolbox talks that deal with isolation from energy sources on mobile plant. The toolbox talks cover a wide range of earthmoving plant including excavators, loading shovels, dump trucks as well as road vehicles including tipping lorries, and tankers. The resources were developed by the MPA Fatal 6 working group that considers Isolation and Entrapment and are an essential resource for operators and engineers who may be required to carry out maintenance on mobile plant. The guides consider all sources of energy that are typically found on mobile plant and go beyond motive power. Other sources of energy include hydraulic, gravitational, and pneumatic. A significant proportion of fatalities in the industry have been as a result of contact with moving machinery, often associated with reactive maintenance and a failure to correctly isolate all sources of energy. Much work has been done to reduce the risks from unintended start-up of plant that has not been correctly isolated; these guides are a useful tool to illustrate other sources of energy found on mobile plant that could cause serious injury or death if they are not identified and correctly isolated. The new toolbox talks on isolation can be found on Safequarry.com. Please go to Fatal 1 – Contact with moving machinery and isolation section of the website and click on the Orange Toolbox Talk rectangular button, that can be found at the bottom of the page. Safequarry is now similar in appearance to the main MPA website and features improved functionality and navigation. Whilst content can be searched using criteria based on specific product sectors, experience has shown that vital lessons and experience can be gained by reviewing content, such as incidents alerts and good practice, generated from across all the product sectors. We are all Safer by Sharing. We look forward to seeing as many members as possible at our Local Member Forum on May 25th in the Seagoe Hotel Portadown, kindly sponsored by the Norman Emerson Group. To all our Affiliate Members please remember that if you want to put up a stand please do so early as space will be in high demand.

If you’re interested in becoming a full or affiliate member of MPANI and get access to up to date Industry news and guidance don’t hesitate to give me a call on 07876136929. It would be great to have you on board.