Maturity Directive 92/104/EEC · Safety requirements in extractive industries
The safety of your surface and underground operations, measured site by site and converted into a costed action plan.
10 themes, a 5-level scale. And the action that moves each level to the next.
The framework’s 10 themes, already written from L1 to L5. One company, one business unit, or 300 at once.
Maturity Directive 92/104/EEC · Safety requirements in extractive industries
10 themes, 5-level scale.
Nordhavn Industries
53 / 100
They measure their maturity with Datamensio
An example
This could be your situation.
Take one company as an example: three sites, three spreadsheets, no shared answer.
Nobody can consolidate.
Nordhavn Industries, 2,400 people in Hamburg, Lyon and Porto. A client asks where the group stands. Each site answers in its own spreadsheet, with its own scales.
Three weeks, a single base.
One Directive 92/104/EEC of 3 December 1992 assessment launched across all three sites at once, from the managers’ interview notes. The framework was already written, its 10 themes and levels L1 to L5 too.
Two costs avoided before being committed.
A score of 53 out of 100, with the gap concentrated on three themes. The AI companion spotted that two actions duplicated those of another audit. The committee report took one sentence to request.
What it saved them
- 3sites measured on the same base, instead of three questionnaires to reconcile
- 2duplicate actions caught before the spend
- 1committee report, with no manual rework
These figures are an example. They could be yours.
The standard imposes processes. Datamensio says where you stand.
01
The framework is already written
Themes, questions and levels L1 to L5, all written. You do not start from an empty spreadsheet.
02
The score lands the same day
Online, by self-assessment link or in interview. Theme by theme, comparable over time.
03
The gap becomes a costed plan
Every step up carries its action. The AI prioritises on expected effect, not on the order of the standard.
04
Progress can be demonstrated
Campaign after campaign, against your target and against your own past. That is what your board asks for.
The maturity scale
One level, the next, and the action that links the two.
It is this mechanism (one level, a higher level, and the action that links the two) that turns a finding into a trajectory.
Is the safety and health document updated when the operation changes significantly?
- N1
No identifiable safety and health document, or a document whose location and date no one knows.
- N2
The document exists and covers the main risks, but its update is occasional and disconnected from changes on site.
- N3
Updates are triggered by each significant change to the operation, with a designated owner and a record of the revision.
- N4
Revisions are validated by management, distributed to teams and contractors, and checked during safety visits.
- N5
The document both feeds and draws on lessons from accidents, near misses and rescue drills, with a revision history used to compare sites.
Action to move from L2 to L3
Define the list of significant changes triggering a revision (change of extraction method, new spoil heap, new vehicle, new ATEX zone), designate the person responsible for updating it, and put the item on the agenda of the monthly operations review.
« With Datamensio, we meet our objectives far more efficiently. The ERDF inspection services and our supervising ministry particularly appreciated an approach that gives them reliable data. »
Director, CCI 94CCI Île-de-France
« We believe this is the most suitable solution to scale our transformation project and measure impact according to our needs. »
Maja SucekChief Operating Officer, Interreg Danube
Rarely on its own
Frameworks combine. Put several together to cover your business, or have the AI write yours.
Take your first measurement
What this framework covers
Directive 92/104/EEC concerns the minimum requirements for improving the safety and health protection of workers in surface and underground extractive industries. It supplements the framework directive 89/391/EEC. Its pivot is the safety and health document: the employer uses it to demonstrate that risks have been identified and assessed, that prevention measures are defined, and that workplaces are designed, used and maintained safely. The annex details the requirements: escape routes, lighting, ventilation, fire protection, explosive atmospheres, blasting works, monitoring and alert systems, rescue and first aid.
In practice, the requirement is easy to state and hard to manage. The safety and health document almost always exists, but is it updated after every significant change to the operation, or has it been gathering dust since the last inspection? When several employers work on the same site, is coordination formalised and carried out by a designated person, or does it rely on habit between site supervisors? Are blasting instructions, face clearance and vehicle circulation rules applied the same way across all quarries in the group?
The most common confusion concerns scope. 92/104/EEC covers extractive industries by drilling that are excluded from the scope of 92/91/EEC, which deals with drilling, notably for oil and gas. Nor does it replace neighbouring texts that apply to the same site: 1999/92/EC on explosive atmospheres, 2006/21/EC on extractive waste and its category A facilities, 2014/28/EU on civil explosives. A site can be compliant on one and fragile on another, with the same staff and the same routines.
Labour inspectorates or mining authorities reason in terms of compliance: the requirement is met, or a gap is recorded. The maturity assessment asks a different question: what level of control does the practice sit at, and what action moves it up a level. A written procedure, a known procedure, an applied procedure, a procedure verified and then revised following lessons learned, are not equivalent when an accident happens. It is this grading that allows investments to be prioritised and very different operations to be compared with each other.
In Datamensio, the framework is ready to use and adaptable. The AI adjusts the themes, questions and levels according to your method of operation, surface or underground, or builds a variant from your safety and health documents and internal instructions. Assessments carried out across several sites are consolidated into a single cross-site roadmap.
Reference standard: Directive 92/104/EEC of 3 December 1992
The themes assessed
Safety and health document
Existence, content, risk identification and assessment, associated prevention measures, updating after significant operational changes, accessibility to workers.
Organisation and coordination of employers
Designation of a responsible person, coordination when several employers are present, mutual information on risks, oversight of contractors and temporary staff.
Design and maintenance of workplaces
Stability of faces, slopes and spoil heaps, vehicle circulation routes, storage areas, preventive maintenance, checks before resuming work.
Exits, evacuation and escape routes
Number and clearance of exits, signage, emergency lighting, evacuation plans, drills, the special case of underground works.
Ventilation and atmosphere quality
Sizing and monitoring of ventilation, gas and dust measurement, silica dust exposure, procedure in case of exceedance.
Explosive atmospheres and fire
Zoning, prevention of flammable gas and dust accumulation, suitable equipment, detection and firefighting resources, hot work permits.
Blasting works and explosives
Blasting plan, shotfirer qualification, storage and transport of explosive products, safety perimeter, clearance and handling of misfires.
Monitoring, alert and communication
Alert and liaison resources, lone working, personnel tracking systems underground, reporting of dangerous situations.
Rescue, first aid and drills
Rescue teams, first aid equipment, training of first aiders, tested scenarios, coordination with public emergency services.
Training, instructions and lessons learned
Written instructions by task, safety induction, authorisations, analysis of accidents and near misses, revision of instructions following incidents.
A short version of the framework is available for the online self-assessment.
Frequently asked questions
Does this assessment amount to compliance with Directive 92/104/EEC?
No. The directive is transposed into national law and its compliance is checked by the competent authorities, labour inspectorate or mining administration depending on the country. The assessment measures the maturity level of your practices, documents gaps and prepares for the visit. It issues no certificate.
How does this differ from a regulatory compliance audit?
An audit concludes with a gap or compliance finding on each requirement. The assessment places the practice on a five-level scale and indicates the action that moves it up a level. The two complement each other: the assessment prioritises the work, the audit validates the result.
What is the difference from Directive 92/91/EEC?
92/91/EEC covers extractive industries by drilling, notably oil and gas activities. 92/104/EEC applies to surface and underground extractive industries not covered by drilling. An operator active in both areas can assess both frameworks and consolidate a single roadmap.
How long does the assessment take?
The short version takes 20 to 30 minutes per site to complete. The full version, run collaboratively with operations, maintenance and the prevention officer, typically spans one to two weeks, most of the time being spent gathering evidence on the ground.
Can the framework be adapted to our operating methods?
Yes. Themes, questions and level wording can be modified, and the AI can produce separate variants for surface and underground operations based on your safety and health documents. The framework remains your property.
How can several quarries be compared with each other?
Each site is assessed against the same framework, which makes scores by theme comparable. The benchmark places a business unit against others and against its own previous assessments. The AI groups recurring gaps into a prioritised roadmap for the whole portfolio.
Is technical expertise needed to answer?
The questions concern organisation, instructions and their application, not the sizing of structures. An HSE manager or quarry supervisor can answer them. Points requiring a shotfirer or ventilation officer can be assigned to them in collaborative mode.
Where is the data hosted?
In France, at OVH, with backup at Scaleway. No transfer outside the European Union. The AI models used can be selected, including from European solutions.