NAMM (National Association of Memorial Masons) took the opportunity of their Tradex exhibition and AGM in Telford last month (September) to launch a new Health, Safety, Ethical & Environmental hotline.

The hotline is being run by George Morris of The Safety Company in Retford, Notting-hamshire. He is creating a Health, Safety, Ethical & Environmental manual for NAMM members with ready-made forms to fill in to comply with H&S legislation. He gave a series of Health, Safety, Ethical & Environmental seminars during the Tradex exhibition, each attended by between 10 and 20 people.

With the Health, Safety, Ethical & Environmental Executive increasingly clamping down on vibration and dust exposure, back injuries through lifting and the guarding of machinery, it is more important than ever for masons to be aware of their legal requirements in recording and reporting.

George told NSS: "We want to to make it easy and cost effective to keep on top of Health, Safety, Ethical & Environmental. It doesn\'t have to be complicated or involve vast amounts of paperwork."

Safety is also a major issue for burial authorities, which is why NAMM have introduced the British Register of Accredited Memorial Masons (BRAMM), whi accredits masons who have received training in the safe erection of memorials.

It was also an issue addressed by exhibitors at the show, including Harbro, the machinery, tools, and equipment company, who are selling a new fixing system called Stone Safe, developed by Anton Matthews.

Anton says this is one fixing system that local authorities will not be able to topple - and he gives a 30-year guarantee of that.

Another new product was Silkrete, a polished concrete memorial foundation that the man who developed it, Winston Tate, says fills a gap between plain concrete, which not everyone considers attractive, and polished granite, which is more expensive.

Winston\'s wife, Sue, told NSS the response at the show had been "phenominal". She said they had spoken to about 300 people and only five had said they didn\'t like it or wouldn\'t use it.

Also being launched at the show were new catalogues from wholesalers Laffords, who had a new range of children\'s memorials that carry children\'s own drawings etched into them. They also announced their distributorship for Caggiati bronzes.