january 2016 safety briefing

Safety BriefingJanuary 2016

Welcome to the advance-TRS January 2016 Safety Briefing.

• Close Calls......................................................................................................... 3

• Worksafe Procedures...................................................................................... 3

• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)........................................................... 4

• New Life Saving Rules..................................................................................... 5

• Safety Bulletins................................................................................................. 6

• Important Contact Information ..................................................................... 14

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Close CallsNo matter where you work, reporting Close Calls is vital to improving safety. If you see something with the potential to

cause harm, raise the alarm on site and make it safe. If it is not safe to continue work then stop. Once the hazard has

been removed or made safe, ensure that you report it.

Worksafe (Refusal to Work)

Important NumbersBusiness Hours Emergency Number

01483 361 061Out of Hours Emergency Number

07930 384 505CIRAS

0800 4 101 101

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Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)All persons on or near the line and on the lineside shall wear at least the following PPE:

• High visibility upper body clothing with reflective tape which complies with BS EN ISO 20471: 2013 and

Railway Group Standard GO/RT3279.

• High visibility lower body clothing to BS EN ISO 20471:2013 and Railway Group Standard GO/RT3279.

• A safety helmet which complies with BS EN 397: 2012.

• Safety footwear which complies with BS EN ISO 20345: 2011, provides support to the ankle, includes

mid-sole protection and has a protective toe cap. Where used, steel or other conductive toe caps shall

be covered.

All contractors must:

• Wear appropriate PPE as defined by the client.

• Inform advance Training & Recruitment Services of any damage, deteriation or lack of PPE.

• Report any and all PPE that is ill-fitting.

• Ensure that all PPE is used, cleaned and stored in accordance with all health and safety guidelines.

• Invoke Worksafe procedures for any ill fitting, inadequate or lack of PPE.

Safe behaviour is a requirement of working for Network Rail.These Rules are in place to keep us safe and must never be broken.We will all personally intervene if we feel a situation or behaviour might be unsafe.

Our Lifesaving Rules

For more information about our Lifesaving Rules go to safety.networkrail.co.uk/LSR

July 2014

We will always comply with our Lifesaving Rules

Always be sure the required plans and permits are in place, before you start a job or go on or near the line.

Always test before applying earths or straps.

Never undertake any job unless you have been trained and assessed as competent.

Always use equipment that is fit for its intended purpose.

Never work or drive while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Never assume equipment is isolated – always test before touch.

Never enter the agreed exclusion zone, unless directed to by the person in charge.

Working responsibly

Working with electricity

Driving

Working at height

Working with moving equipment

Never use a hand-held or hands-free phone, or programme any other mobile device, while driving.

Always obey the speed limit and wear a seat belt.

Always use a safety harness when working at height, unless other protection is in place.

A3_NR_LSR_Poster_01.indd 1 01/08/2014 14:42

Safe behaviour is a requirement of working for Network Rail.These Rules are in place to keep us safe and must never be broken.We will all personally intervene if we feel a situation or behaviour might be unsafe.

Our Lifesaving Rules

For more information about our Lifesaving Rules go to safety.networkrail.co.uk/LSR

July 2014

We will always comply with our Lifesaving Rules

Always be sure the required plans and permits are in place, before you start a job or go on or near the line.

Always test before applying earths or straps.

Never undertake any job unless you have been trained and assessed as competent.

Always use equipment that is fit for its intended purpose.

Never work or drive while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Never assume equipment is isolated – always test before touch.

Never enter the agreed exclusion zone, unless directed to by the person in charge.

Working responsibly

Working with electricity

Driving

Working at height

Working with moving equipment

Never use a hand-held or hands-free phone, or programme any other mobile device, while driving.

Always obey the speed limit and wear a seat belt.

Always use a safety harness when working at height, unless other protection is in place.

A3_NR_LSR_Poster_01.indd 1 01/08/2014 14:42

Non-compliant conductor rail short circuiting straps

Issued to: All Network Rail line managers, safety professionals and RISQS registered contractors

Ref: NRA 15/10

Date of issue: 15/12/2015

Location: Third rail locations

Contact: James Snowdon, Senior Engineer Engineer (M&E) (Contact Systems), STE

Approved clamp shown on left, non-compliant, ill-fitting clamp on right

Overview

It has been identified that at least one independent safety equipment supplier is selling conductor rail short-circuiting straps that are not from the approved supplier, with non-compliant rail clamps.

Consequently there is a significant risk that they will not fit the running or conductor rails correctly, with the result that they can either fall off, or be blown off in the event that the conductor rail is inadvertently energised, thus failing to provide the required protection to staff.

P&B Weir Ltd are currently the only manufacturer with product acceptance for conductor rail straps. Clamps manufactured by them all bear the legend"P&B J117-NSE" stamped into one side plate, and the complete strap assembly has a unique serial number engraved onto the underside of one clamp, usually the centre clamp on a 3-clamp strap.

The non-compliant clamps that have been found do not carry any manufacturers inscriptions.

Additionally, they can be identified by the method of manufacture, the clamp bodies being formed by bending a single piece of steel; the approved P&B Weir clamps are fabricated by welding the two sides and bottom piece to make the body. The bending process used on the non-compliant clamps can also result in the metal being overstressed, creating cracks on the outside of the bends.

The photograph shows the differences between the approved (left) and non-compliant (right) clamps.

Immediate action required

All conductor rail short circuiting straps are to be checked and verified as being to the approved P&B Weir design. All others are to be quarantined and rendered permanently unusable.

Copies of Safety Advices are available on Safety Central

Part of our group of Safety Bulletins

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Installation of Tensorex tensioning devices

Issued to: All Network Rail line managers, safety professionals and RISQS registered contractors

Ref: NRA 15/11


Location: Various locations

Contact: Philip Doughty, Acting Head of Contact Systems (AC/DC)

Overview

Tensorex and Tensorex C+ tensioning devices are used to maintain mechanical tension in the overhead line conductors.

There have been three separate incidents relating to working practices with these Tensorex tensioning devices.

During endurance testing of a Tensorex C+ there was a catastrophic failure of one of the terminal forks. During the setup of the device the operator was adjusting the terminal fork nuts while under line tension. The initial findings suggest that this process has introduced a latent defect in one of the terminal forks which is a contributory factor of the failure of the terminal fork.

Earlier this year a 1.5T pull-lift was being used to rig around insulation in the contact wire. The pull-lift slipped causing a release in tension of the contact wire whilst the pull-lift was extended to its mechanical stop. The wire run was tensioned using a Tensorex C+ tensioning device.

In the third incident a 1.5T pull-lift was used to rig a Tensorex device to land the catenary wire. The pull-lift slipped causing a release in tension of the Tensorex unit. The pull-lift was extended to its mechanical stop. The operator in the basket injured his fingers during the incident.

Although the primary cause of these incidents was a pull-lift failure, investigations are on-going as there are concerns about the suitability of a 1.5T pull-lift with Tensorex devices.

Immediate action required

Prior to the re-issue of the OLE Maintenance Work Instructions the following actions are required when working with Tensorex and Tensorex C+ devices:

1. Tensorex C+ ONLY - Do not adjust any Tensorex C+ M14 terminal forks while the Tensorex C+ is under line tension.

2. All Tensorex devices - When rigging any Tensorex or Tensorex C+ devices and the associated wire run, you must use a pull-lift with a capacity of a minimum of 3 tonnes.

Copies of Safety Advices are available on Safety Central


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Uncontrolled discharge of pressurised systems

Issued to: All Network Rail line managers and Achilles registered contractors

Ref: NRB 15/17


Location: Didcot

Contact: Simon Gyde, Route Asset Manager (Buildings)

Sainsbury's coffee machine injures 7 people

Overview

On 6 May 2015 at Didcot, a telecommunications facility gaseous fire suppression system was inadvertently activated during replacement of the fire alarm panel.

ORR served an Improvement Notice on Network Rail for non-compliance with the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000 (PSSR 2000).

As a result of the incident an Operational PropertyNational Action Plan has been created to ensure compliance with PSSR 2000.

The regulations apply to a wide range of systems and this risk was highlighted recently when Sainsbury's were prosecuted after a coffee machine exploded in a store injuring seven people.

We need your support in identifying equipment so that we can gain compliance to the regulations, in particular in locations such as station premises and office canteens where items such as gas canisters attached to pipework through to coffee machines need to be identified.

Discussion Points

Please discuss the following with your teams:

A pressure system that falls under the regulation is one that contains the 'relevant fluid' defined as:

o A gas >0.5 bar o Steam o Liquefied Gas

Do you know whether you are accountable or responsible for compliance with the PSSR 2000?

If you are accountable for any of the systems in the list to the right how do you ensure compliance with the PSSR 2000?

You may be responsible for a pressure system if you manage any of the following in this non-exhaustive list:

o Fire Suppression Systems o Refrigeration systems

including air conditioning o Sealed hot water heating

systems with pressurisation units

o Compressed air systems o Hydraulic systems (wheel

lathe/passenger/goods lift, etc.

o Coffee machines/tea boilers

Copies of Safety Bulletins are available on Safety Central


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Background A significant accident occurred on 23rd November involving a fork lift truck at a Siemens PG IE site in Turkey. One Siemens employee was severely injured (Femur, Ankle & Arm Fractures) when trapped by an electrical cabinet (590kg) that tipped sideways off the forks when lifted up by a fork lift.

The Employee was trapped under the cabinet. Colleagues immediately rescued him by hand lifting the cabinet and initiated first aid treatment. The Investigation is under way however initial contributing factors include: • Uneven Warehouse Floor • No Traffic Management Policy (Vehicle – Pedestrian Interface) • The load had a poor centre of gravity, no lifting aids were used & pallet was not suitable for type of fork lift. • Load wasn’t clearly marked with instructions, load etc.) • Driver had no license to operate fork lift truck.

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Immediate Actions 1. Communication of this Incident & it’s consequences by tool box talks to relevant workforce members. 2. Fork Lift operations must be performed by certified, experienced and medically fit drivers; Ensure operators have adequate

Information, Instruction, Training & Supervision. 3. Ensure that adequate exclusions zones are implemented when lifting operations are in force. (minimum 2 meters) 4. Ensure area of operation is fit for the activity i.e. not uneven, clear of obstacles etc. 5. Ensure Traffic Management Plans are applied and enforced. 6. Check all tools, equipment are certified and tested to applicable requirements. 7. Ensure that the attached standard forklift operating practices are be adhered to. 8. Re-brief individuals on the 4 steps to Zero Harm. Discuss which steps are applicable and could of prevented this incident.

Photo showing packaged electrical cabinet in position after the accident.

Be fit for work

Always receive a briefing before starting work

Report unsafe events or conditions

Stop work when anything changes

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Audience: Rail Automation

Safety Bulletin Subject: Rat infestations & the risk of Weils disease

Bulletin No: 130 / 16 December 2015

The photographs shown below were taken of the inside of a LOC cabinet on a project on Network Rail infrastructure in Scotland and it is quite evident that the wiring within the beta duct is covered in rat excrement indicating the recent presence rats and a nest within the LOC or at least very close to it. Whilst rat activity in this particular structure is very visible, it may not be the same in others so this is a timely reminder to everyone about the precautions to be taken to prevent contracting Weils disease (a form of Leptospirosis that is present in the urine of infected rats) which if untreated can, in rare cases, be fatal - anyone who has seen the film Leptospirosis - Complacency Kills made by Atkins a year or two ago will know the truth of this.

• Hand protection – this is a mandatory item of PPE for all Siemens Rail Automation personnel and Siemens Rail Automation sub-contractors – this will prevent skin contact with any contaminated component

• Good hygiene – don’t eat, drink or smoke/vape whilst wearing hand-protection and always wash/cleanse hands thoroughly after removing hand protection but before proceeding to eat, drink &/or smoke/vape - if you are likely to be eating, drinking, smoking/vaping whilst out on site ensure that antiseptic hand-gel is carried and used

The disease begins with flu-like symptoms with a persistent, severe headache which can lead to vomiting and muscle pains and ultimately to jaundice, meningitis and kidney failure. If any flu-like symptoms are experienced see a GP immediately and advise him/her that you work on the railway. The HSE has produced a small, pocket sized information leaflet called Leptospirosis – are you at risk? which can be requested from and provided by your local Siemens Rail Automation EHS Specialist.

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Display on notice boards and brief to: - No brief required All employees Managers only Disciplines affected Sub-contractors Partners Signed attendance sheets required

Produced By EHS Department Siemens Rail Automation Holding Ltd Any queries please contact your local EHS Specialist

Audience: Rail Automation

Safety Bulletin Subject: Discovery of Hypodermic Needles on the Infrastructure

Bulletin No: 131 / Dec 2015

Background A number of Close Calls have been raised where Hypodermic Needles have been found on the Rail Infrastructure. Passengers, members of the public or Rail workers could come into contact with the needles, risking a sharps or needles injury and possible exposure to a serious infection. All staff are to be reminded of the precautions to take when discovering Hypodermic Needles whilst on site.

Actions to be taken • Ensure all staff are aware of all potential kinds of sharps, including: syringes, needles, razors etc. and that they may be carelessly

or maliciously discarded. • Carefully check the site area paying particular attention to all troughing lids, chambers, bridges and access points before

commencing work. • DO NOT put your unprotected hands into areas where you cannot see e.g. soil, drains etc. • If needles are discovered please mark the area, avoid the needle and report this to your local Fault Control or NSC 24/7.

What to do if you have a Sharps Injury • Encourage bleeding by gently ‘milking’ the wound but DO NOT suck the wound. • Wash the wound with soap and running water if available. • Protect broken skin using a waterproof dressing from the First Aid Kit. • Record the source of contamination. • Seek immediate medical advice from your local A&E Department.

IN SUMMARY

MARK – AVOID - REPORT

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Business Hours Emergency Number 01483 361061Out of Hours Emergency Number 07930 384505Rail Industry Confi dential Reporting 0800 4 101101

e-mail: [email protected]

Tel: +44 (0) 1483 361 061

Fax: +44 (0) 1483 431 958

Registered Address

Suite 3, Stamford House, 91 Woodbridge Road, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 4QD

www.advance-TRS.com

january 2016 safety briefing

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