safety matters - april 2015 - morrison utility services · deliver each project safely and...

Safe by choice ….not by chance 02380 742222 [email protected] www.dyerandbutler.co.uk

Safety Matters

April 2015


Introduction

The events of the past 4 months have provided the organisation with an opportunity to learn and improve. However, despite the current level of focus relating to the identification and protection of underground services, we are still regularly having incidents which involve damage to underground services regardless of whether these services are chartered or unchartered.

Currently service strikes account for 24% of the incidents that have been reported during 2015 and as a business we cannot simply accept this rate as being an acceptable bi-product of our operations.

Any service strike is potentially hazardous for the people involved due to the risk of personal injury. Service strikes also cause disruption to local businesses and affect the reputation of both the company and our clients.

In order to re-focus our delivery teams I would urge you all to take time to refresh yourself with the Dyer & Butler procedures relating to the safety of underground services, the permit to dig requirements and the refusal to work policy.

It is the responsibility of us all to comply with these processes to ensure that we continue to deliver each project safely and responsibly.

Jon Whitehouse Operations Director

Safety Performance

Accident Frequency Rate – 0.094

Reportable Accidents or Incidents

10/3/15 – Bournemouth Framework – whilst walking down a slippery embankment an operative slipped and fell whereby his foot got caught between a kerb line and the adjacent embankment causing a fracture to his foot.

Minor Accidents and Near Misses

1/3/15 – Teignmouth – An operative complained of back pain and was taken to hospital. The injury was caused in the gym before coming to work.

2/3/15 – Queens Roundabout – A cable was discovered within concrete foundations as the foundations were being removed by a machine.

4/3/15 – Castle Lane West – A 3 tonne dumper overturned as it turned a corner whilst being driven too fast. The operator was uninjured.

6/3/15 – Queens Roundabout – A street lighting cable was struck and damaged by an excavator. Vacuum excavation should have been used.

6/3/15 – CEM Car Park – A shallow unchartered service was struck and damaged whilst making a saw cut.

18/3/15 – Sealand Road – A 9” composite cutting disc shattered whilst being used to cut metal railings. The railings moved and pinched the disc causing the disc to fracture and disintegrate.

26/3/15 – Bishopstoke Retaining Wall – Whilst lifting a pile into position it swung and passed close to a public area. Tie lines were then added to prevent any further movement.

26/3/15 – Caerphilly CBC – A street lighting cable was struck and damaged during excavation works. The cable changed depth and was struck at a depth of 100mm.

30/3/15 – Freemantle Cable Pulling – Whilst pulling cables through a duct the draw cord snapped and flew back striking an operative on the knee causing pain and bruising.

Unchartered Services Report

During March 2015 we received 42 reports of unchartered services being encountered on site.

Please note – The incident reporting system on Workspace now contains an option for unchartered cables to be reported. If you uncover an unchartered service on your site, please report it as a near miss and use the classification of “Unchartered Service” so that we can monitor the number of services that are encountered.


All Green For The York OLE Site

For the past 6 months, the SHEQ Team have been trialling a new safety inspection report form which is designed to clearly identify all of the common issues that should be checked on a monthly basis. Any issues raised during the inspection are then rated on a Red, Amber, and Green (RAG) rating to identify the severity of the issues raised.

Since the introduction of this report we have been waiting to see which site would be the first to get a clean bill of health and receive green ratings for all of the items that were covered during the inspection.

It is therefore a pleasure to announce that the OLE Works at the Network Rail Training Centre in York has been the first site to achieve this.

Well done to the Site Agent, Graham Lees and the rest of the team for setting such a high standard of performance on this project.

Steel Midsole - Reminder

Last month, we published an article relating to the wearing of safety footwear with protective toecaps and midsoles. It would appear that the message has not got through and as a result we have had a number of instances where site staff have turned up for work in safety footwear that is unsuitable. Please therefore be reminded of the following…

All safety footwear worn on Dyer & Butler sites must have both protective toecaps and midsole protection.

Safety footwear must comply with ISO 20345 and be rated to class S3, S5, S1P or S2P. Toecaps and midsoles may be made of steel or composite materials.

The symbol shown above denotes that the footwear has sole penetration protection. Safety footwear can be obtained from Martin Gates at Head Office – Tel : 023 8074 2222

If The Face Fits…

There are many construction and civil engineering operations where dust and airborne contaminants may become a hazard to our employees and as a result it is often the case that respiratory protective equipment (RPE) needs to be used.

RPE consists of disposable face masks, ori-nasal masks, full face masks and hoods

Dyer & Butler have already stated that the minimum level of protection that should be afforded by any item of RPE must comply with the FFP3 standard. However, to further improve on the quality of protection that is offered by this equipment, the company have now procured a Porta-count face fit testing kit. This carries out a quantitative test that accurately measures the effectiveness of the RPE in relation to each specific user.

This is an improvement on the qualitative testing that is currently carried out within the organisation (see picture below).

Training on the new Porta-count face fit testing kit is planned for the end of May and following the completion of the training, the SHEQ Advisors will be able to carry out a program of face fit testing within each region.

If you are planning on using RPE please get in touch with your Regional SHEQ Advisor and enquire about face fit testing.


Good Samaritans

A report was received recently which praised two Dyer & Butler operatives for stopping at the scene of an accident which they had come across whilst on their way to work.

Dyer & Butler operatives Tom Willers and Blu Farron Boam were in the works vehicle and had been travelling to work when they came across what appeared to be a serious road traffic accident.

At first glance, it appeared that a Subaru had come round a bend in the road and lost control before hitting a telegraph pole, a wall and a parked car.

Tom and Blu parked up the works vehicle and approached the scene to see if they could offer any assistance to anyone who might have been injured. On reaching the scene, the pair noticed that there were two men who appeared to be shaken up standing in the middle of the road.

Before Tom and Blu could offer assistance, the men jumped back into the damaged car and drove off. Believing that some sort of criminal activity had taken place, Tom and Blu then contacted the Police to report the incident before knocking on the door of the property to inform the owner of the incident.

Well done to Tom Willers and Blu Farron Boam for taking the time to stop and help and for then reporting the incident to the police and the property owner.

D&A - Don’t Get Caught Out

We all know that people who drink alcohol and take drugs whilst at work are a hazard to themselves and others and as a result both Dyer & Butler and the wider industry have strict policies which are aimed at controlling this risk.

However, the risk of turning up for work the morning after a few drinks is not fully understood and recently there have been cases where employees have tested positive for alcohol even though they have been fit to drive to work.

The workplace alcohol limits are much lower than those that are in place for driving and when at work you are considered to be “unfit through alcohol” if you have…

More than 29 milligrams of alcohol per 100 ml of blood…(80 milligrams for driving)…or

More than 13 micrograms of alcohol in 100 ml of breath…(35 micrograms for driving)…or

More than 39 milligrams of alcohol in 100 ml of urine…(107 milligrams for driving)

These limits usually equate to drinking less than 1.5 units of alcohol. See below…

Remember, you are responsible for the amount of alcohol that you consume. If you believe that you are under the influence of alcohol, or still have alcohol within your system, DO NOT come to work. No-one is exempt from these rules and Dyer & Butler will continue to carry out random unannounced testing for drugs and alcohol.


Dumper Safety

Recently there have been two separate incidents where dumpers have overturned on site. In both cases, it is thought that the operators were attempting to drive the vehicle around a corner whilst travelling too fast. In both cases, the operators were unhurt as they managed to jump clear of the machine as it overturned.

These incidents highlight the fact that dumper operators do not fully understand the health and safety requirements for operating this type of machine. Where dumpers are used on site, the following arrangements must be implemented.

Dumper operators will carry out daily checks on the machine before use (i.e. tyre condition, seat belt, lights, hand brake etc)

Dumper operators must be trained, competent and authorised to operate the machine.

Dumper operators must hold a valid UK driving licence if the machine is to be driven on the highway (even if this involves crossing a road)

Dumpers must be fitted with roll over protection systems and operators must wear the seat belt at all times when the machine is in motion.

A 5 mph speed restriction must be in place on the site when dumpers are being used.

Keys must be removed from the ignition and the handbrake fully applied whenever the machine is not in use.

Dumper operators who are unable to comply with these arrangements must be prevented from using these machines until they can be re-trained.

Serious Hand Injury

A serious accident occurred during surfacing works on a site in Bournemouth. The initial investigation has identified that the accident was caused by a faulty switch on the rear control box of the bituminous paving machine. At the time of the accident the switch was being operated by the operator as he was cleaning and lubricating the machine in readiness for the day’s work.

Due to the faulty switch, it is thought that when the operator removed his finger from the switch, the switch jammed and the rams continued to close the side plate against the machine. Unfortunately the operator was resting his free hand on the side plate and as it closed up against the body of the paving machine, his hand became trapped between the plate and the machine.

The resulting crush injury partially severed two of the operator’s finger tips on his left hand and left his thumb badly bruised. As a result of this accident the following actions must be reinforced on site

The function of all machinery control systems must be checked on a daily basis as part of the pre-use checks.

Where a fault is identified which has the potential to adversely affect the safe operation of a machine, this must be reported and the machine must be taken out of use until the fault can be rectified.

Any repairs that need to be made to a machine may only be made by a competent fitter or engineer.


Dyer & Butler Behavioural Safety (DABBS) Feedback

Dyer & Butler operates a behavioural safety system which involves trained “Observers” carrying out a specified number of workplace observations to identify safe and unsafe acts. One DABBS observation must be carried out for every 500 man hours that are worked.

During March 465 DABBS observations were carried out. The target was 577.

76 of the behavioural safety observations that took place during March identified unsafe acts.

A summary of the main unsafe acts raised during the DABBS observations is shown below…

Work At Height Vibration / Noise PPE COSHH Demolition

Carrying out work from

a platform that does not have suitable edge protection (i.e. guard rails, toe boards, etc)

Carrying out work near to an open excavation

that has not been properly protected with

edge protection.

Failing to maintain safe access and egress to

places of work at height

Reactec monitors were not being used on site

to monitor the daily vibration dosage of personnel who are

using vibrating equipment

Personnel were not wearing the correct

level of eye protection on site


hand protection on site


mandatory PPE on site


safety footwear on site

Harmful chemicals

were not being used safely in accordance

with the COSHH assessment requirements

Harmful chemicals

were not being stored safely in accordance

with the COSHH assessment

requirements.

Demolition method

statements were not available on site

The most common causes of unsafe acts that have been recorded during 2015 are as follows…

People who are not willing to follow the safe system of work. People who do not have the right equipment to hand People who are unaware of the safe system of work

We will be undertaking further analysis of all unsafe acts where our staff have refused to follow the safe system of work

What could you do differently to address the most common cause of unsafe acts…?

Better Briefings…? Better Planning…? Clearer Instructions…? More Supervision and Support…?


Close Call Reporting and Feedback

safety matters - april 2015 - morrison utility services · deliver each project safely and...

Documents