Safety Matters - September...2014/12/09 · Safety Matters September 2014 Safe by choice ….not by...

Safe by choice ….not by chance

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Safety Matters

September 2014



Welcome

Welcome to the first edition of “Safety Matters”.

This publication will be produced on a monthly

basis as a means to keep you and your teams

up to date with the main issues that affect health

and safety in the areas where you work. Where

relevant other issues relating to the environment,

quality and training will also be included.

The information contained within this publication

can then be used during any monthly meetings

or briefings to ensure that a consistent message

is delivered throughout the company.

I am sure that you will find the

information contained within

this publication of use and will

assist with the cascade of

information and the collection

of any useful feedback.

Paul Hobbs

Managing Director

Safety Performance – August

Accident Frequency Rate – 0.113

No Reportable Accidents or Incidents

Oxford Canal Bridge – Near Miss

On the 1st August 2014 a Dyer & Butler Site

Agent narrowly missed being struck by a train

as he crossed the track in order to obtain some

photographs of a bridge that he was planning

to work on. In crossing the track the Site Agent

moved from a separated green zone onto an

open line (red zone) without implementing

suitable safe system of work. All staff must

remember that…

D&B staff are not permitted to work open line (i.e. a red zone) without having gained prior permission to do so from a Director. D&B staff are not permitted to cross an open line, unless an authorised crossing point is used (i.e. foot / level crossing). All works must be properly planned to ensure that a valid and effective safe system of work is produced by using the On-Trac service that has been procured by D&B.

16/8/14 – Lee Station – An operative crushed

their finger between a heavy duty breaker and an

adjacent wall

18/8/14 – Totnes – An operative caught their

thumb in a clamp during a lifting operation which

twisted their thumb.

20/8/14 – Totnes – An operative was struck on

the head by a section of reinforcement bar that

fell whilst being moved.

30/8/14 – Southampton Airport – An operative

pulled his back whilst moving a set of tower

lights

Minor Accidents

Near Misses

3/8/14 – Minor Works Wales – A possession

irregularity occurred when a track trolley was

placed on the line outside of the protection limits.

12/8/14 – National Grid Site – A delivery lorry

drove over a cable trough damaging the lid of the

trough

14/8/14 – Gatwick Staff Car Park – The feed

hose to the bitumen sprayer worked loose

spraying bitumen over an operative.

27/8/14 – Heathrow Winter Resilience – A

runway sweeper dropped into a gap on the low

loader whilst being loaded.



HAVS Exceedances

We are experiencing a large number of HAV’s

exceedances and during August 2014, there

were a total of 15 cases where our employees

exceeded the daily HAVS exposure limit. The

highest exposure limit breach was 186 points.

The normal daily HAVS exposure limits for all

D&B activities is 80 Points In extreme

circumstances, this exposure limit can be

extended up to a daily HAVS exposure limit of

320 points but this limit must be pre-approved by

the SHEQ Manager.

All cases of HAVS exceedance will be monitored

by the SHEQ Advisors and Line Managers and

where an exceedance is identified the following

action will be taken.

Breaches between 80 and 100 points – A

verbal reminder will be provided to the individual

which will be logged by the SHEQ Advisor or

Line Manager.

Breaches over 100 points – A formal toolbox

talk will be given to the individual which will be

logged by the SHEQ Advisor and recorded on

their training and personnel record.

All personnel must

use Reactec meters

when using vibrating

equipment.

Reverse Parking Policy

The company has now adopted a reverse parking

policy as research has shown that drivers are

more aware of their surroundings when entering a

car park and that it is then safer to move off in a

forwards direction.

Thank you for

your continued

efforts to

implement this

policy

Planning and Delivery of Safe

Work (PDSW)

Network Rail is to

progress with changes

relating to the planning

and delivery of safe

works (PDSW). This will

have an effect on all D&B

personnel that hold a

COSS, ES, Planner or

Responsible Manager

competency

As part of the changes (Planned for Spring 2015)

the majority of COSS’s will need to undertake an

additional 5 days training to become a Safe Works

Leader (SWL) Level 1. A SWL 1 will only be

permitted to manage one worksite and will not be

allowed to delegate their authority to any other

person. Those who are currently ES’s will become

a Safe Works Leader (SWL) Level 2. A SWL 2 will

be permitted to manage more complex worksites

where more than one operation is being carried

out. For the more complex jobs, a Safe Works

Manager will be appointed who is able to manage

and co-ordinate multiple operations and

worksites. SWL’s and SWM’s must also be

included in the planning process for all worksites.

As part of the changes, a new electronic permitting

system will also be introduced which will form part

of the safe system of work.

The details of how this training will be rolled out

and how the changes will affect the company are

still being assessed. D&B has provided the

training details of all personnel that require

training to Network Rail and are awaiting further

details of how the training and changes will be

rolled out. These details will be formally briefed out

when they have been confirmed.

A presentation (entitled PDSW Update –

September 2014) which provides an update in

relation to how these changes will be managed

has been uploaded into workspace. This is

available within the Information Zone under the

Health, Safety and Environment – Reference

Material Pool.



Lifesaving Rules Update 2014

Network Rail has amended the Lifesaving Rules.

The main changes to the Lifesavings rules are as

follows…

• There are now 10 Lifesaving Rules.

• The leading theme of the Lifesaving Rules has

been renamed “Working Responsibly”. This is

designed to put the theme of taking personal

responsibility for implementing the rules at the

heart of the every organisations safety culture.

• The rules affecting the use of plans and permits

and the use of equipment that is fit for purpose

have been moved into the “Working

Responsibly” section to allow them to have

universal relevance to all works situations.

• The use of “hands free” devices whilst driving

has also now been prohibited to reinforce the

current prohibition on the use and

programming of hand held, and other mobile

devices whilst driving.

A revised copy of the Lifesaving Rules poster

is available within the Rail CMS pool on

Workspace.

Please ensure that this information is

displayed and briefed out to all staff and

contractors on site.

All breaches of the Lifesaving Rules must be

reported to the SHEQ Team by using the

internal D&B reporting cards which are

available at all sites and offices

NDS becomes NSC

For some time now all accidents, incidents and

operational close calls that have occurred on

Network Rail Managed Infrastructure have been

reported to the NDS 24:7 reporting line. The term

NDS is now changing to NSC which stands for

National Supply Chain. Nothing else has changed

and the service can still be contacted on the

following number…

NSC 24:7 - 01908 723500

Overhead Lines – Test Before Touch

One of the Network Rail Lifesaving Rules is the

requirement to “Test Before Touch” before

carrying out any work which may involve coming

into contact with any electrical conductors that

have been isolated (i.e. Conductor Rails and

Overhead Lines).

During 2014, D&B provided Seaward Live Line

Testers to all COSS’s in line with a package of

training that was mandated by Network Rail which

allowed them to test the state of the conductor rail

before putting people to work near it.

Unfortunately, although equipment is available to

test overhead lines, no formal training package

has been issued to allow people to carry out this

test.

Therefore until Network Rail

have decided the policy and

competency requirements to

allow for COSS’s to test the

state of an overhead line,

D&B staff are not permitted to

engage in overhead line

testing activities and the

operations of the persons

managing the isolation

should be relied upon.

If possible, it is a good idea to

witness this testing before

accepting the overhead line

permit where possible.



Scaffolding Hand-back Procedures

A potentially serious incident took place on the

D&B bridge painting site at Albert Road in Bristol

recently where a section of scaffolding was left

foul of the track after the completion of the day’s

works.

The scaffolding had been erected without the

knowledge of the Site Agent and due to changes

in the scaffolding team throughout the day, the

scaffolders forgot that the section of scaffolding

needed to be dismantled to allow for the track to

be cleared and handed back.

The scaffolding remained in place and during the

evening, the driver of the first train that used the

line spotted the obstruction and bought the train to

a stop before striking the scaffolding. Luckily, the

line is a slow speed, low volume track which feeds

into a good yard. The matter was immediately

reported and dealt with by D&B staff on site.

This incident has highlighted a number of issues

in relation to the control and co-ordination of

scaffolding works.

All scaffolding operations are to be agreed

with the D&B Site Team and should be

confirmed as part of the Form 005 process.

Un-authorised adaptions to scaffolding is not

permitted and all adaptions must be approved.

DABBS Feedback

During August 222 DABBS observations took

place throughout the company and in total 621

acts were observed.

33 of these acts were reported as unsafe.

The main cause of unsafe acts throughout the

company during August were as follows…

Working at Height – Failing to provide safe

access to places of work at height and the failure

to provide suitable measure to protect against falls

from height.

Traffic Management – Stepping outside of the

supplied protection measures and the planning of

impractical traffic management measures

COSHH Compliance – Failure to provide a valid

COSHH assessment whilst using a harmful

chemicals.

Please pay close attention to these issues during

all future works.

Weekly Inspections and Capturing

Man-hours

One of the indicators of how effective our safety

culture is at Dyer & Butler is referred to as our

Accident Frequency Rate (AFR). This is

calculated by using a defined formula which

considers the number of reportable accidents in

relation to the number of hours worked. Currently

the AFR for D&B is well below the industry

average at 0.11. The AFR is frequently used to

prove to other parties (i.e. Clients and prospective

clients) how good our safety systems are.

Because man-hours are an integral part of this

calculation, it is vitally important that we capture

all of the man-hours worked on site. This should

be carried out during the weekly inspections that

are carried out by the Site Agents.

Please ensure that you complete your man-

hour totals as part of your weekly site

inspections.



Workspace – New Document Management System (DMS) – Go Live…!

As of the 1st October 2014, the new Document Management System or DMS will go live on Workspace.

This will mean that the Information Zone will have a new look and feel as well as having improved

functionality and search options. All Workspace users have received training in the new system and it is

hoped that the training combined with the benefits of the new system will further improve the company’s use

of Workspace.

Please also remember that all of the company procedures, forms and guidance notes that are to be used

on site, must be obtained from the Company Management System pool or (CMS) within Workspace.

Revised Street Works Code of

Practice

A revised Safety at Street Works and Road

Works Code of Practice (or Red Book) has been

issued which contains updated advice for those

who carry out work in the public highway. The

contents of the new book come into force on

the 1st October 2014 and it is important that all

D&B staff are working to the new standards by

this date.

Safety Matters - September...2014/12/09 · Safety Matters September 2014 Safe by choice ….not by...

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