Contractors installing a fence on our behalf struck a buried 11kva cable, after they deviated from the agreed route, on to neighbouring property when using a mechanical auger to dig the fence posts. Whilst the buried service plans had been consulted for our land and the necessary scans carried out, the same precautions hadn’t been taken for the adjacent property.
It has been some time since we were involved in this type of incident and it is important that we do not become complacent when digging excavations.
Guidance on the necessary precautions is available from the HSE website: http://www.hse.gov.uk/electricity/information/excavations.htm
It is important we ensure contractors do not deviate from agreed methods of work without formal authorisation. In this instance they were very fortunate to avoid injury. As can be seen by the following case not everyone is so fortunate… please note that the film clip in the article is quite graphic but does clearly demonstrate the potential consequences.
(Some locations may not be able to view the film clip in the press article due to restricted access to YouTube… if you do require a download copy as either .mp4 or .avi please let your Health & Safety advisor know).
Please review this Alert as appropriate with your Teams, including contractors, and make sure you have robust safe systems of work in place before digging excavations, etc.
Please also post the Alert on relevant noticeboards. To download the Alert please go to the download section in UK News website www.cemexuknews.co.uk