A labourer has been left with life-changing injuries after suffering severe burns when he struck an underground electricity cable while using a jackhammer at a construction site in Kent.
Bradley Marsh, 28, was working for Dwyer Engineering Services Ltd when the incident took place on 12 June 2009. He was digging a trench to create a drainage system during the construction of a retirement home in Tovil, Maidstone.
The principal contractor at the site had warned that there were underground electrical cables at the site, but Dwyer did not contact the electricity supplier for drawings to identify the location of the cables.
Mr Marsh was using a jackhammer when he struck an 11,000-volt cable and suffered 62 percent burns to his upper body, face, neck and arms. He spent six weeks in hospital and has undergone numerous skin grafts. Doctors have told him that he will never be able to work again owing to his injuries.
The HSE found that the firm did not have a cable supervisor on site and no system was in place to identify underground cables. It was also discovered that Mr Marsh had not been trained to dig within 500mm of live cables.
An Improvement Notice was issued the day after the incident, which required Dwyer to put a safe system of work in place to identify the location of live electrical cables at the site.
Dwyer appeared at Maidstone Crown Court and pleaded guilty to breaching reg. 25(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007. It was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £14,532 in costs.
In mitigation, the company said it had cooperated with the investigation and had no previous convictions. It subsequently changed its system of work and method statement and now ensures that workers either use hand tools, or request that electricity cables are isolated when they are working in close proximately to them.
Following the hearing, HSE inspector David Fussell said: “This incident was wholly avoidable and demonstrates the need for site safety in the construction sector, especially as contact with live electricity is a common cause of serious incidents. In this case, the employer failed to assess the risks to the operator who was digging in close proximity to 11,000-volt electrical cables.
“The fact that serious injury or death can result from contact with electricity, either via personnel, machinery or vehicles, makes it all the more essential for employers to have safe working procedures for any work involving electrical plant, cabling or equipment.
“If Dwyer Engineering Services Ltd had been prepared to spend a little time locating underground services, using signs, maps, and locating devices, then this incident would have been avoided.”
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No mention any where about cable avoidance tools I used to employ three drainage ground workers all shown how to use CAT and Jenny and had them in their vans. But they rarely used them.even though they knew the dangers, glad to see mention of small contractors in article. My All Risks employers liability was £3500 a year nearly as much as fines,any job requiring ground works ,contract should require inspection of insurance by main contractors to see if it covers them for risk
Why wasn’t the Client, Principal Contractor or CDM Co-ordinator not prosecuted?
CDM Regs ACOP Para 55 require that all project specific H&S information needed to identify the hazards and risks associated with the design and construction works are supplied to those carrying out the works. Why wasn’t the contractor supplied witht the underground service drawings. Of course a competent contractor would have refused to have started the works with out the drawings.
Again another sad story of poor (or even no Planning). Not knowing too much about the actual case, but unusual the Principal Contractor was not involved in the prosecution? Must have had every thing in place. Well done them.
Another contractor that’s won a contract and adhering to the rules of H&S. No previous! That means they never got caught until too late. This country will never learn whilst we put money before everything.
Not good enough.
..The principal contractor at the site had warned that there were underground electrical cables at the site, but Dwyer did not contact the electricity supplier for drawings to identify the location of the cables…
It appears the Principal Contractor allowed the work to be progressed without checking and authorising the Method Statement. With an 11kV cable known to be present, surely a Permit-to-Dig control should have been in place.
What happened to the Principal Contractor who has overall responsibility for managing safety on site and should not allow subcontractors to start work until such time as they are satisfied that the risks have been assessed and appropriate measures taken.
They had brought the underground cables to the attention of Dwyer and then seemingly accepted their proposed methodology to do the work which obviously did not include preventing the risk of electrocution by contact with the cables.
I hope Messrs Young and Cameron read this sort of incident and not just listen to the pathetic headline grabbing elf and safety bashing that they seem to be basing their review on. I also hope Bradley gets the most competent, experienced and ruthless no win no fee Solicitor he can and gets what is due to him.
The fine and cost combined probably wont hurt a company like Dwyer and what is the use of an improvement notice? This site should have been closed till they could show that they comply.
Poor planning and supervision are clearly the main issues in this accident. But what is a 11,000 volt cable doing being so shallow in the ground and having no protection above it.
Once again the utility companies walk away for their original negligence when the cable was installed?
This worker is unbelievably lucky to be alive. It’s inexcusable that Dwyer didn’t check the location of the power lines and get them isolated. With so many fundamental basic errors by the company I fear that we may hear of them again in the future.