Untrained Construction worker burnt
Untrained worker burnt in power-cable explosion
A construction worker has been left permanently scarred after he struck an underground cable while carrying out digging work outside his company’s head office.
Richard Baisley, 26, was asked by his employer, Kim Barker Construction Ltd, to install a company sign outside the front gate of its office at Flixborough Industrial Estate in Scunthorpe, on 26 October 2009.
Mr Baisley was not trained to do groundwork and was not given a map of where underground cables were present in the area that the sign was to be installed. He began digging two holes the gate entrance with a hired drill, so that he could install large poles, to support the sign. When the concrete gave way the drill pierced a 415-volt power cable, which was half a metre below the ground, and caused an electrical explosion. He suffered serious burns to his hands, arms, face and chest, which have left him with permanent scarring.
HSE inspector John Dutton told SHP that the company had created a method statement and risk assessment for the work, but these were not suitable, as they did not instruct Mr Baisley to use scanning equipment to identify the precise location of power cables. The work was not properly supervised and the incident could have been avoided if the sign had either been installed in an area away from the underground cables, or if it had been installed on the gate itself. ??
Inspector Dutton said: “This is an example of how a simple job – no matter how straightforward it may seem on the face of it – can have serious, if not fatal, consequences if not properly planned.??
“There are lessons from this case that are relevant to many companies who decide to carry out such work. First and foremost, when digging where underground services may be present, a firm needs to carry out an investigation to locate those services.
“It also highlights the need to make sure every job is planned, undertaken and supervised using trained workers and the right tools.”
Kim Barker Construction appeared at Scunthorpe Magistrates’ Court on 16 November and pleaded guilty to breaching reg.4(3) of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, for failing to protect its employee. It was fined £13,000 and ordered to pay £2039 in costs.
In mitigation, the company disputed that it had failed to inform Mr Baisley about the location of underground cables. It did, however, accept that its method statement was not sufficient and that there was inadequate supervision. The firm has no previous convictions and entered an early guilty plea. It subsequently installed the sign on a fence outside the front of the premises.
