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£75K Fine Following Electric Shock Safety Offences

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is demanding that companies follow safe working practices when using electrical equipment.

The call follows the HSE’s prosecution of a Birmingham train repair firm which was fined £75,000 after a train technician suffered a severe electric shock, and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and T Cartledge Ltd after a worker received severe burns when he hit a live electrical cable.

Thrown 4ft From Cable Shock

Maintrain Limited has been fined £75,000 after a train technician suffered a severe electric shock. Mr Christopher Harris, was working on a faulty carriage in February 2007 when he received a shock from a cover used to protect the train axles. The jolt threw the technician 4ft (1.2 m) in the air.
The train, which should have been isolated, was electrified at the time. Mr Harris suffered significant muscle damage to his chest, had burns to his hands, and required treatment to his legs resulting in his being off of work for two months.
Maintrain, which was taken over by National Express in December 2007, pleaded guilty before Birmingham magistrates in November 2008 to two safety offences. The case was remitted to the Crown Court for sentence. In addition to the fine, the company was ordered to pay £8,584 costs. Commenting on the case, principal railway inspector Darren Anderson said:

'This was a serious incident and shows the importance of proper planning and implementation of safe systems of work. […] Had all axle covers been removed from the train, the full voltage of 25,000 volts could have passed through the worker.
It is therefore only through luck that the consequences of this incident were not even more serious.'

Severe Burns From 132,000 Volt Cable Strike

Another recent case involved Mr Martin Rose, an employee of T Cartledge Ltd, who was operating equipment on the Old Bethnal Green Road, in Tower Hamlets. Mr Rose was attempting to install a lamppost on the footpath when he struck a live 132,000 Volt electrical cable and suffered severe burns.
The London Borough of Tower was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay costs of £39,089 at the City of London Magistrates’ Court, after being found guilty of breaching section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act etc. 1974.
In a separate prosecution, which related to the incident, T Cartledge Ltd of Chelmsford, Essex, was fined £18,000 with costs of £14,555 after pleading guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act etc. 1974. The company was working as a contractor for Tower Hamlets Council.
HSE investigating inspector Janet Seggery said:

'This is a dreadful case where the employer had failed to provide plans of underground electrical cables.
If the company had simply provided the plans and had supervised the work, this incident would never have occurred.'

The HSE investigation showed that Tower Hamlets Council and T Cartledge Ltd had failed to provide Mr Rose with a copy of service plans which would have identified underground electrical cables and they did not supervise the work that was being undertaken.
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) about 1000 accidents at work involving electric shock or burns are reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) every year. Around 30 of these are fatal.

What Should You Do

Carry out preventative maintenance

• All electrical equipment and installations should be maintained to prevent danger. You should have an appropriate system of visual inspection and, where necessary, testing. You can control most electrical risk by concentrating on a simple, inexpensive system of looking for visible signs of damage or faults. This will need to be backed up by testing as necessary.
• Your fixed installations should be inspected and tested periodically by a competent person.
• Make sure that the frequency of your inspections and any necessary testing are determined the type of equipment, how often it is used, and the environment in which it is used.
• Keep records of the results of inspection and testing – it’ll prove useful for you when you assess the effectiveness of the system.

Instigate safe working

• Make sure that people who are working with electricity are competent to do the job. Even simple tasks such as wiring a plug can lead to danger - ensure that people know what they are doing before they start.

Check that...

• Suspect or faulty equipment is taken out of use, labelled 'DO NOT USE' and kept secure until examined by a competent person;
• Where possible, tools and power socket-outlets are switched off before plugging in or unplugging;
• Equipment is switched off and/or unplugged before cleaning or making adjustments.

More complicated tasks, such as equipment repairs or alterations to an electrical installation, should only be tackled by people with knowledge of the risks and the precautions needed.
You must not allow work on or near exposed live parts of equipment, unless it is absolutely unavoidable and suitable precautions have been taken to prevent injury, both to the workers and to anyone else who may be in the area.
Underground power cables - always assume cables will be present when digging in the street, pavement or near buildings. Use up-to-date service plans, cable avoidance tools and safe digging practice to avoid danger. Service plans should be available from regional electricity companies, local authorities, highways authorities, etc.

Safer with Ark

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