SHEQWs Newsletter September

SHEW
Safety, Health, Environment, Wellbeing
Newsletter September 2016
SAVING OF THE
SWAN
exciting day on-site for
Walton
- read the full story on
page10

Contents
3. What we could do better
Utilising Vacuum Excavators
4. Press recognition
Press recognition for H&S excellence
5. In the Courts
Looking at latest environmental
prosecution
6. Topic of the Month
Managing Dust & Air Quality
8. In the spotlight
Look at how Blythe Road achieved
Health, Safety, Environment & Customer
excellence
10. What’s been happening
We look at how Waltan saved local
wildlife and how the occupational health
team are enhancing awareness
12. Cygnus Firefly
We look at how one project reduced
carbon and costs through a hybrid
generator
15. SMB reporting
Latest SHE statistics
16. Safety alerts
Latest safety alerts for dissemination
What we
could do better
Utilising Vacuum
Excavators
What is a Vacuum Excavator?
A vacuum excavator is a high power suction system used
to excavate soils directly into a machine as opposed to
traditional methods of machinery and hand held tools.
Almost 200m of insertion work can be excavated in
one day, whilst maintaining a clean tidy site, pedestrian
access and 2 way traffic.
It is typically a safe means of excavating for new and
around existing underground utilities in any ground
conditions, but has a wide variety of other applications.
Why use it?
• Reduces the risk of damaging utilities and underground
assets
• Reduces excavation sizes by up to a third compared to
use of a mini-digger – reducing disposal costs and lorry
movements (costs and carbon footprint)
• No excess spoil- no danger of contamination into surface waters
or drains
• Increased productivity due to reduced manual handling
• Self-contained which can tip up to 12m3 in one area, creating a
cleaner environment
• Increased operational safety due to less need for access and
egress
• Less manual effort, avoidance of strains and sprains to
operatives.
• Faster and more efficient excavation compared to traditional
manual methods – projects are completed far quicker which
results in minimal disruption to the customer, members of the
public, and the environment.
• Minimised damage to tree roots as the vacuum can remove the
ground between them
• Reduction of grab loader time on site, minimising disruption to
customers and local traffic and significant reduction in third party
damages.
Page 2 | August 2016 SHEWQ Newsletter
SHEWQ Newsletter
August 2016 | Page 3

eight2o recognised in press for H&S
approach to eliminating injuries
In the courts
Water Company fined £465,000 for pollution incidents
The water industry is known to have a spike in injuries in the first year of
construction due to the sheer volume of work undertaken. However we have
been recognised as breaking new ground and offering valuable lessons for
other major projects. Looking sixteen months into construction it has been
acknowledged that our data on lost time injury rate paints a remarkable
picture.
From the outset, we agreed that health and safety would be an underpinning
key outcome in the successful delivery of the entire construction programme, .
We have also earned Thames Water the accolade of ‘client of the year’ at the
National Construction News Awards on 14 July.
For the full article click here
“Early contractor involvement has
been talked about for a long time but
in addition to this equally as important
is how we set up the contractual
agreement in the correct way,”
A water company has been fined
£426,000 along with Environment
Agency costs of £38, 642 for
repeatedly polluting a watercourse
with sewage.
On three separate occasions
blockages occurred in a combined
sewer causing a build up of fat.
This resulted in a back-up. The raw
sewage then leaked into a surface
water drain that led to a brook
The fine came after the judge stated
that there was a known pollution risk,
which the company had failed to be
proactive about.
Additionally, the company had a
history of repeat offences, with
40 fines and convictions between
2000 and 2015 for failing to prevent
pollution and failing to meet permit
conditions.
As a result of this fine, the company
are now carrying out frequent
.observations of the sewer.
The scale of the fines sends out a
clear message that it is far more cost
effective to implement measures to
prevent these incidents occurring in
the first place.
(The Environmentalist, 2016)
Page 4 | August 2016 SHEWQ Newsletter
SHEWQ Newsletter
July 2016 | Page 5

Managing Dust & Air Quality
Pollutants associated
with the our works include;
• Airborne particulates (associated
with health impacts as they are
inhalable)
• Dust (associated with nuisance
and amenity impacts due to the
visibility)
• Gaseous pollutants such as
NOx, SO2, CO and benzene from
plant, machinery and other
construction vehicles.
Why should we minimise
dust and maintain a high air
quality?
• Avoid nuisance to neighbours:
Dust can settle on neighbours’
properties and give rise to
local dispute. Poorly controlled
emissions and odours from plant
or works may give rise to valid
complaints.
• Avoid programme delays: The
Local Authority has the power
to stop works if dust is causing a
nuisance. Emission of dark smoke
from plant and fires is illegal.
• Avoid health problems: Dust
may cause eye irritation or make
asthma worse
• Avoid impact on ecology: Dust
can damage the ecology of a
watercourse and affect plant
growth
How can we avoid causing nuisance from dust & remain complaint;
• Keep roads swept and damp down with water at regular intervals
• Minimise drop heights into haulage vehicles and into conveyors
• Ensure cutting and grinding operations are adequately shielded or wetted
• Sheet lorries carrying dry materials off site
• Keep to site speed limits to minimise dust generation
• Store fine, dry materials within buildings or provide adequate protection from the wind.
• Position stockpiles away from residential areas or watercourses.
• Notify your Supervisor and Environmental Team if work activities are causing dust.
• Inform your Environmental Advisor immediately if you receive any complaints
• DON’T use chemical dust suppressants without the consent of the Environment Agency
• DON’T take water from a watercourse for use in dust suppressing unless an abstraction licence is in place
Page 6 | August 2016 SHEWQ Newsletter
SHEWQ Newsletter
August 2016 | Page 7

In the spotlight
Blythe Road Mains Rehabilitation Project
Environment
• Early soil sampling ruled out contaminated
land, removing the need for barrier pipe
• Works were in a conservation area and so the
team avoided root protection zones. Liaison
with the councils Tree Officer was essential,
especially following a non-eight2O incident
where a lorry reversed into a tree
• Works involved working weekends and
till 7pm weekdays and so a Section 61 was
obtained . Noisy activities were always restricted
to core hours as far as possible and were
avoided on Sundays.
• The team operated under a Permit to Pump
and used silt socks when dewatering
• Compass Archaeology undertook a watching
brief and the Site Agent ensured they came out
at the optimum time (i.e. when the maximum
number of holes were open), to optimise the
visit.
DISCOVERY- whilst
onsite, some 19th
century pottery
was found in the
made ground/
backfill and a 19th
century brick wall
base, possible from
the original Blythe
House. – this shows
that finds can even
occur in the most
disturbed areas.
Overview
As so many projects in the London Streets, the team working in Blythe Road were given a window of opportunity to install a new water pipe along
the length of the road before the Olympia Centre ran its next event which has a major effect on the surrounding roads including Blythe Road.
Health, Safety, Wellbeing
• Reducing the risk of traffic to gangs: road
closures were used with strongwall fencing
providing security to the work areas and
preventing unauthorised entry.
• Well managed workplace with a fully engaged
work force that take pride in the standard of
work they produce and work safely without
cutting corners to produce a good job.
• The work was planned to utilise the open cut
method, but following trial holes, a disused gas
main was discovered, which was of the right size
to insert the water pipe in and so it was agreed
by National Grid that this could be used. which
reduced disruption.
- Ensuring the road was “constantly in supply”
meant the use of over ground riders
- Particular attention was given to ensuring
the old National Post Office Savings building
remained in supply as it holds millions of
pounds of additional exhibits from the Natural
History and V&A museums.
- Vacuum Excavator used to minimise disruption
and reduce risks of striking utilities
Customer
• Letter drops and drop-in sessions held in
advance of works
• Meetings with local stakeholders such as
Olympia to discuss works timetable to minimise
disruption
• Local businesses updated throughout works to
minimise disruption
• Signage displayed explaining the works and
apologising for any inconvenience caused
Page 8 | August 2016 SHEWQ Newsletter
SHEWQ Newsletter
August 2016 | Page 9

What’s been happening across
eight 2
O
THE SAVING OF THE SWAN
TO BE…Walton’s GF has
great luck with local birds.
In August, the Walton Advanced
Water Treatment works team were
faced with a wildlife rescue mission
at its finest.
Leading up to the event the team
had been observing a Swan’s nest
in a disused filter bed on site. The
mating Swan pair laid a total of 5
eggs of which 4 hatched.
The site team watched the four
Cygnets grow over the weeks
and observed them gradually
venturing further away from their
nest. Unfortunately overnight the 4
Cygnets reduced to 3.
On the morning of the rescue, the
site team noticed that 2 Cygnets,
mum and dad were trapped in the
inlet channel.
The General Foreman Kevin
Etherington was given the job of
holding one of the rescued Cygnets
in the attempt to try and coax the
dad within reach so that he could
also be pulled out of the inlet.
After the successful recover, the site
released the family of 4 back into the
River Thames. The site team are still
able to see them most days coming
past the pontoons and barges and so
can keep a beedy eye on them.
A special thanks goes to Kevin
Etherington for sharing this story
with us.
We think that you will all agree that
these lucky swans to be are no ugly
duckings!
Occupational Health on the
road
It has been a busy month for
eight2O’s occupational health people.
They have met with 178 staff offering
health checks, health surveillance and
health promotion talks on Work Life
Balance, migraine, shift working and
fatigue.
There has been a really good response
from everyone they’ve met, and more
visits are planned as we move into the
autumn.
Focus on tiredness and
fatigue- key messages
• Consider fatigue when planning
work and shift patterns.
• Complete a risk assessment to
review the effects of fatigue on work
activities.
• Plan work so that no one is
scheduled to work more than 12
hours (excluding handover time). If
someone is to work longer than 12
hours, a discussion is needed with
their manager and an assessment is to
be conducted.
• Stand down anyone who shows
signs of fatigue.
• Empower employees to stop work if
they become tired and fatigued.
Acting quickly, they phoned a local
swan sanctuary who came to site
and managed to pull mum and both
sygnets out to safety.
Page 10 | August 2016 SHEWQ Newsletter
SHEWQ Newsletter
August 2016 | Page 11

August’s SMB Reporting Figures
The OneView app effectively replaces cumbersome stat packs with a cloud-based document management/viewer
system. And the photo-driven Corona app provides real-time H&S reporting and the backbone for the Works
Management System.
97%
63%
Cygnus Firefly: Clean energy
Use on Manor Road, Wantage works
Manor road is nestled within the
heart of Wantage with a bustling
local community and lots of local
amenities (including bowling
club, park, primary school and
leisure centre), which are all in
close proximity to the works
location, site offices and welfare
facilities.
To mitigate potential noise and
vibration issues to the local area,
Trant Engineering Ltd explored
alternative options for power
source.
The Firefly silent hybrid
power system proved to
be a viable solution since it
provided;
• Efficient power supply onsite
• Reduced noise, CO2 and
emissions
• Increased power system uptime
• CO2 savings reportsed
• Reduced and controlled fuel
costs
“Reducing diesel
generator run time by
using a hybrid power
system reduces pollution
and noise. Particularly
overnight and at
weekends when a site
power is usually very
low, noise is frequently a
problem”
100%
Diversion of Excavated Material
from landfill vs Target
51
3
Noise
Asbestos
Trip or slip hazard
1
1
2
90%
Recycled aggregate use
It is the responsibility of the construction team
to ensure that our subcontractors are using
facilities which maximise recycling.
Every month reporting data is extracted from
Safeguard and the BB Hotline.
Whether a service strike, incident, near miss or
hazard, it is all incredibly important to us.
Near miss - utility
“The Cygnus® range includes a timer
function that allows the site operator to
ensure that critical power systems are
maintained, whilst eliminating noise
and improving the local environment
for the local community.”
170
Completed H&S Inspections
Please ensure that you are completing your
inspections on safeguard. These are crucial in
identifying hazards and reducing the risk of an
incident on site.
We are getting better ... but we are not
reaching our target yet!
Page 12 | August 2016
SHEWQ Newsletter
SHEWQ Newsletter
August 2016 | Page 13

SAFETY ALERTS
PROTECTING OF
ABOVE GROUND
SERVICES
UNSAFE CABLE
CUTTING
Select each safety alert to download to your device. If you
are briefing out to your colleagues download DW01F04, fill
out and return to the H&S safety team.
DW01F04
MANUAL
HANDLING
HIGH VOLTAGE
CABLE STRIKE
CCTV SURVEYS
& CONFINED
SPACES
Page 14 | May 2016 Take care
May 2016 | Page 15

Passionate about everything we do