SHEQWs Newsletter November

SHEW
Safety, Health, Environment, Wellbeing
Newsletter November 2016
It’s a win for environment &
sustainability at NJUG awards
- read the full story on page13

Contents
What we could do better
3. What we could do better
what to do when an inspector calls
4. Wellbeing
Being mindful and aware of suicide
5. In the Courts
Looking at the latest environmental
prosecution
6. Topic of the Month
Looking at a recent incident on eight2o
8. In the spotlight
We look at the tunnel inspection works
going on
10. What’s been happening
We look at archaeological finds on
eight2o, recycled aggregate work & a win
at the NJUG awards
13. Community Engagement
Project
Focus on a project undertaken by some
of our own site teams
14. Reporting
Latest SHE statistics
15. Safety alerts
Latest safety alerts for dissemination
What to do when an inspector calls
What do you need to know about regulators such as the Environment Agency and
HSE?
Regulators such as the EA, HSE and Local Authority are key stakeholders for many eight2O activities and we are
regularly required to engage with them on various issues Including obtaining advice, licences and permits.
Visits with any regulator may be pre-arranged but these regulators are also warranted officers and so if they arrive
on site we are obliged to grant them access. If they deem necessary they can stop work, carry out interviews under
caution, take samples and even issue on the spot fines.
If a visit and evidence leads to them suspecting wrong doing this may lead to further investigation and potential for
further legal action.
What should you do if an inspector attends
your site?
• Ensure that you see a copy of the regulator’s ID and note
down the individuals name.
• Prior to escorting the individual on site, ensure that they
have the necessary PPE, have signed in on the visitor’s
book and have had the necessary visitor’s induction.
• Whilst walking around site ensure that you take photos
of the same areas as the inspector.
• Take notes of who spoke to the inspector and an outline
of the discussion.
• If they take samples, for example of discharged water,
ensure that the site take a duplicate sample at the
same time. This will ensure that we are able to send the
sample off for independent testing.
• If documents are requested and taken please ensure
copies are available or taken prior to them leaving site.
• If documents or samples are collected, the site should
be given a chain of custody to sign. This chain of custody
states that the sample was witnessed being taken by the
inspector at a specified location.
• Ensure that one member of the team, usually the Site
or Project Manager, exchanges contact details with the
inspector and becomes the single point of contact for
any future communication. This will enable the team to
build a relationship with the inspector and keep them
informed of any required remedial actions that are
being undertaken.
• DO NOT ask how much money we will be charged for
their time
• DO NOT question the inspector’s suspicions and
conclusions without good evidence.
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Wellbeing Be Mindful Campaign -
Focus on Suicide
This week we focus on suicide as part of the Wellbeing Be Mindful Campaign.
Suicide can be a taboo topic in society but we are encouraging staff to openly
discuss their own experiences of suicide.
In 2014, 6,122 suicides were registered in the UK. Most people have thought of
suicide from time to time and not all people who die by suicide have mental
health problems at the time of death. However, many people who kill themselves
do suffer with their mental health, typically to a serious degree.
Understanding suicide
Suicide is described as an act of intentionally ending your life, many people who
have had suicidal thoughts say they were so overwhelmed by negative feelings
they felt they had no other option. However, with support and treatment people
are able to allow the negative feelings to pass.
There’s no single reason why someone may try to take their own life, sometimes
suicide can occur without warning and the sad reality is that, no matter
what, some people will succumb to suicide but thankfully many suicides are
preventable.
In the courts
Water Company Subsidiary fined £26,000 for odour
A business innovation subsidiary of a UK water company have been heavily fined following odour
complaints about a composting plant in Lanarkshire.
The site had permission to turn waste into compost, but the bad smells were in breach of that
permission. The compost plant was outdoors and the turning, screening and maturation of the compost
contributed to the bad smell.
The equipment designed to treat odours was also not performing properly. Despite the good intentions
for innovation and recycling, those living near the plant were “regularly and severely impacted” by the
odours. All such plants are expected to use the best available techniques for preventing or, where that is
not practicable, for reducing odour.
Get Support!
If you are concerned about suicidal thoughts or are worried about someone’s
wellbeing, you can contact the Samaritans at any time. They will help sort
through feelings, talk through options and help find a way forward. You can also
find local support in your area to help make sure you can access care and support
where you need it, when you need it.
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Incident - Chalk/Calcium Carbonate
Discharge to a Non-Main River
What happened?
• A recent incident on an eight2O
site saw chalky water discharged
into a non-main river (usually
a dry ditch) situated parallel to
the site. The site had set up the
dewatering system three weeks
previously, had a permit to pump
formalising their monitoring
regime and had undertaken the
activity without any problems
until the morning of the incident.
• Following a complaint received
downstream of the site, the
discharge point was checked and
cloudy water was observed being
released into the environment.
At this point all pumping and
dewatering activities were
immediately stopped.
Why did it happen?
There are 2 potential reasons for
the incident which may have acted
individually or in combination:
• The blinding activity undertaken
on the day of the incident may
have impacted on the alkalinity
of the water in the vicinity of the
shaft. A change in alkalinity can
turn water containing calcium
carbonate cloudy. This water was
then drawn up by the dewatering
sump and into the silt trap.
• A change to a more chalk like
ground strata meant that the
equipment being used was
no longer appropriate for the
dewatering activity.
What were the potential
consequences of this
incident?
Water contaminated with suspended
solids such as chalk can be extremely
damaging if allowed to enter
watercourses. Damage can include:-
• Blocking fish gills leading to
death
• Deoxygenating water killing any
reliant organism
• Smothering aquatic plants
• Transport of toxins into an
ecosystem
• Alteration of a rivers chemistry
e.g. pH which can have an impact
on certain species
• Water pollution events such
as this account for many
prosecutions under the Water
Resources Act each year and can
result in unlimited fines and even
prison sentences. Prosecutions
can also have a significant impact
on the reputation of our business
and can also impact on future
work winning.
What can we do to prevent it from happening again?
• Where dewatering to surface water, a watercourse precondition checklist must be completed and the site
must ensure that the wider environment is assessed within this (i.e. flowrates of the watercourse prior to
discharge, water quality samples from both up and downstream and photographs of all monitoring locations)
• All dewatering operations must be fully risk assessed using the necessary templates
• Ensure that the site has established what water and potential sediment will need to be monitored in terms of
quantity, quality etc.
• Changes in the environment , including a variation of ground strata, should lead to a reassessment of the risk
• Dewatering operations require the use of the eight2O Permit to Pump process to be followed.
• Dewatering and pumping operations must be appropriately monitored with records kept including
photographic evidence of all samples taken.
• IEMP control plans must be site specific to the activity being undertaken and identify water management
equipment specification, monitoring and maintenance requirements etc.. Relevant activity specific
information such as monitoring should also be included within the RAMS.
• When dewatering to surface water, monitoring must be undertaken at locations downstream as well as at the
initial discharge point.
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In the spotlight
Tunnel Inspections - Walthamstow
Overview
In early November the team mobilised in Walthamstow
fishery’s to undertake various tunnel inspections.
The first was tunnel was only a few hundred meters long
and was in good order with next to no mussel or silt inside.
Following on from this a compound was set up in the
Lockwood compound opposite the main fisheries, to allow
for works to the second tunnel , which spanned 6km to
begin. Shortly after the spine tunnel was started which
runs from the break pressure tank just south of the William
Girling Reservoir to Coppermills Water Treatment Works.
Preparing for the tunnel cleaning
Once the permits were acquired by eight20 from Thames
Water, the survey was undertaken. With all the lift plans,
isolation procedure and RAMS in places.
Firstly a floating pontoon was set up with a frame, block
and tackle attached allowing them to pick up the isolation
plates and float them into position, once they had been
lifted into the water using a 25t city crane.
The isolation plates consisted of three C section plates
and a cover lid. Each C section is approx. 1mtr high and
2.0mtrs long. These are all bolted together with gaskets
between every section, along the head wall and then
studded to the base. Once the isolation plates were in
the water, specialist divers were bought in to survey the
shafts. Each section was installed until completed and the
process repeated at two locations shaft A & C.
Once all the isolation plates were installed, the tunnel was
isolated and the instruction was given to drain down the
tunnel. To do this a permits to pump was raised and the
pumping was monitored until the tunnel was empty.
Tunnel Cleaning & Inspection
Once the tunnel was drained, the survey phase of the
works could begin. It was at this stage that the amount of
mussels/ silt within the tunnel was apparent.
The survey started at shaft A where the tunnel was almost
completely full with only 300mm gap to crown. It was
because of this that the survey was abandoned at shaft
A and attempted at shaft C where debris depths of 8 to
900mm were found and so the survey was deemed unsafe
to continue until the waste had been removed.
DISAB suction units were then employed to extract the
mussels and silt waste. This involved connecting 6”hoses
down the shaft and working from the main riding basket
at the pit bottom to clear the way into the tunnel.
Ventilation fans were also installed to purge the tunnel
along with specialist ammonia gas detectors.
Barhale continued to extract waste and clear the tunnel
for a number of weeks by extending the hose into the
tunnel. However due to the amount of build-up, trollies
and bins were also used as a much faster way to move the
material.
Once the tunnel was completely cleaned it was then
inspected by Thames Water and eight20.
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What’s been happening across eight 2
O
1. Digging up our past at
Axford
Archaeologists working on the
Axford pipeline project have been
discovering new information
about our past around current-day
Swindon.
Evidence of our Roman ancestors
re-using their chalk quarries as pits
to burn their rubbish in have been
discovered at a number of locations
along the new pipeline route. The
quarry pit below was discovered
south of the M4 and was adjacent
to a Roman roadside settlement.
(The darker areas show evidence of
burning.)
More evidence of Roman life has
been found in the area of the buried
Roman town of Durocornovium.
Fine pottery vessels and five Roman
Denarii (silver coins) dating from 2nd
century AD highlight the wealth of
people living in the area during these
times.
2. Sharing knowledge
between Utilities
A fantastic demonstration of best
practice sharing and collaboration
between contracts, eight2O, tRIIO
(joint venture for National Grid) and
SQS (a tRIIO recycled aggregates
supplier), occured this month.
Members of the construction, design
and procurement teams from both
SMBJV and CABVJV attended a
recent event to showcase recycled
aggregates; increasing awareness of
the production techniques, technical
applications and ways to ensure a
final quality product.
Chris Stones, from SQS, talked
through the process from when the
waste aggregate is received at the
site through to sorting, screening
and finally production of the recycled
aggregates, including Type 1, pea
shingle and eco surround.
The SQS team also demonstrated
how recycled aggregates are used
for reinstatement across all of
their tRIIO contracts. Backfilling a
specially prepared excavation they
demonstrated how the material is
tampered down and compacted
and how this compaction is tested
aggregates on their contract.
Mark Guinn, Strata Highways,
detailed the testing that is carried
out on the recycled aggregates
produced at SQS and on the
stability and compaction of
the material once it has been
placed in the ground. Mark
also explained the possible cost
savings available if recycled
aggregates are used.
The day provided great learnings
and experience that can be used
on eight2O to increase the usage
of recycled aggregates across our
contracts.
The earliest (and most worn –
on the far left) is a rare silver
Denarius struck in Gaul or Spain
for the Emperor Vitellius in AD
69. The remaining four coins are
all minted for the Emperor Trajan
(AD98 – 117)
Prehistoric grain storage pits of,
likely Bronze Age or /Iron Age
(c.2000BC – 43BC) have also
been found close to an Iron
Age enclosure below Badbury
Hillfort. This enclosure may have
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3. CDM Training
Last month 28 HSE inspectors visited
Mogden STW as part of an in-house
training course on CDM. The inspectors,
either new to HSE or Construction
Division, attended a day long workshop
that looked at the practical application
of the regulations from the viewpoint
of the Client, Principle Designer and
Principle Contractor. The day also
included presentations on CBS and
various forms of contract.
4. Success at the NJUG Utility Awards at the Houses of
Parliament- Sustainable Methods & Materials Award!
Last month saw eight2O (Utilities and Civils Thames Water Contract) walk away with a top
prize from the Houses of Parliament – the NJUG Award for Sustainable Methods and Materials.
Going up against Morrison Utility Services and the Kelly Group, the eight2O team scooped the
accolade for achieving sustainable construction.
The award was won due to eight2O’s street works team’s dedication to using several sustainable
methods during design and construction – including hydraulic modelling and BIM, nonintrusive
surveying techniques, trench sharing with other utility works, vacuum excavation and
paperless works management systems. This covered works including Pressure Management,
Mains Replacement, AMP4 Rollover, Motcomb Street and Blythe Road.
Two other eight2o projects were also runners up; Swiss Cottage Trunk Main Replacement for
their work at minimising disruption and Hatton Garden for their work at keeping the public fully
informed.
Congratulations to
all those involved in
winning this prestigious
NJUG Award!
Community Engagement Project
Ashton Keynes Primary School
Overview
Whilst installing a new plant
in the Cotswolds, an eight2o
site team wanted to give
something back to the local
area. Ashton Keynes Primary
School was local and so Barry
Airey (General Foreman) and
Jonathan New (Graduate
Civil Engineer) visited and
discovered they needed
support.
1.Enhancing a Memory
Garden
The school had a dedicated
area to a pupil who had
passed away. It had become
a bit of a reflective area for
the children, but was in a
sorry state.
The unwanted pampas grass
was swiftly removed, but to
truly redevelop the area a bit
more love and attention was
required. A solar powered
water feature was selected,
along with plants and
pebbles to smarten up the
area. The school now hope
to use this area to highlight
sustainable energy and so we
purchased a blackboard and
recycled plastic benches for
them.
The site team are also
engaging with the pupils
via educational assembly’s
to talk about sustainable
energy and to help the pupils
find out about recycling and
material reuse.
2.Bug Hotel & Bird Houses
The school take part in
‘forest schools sessions’ and
are working to complete
an Eco-award. This involves
running weekly outdoor
activities as part of their
curriculum, as a method
of learning about the
environment. As part the of
this they asked if eight2O
would be able to a deliver
an environmental related
activity.
From this, Ali Thomas
(Environmental Advisor) led
an activity to build a bug hotel
with a group of pupils. With
the help of the site teams and
her van driver Dave Wass, a
range of site materials were
collected, including pallets,
bricks, pipes, old wellies,
redundant lifting straps and
cardboard. Even breathalysing
tubes from eight2O inductions
were sterilised and reused.
Additionally pupils bought in
recycled materials from home
including twigs, fir cones, milk
bottles and plant pots. Even old
wellies were transformed into
luxury recycled bird houses that
were hung on trees located near
to the bug hotel.
Adding to this, a short talk on
garden wildlife owing to the
presence of pipistrelle bats
and great crested newts on the
school grounds was given and
the pupils asked on who they
thought would live in a house
like this…
Want to do something similar? … contact your Environmental Advisor
SHEW Newsletter

October’s Reporting Figures
SAFETY ALERTS
As the new system takes hold, more functionality will be added, including simpler communication between back office
94% 71%
SA FOOT
INJURY
DW01F04
100%
Diversion of Excavated Material
from landfill vs Target
90%
Recycled aggregate use
It is the responsibility of the construction team
to ensure that our subcontractors are using
facilities which maximise recycling.
GEO-TECHNICAL
INJURY
MANUAL
HANDLING
3
1
Noise
Asbestos
Trip or slip hazard
1
2
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
WHACKER
NEAR
MISS
51
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!
SHEW Newsletter
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