Last month we reported on Arc Flash risks during construction groundworks and how risks to contractors and engineers on site can be mitigated, especially by following HSG47 safety guidance.
HSG47 is the Health & Safety Executive’s issued guidance aimed at all those involved in commissioning, planning, managing and carrying out work on or near underground services.
It’s comprehensive in covering the three basic elements of safe systems of work through planning, locating & identifying buried services and safe excavation.
The most recent third edition, released in 2014, brought guidance up to date, but still outlines the same potential dangers as those flagged in the first release in 1989.
Yet our Arc Flash Survey in 2017 revealed a staggering 78% of respondents were still unaware of what the guidance included when it came to reducing the risks of Arc Flash incidents.
For three whole years of London’s Crossrail project, eight tunnelling machines were working to create the 42Km of new train tunnels.
We can only imagine the extensive degree of research and planning that must have gone into the location and re-siting of London’s complex array of underground services during this phase of the works to avoid such incidents.
But for every high-profile, major infrastructure project like this, with specialist civil engineers working to incredibly precise risk assessments and method statements, there will be hundreds more smaller scale projects taking place where work is not being carried out with the same levels of awareness, diligence or training.
Here at ProGARM, we may provide a last line of defence against an Arc Flash in the form of specialist PPE, but there’s no substitute for awareness and proactive steps to minimise the risks of them occurring in the first place.
For more information about Arc Flash protective clothing, please contact us on +44 (0) 1482 679 600 and speak to one of our sector specialists.
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