1. Learning bulletin KCD Thames Valley
What Happened
On the 9th November, a team was called to an emergency job out of hours because of a burst main.
Team attended site and decided a 3 tonne excavator was needed.
When team broke ground with the mini excavator, they damaged an electric LV service which was located directly underneath the first layer of tarmac at a depth of 150mm.
Why did it really happen?
CAT and Genny download suggest lack of usage of their cable avoidance tool which resulted in non identification of the street light service.
Visual checks failed to identify the lamp post next to the excavation area.
Permit to dig was not completed correctly by the site team.
What can I do differently?
Suitable and sufficient supervision of site teams to ensure they comply with safe digging practices and permit to dig procedures.
Always ensure you check your surrounding work environment to identify any unknown services such as previous scarring, street lights or any other power supplies.
Weekly download of CAT and Genny data to be reviewed and feedback given to site teams to ensure compliance.
Street light
LV damaged service