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NETWORK / 20 / MAY 2016 L ast year, electricity distribution company UK Power Networks (UKPN) had only five lost time incidents. If such standards are matched across the industry, where employees face a vast range of dangers, then we can be comforted that health and safety standards are where they should be in the network industry. Every employee faces health and safety risks at work, such as stress – the theme of last month's world day for health and safety at work. But for employees in this sector, failure to uphold standards can be fatal. For this reason, UKPN's director of safety, strategy and support services Suleman Alli warns that complacency can never be allowed to creep in to business-as-usual for networks. Although rare, serious accidents and fatalities do happen. Already this year, three major fines, of between £1-2 million, have been handed out by the Health & Safety Executive to both an electricity and gas dis- tribution company (see opposite). While all companies want to avoid tragic incidents, and health and safety should always be the number one priority, such fines undoubtedly sharpen companies' focus on health and safety – and punish- ment for lapses is about to become even more stringent for those that fail to protect staff and the general public. New sentencing guidelines introduced in February mean that for the first time courts in England and Wales have been given com- prehensive guidelines on the size of fines handed out for health and safety breaches. Equipment supplier Slingsby warns that as a result, fines are likely to soar above their current levels, reaching potentially ten times the level of those handed out to network companies so far this year. Add to this finan- cial threat with the dire consequences that poor health and safety standards can have on morale and organisational reputation, and the motivation for significant and stra- tegic investment in continuing health and safety excellence becomes clear. Maintaining vigorous health and safety standards is not a new concept to network operators. The RIIO price control model already requires them to meet specific out- puts for health and safety, to ensure infra- structure does not pose a danger to the general public and the environment. For electricity distribution operators this means constant efforts to inform the public about the risks electricity and gas infrastructure poses to them. UKPN alone has 65,000km of overhead lines, all of which potentially pose a danger to individuals despite the inherent benefit they represent for society. UKPN has committed to reach two mil- HEALTH AND SAFET Y → Iron Risk The gas distribution network has a potentially fatal flaw which GDNs are tasked with managing and reducing. T he gas distribution network is an incredible feat of engineering, but it also contains a major flaw – 72,000km of iron mains. Iron mains are known to fail in service, causing major incidents that are a risk to property and human life. As a result, a major programme of iron mains replace- ment is built into the safety output of the price control for gas distribution companies. The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) updated its iron mains policy to coincide with the start of the RIIO price control. The iron mains replacement programme was first introduced by the HSE in 2002 in order to speed up the replacement of all cast iron mains within 30 metres of property, to be achieved within 30 years. Most GDNs have taken the decision to target the smaller tier 1 diameter mains, which have a higher risk of failure but are also cheaper to replace, resulting in a cur- rent financial outperformance by GDNs. Tier 1 pipes represent approximately 95% of the at-risk iron mains population. The remain- ing 5% are above eight inches in diameter. The larger pipes are, however, scheduled to be tackled later in the price control period. All GDNs are meeting their outputs, although National Grid Gas Distribution has confirmed it will replace only 24km of mains in RIIO-GD1 compared with the assumed 70km. Ofgem is considering the implications of this for the price control. This programme is ongoing, despite the cost and the lingering question mark over the future of gas. Due to the cost it is also an area experiencing a lot of innovation as GDNs have been given the freedom to develop their replacement programme with fewer constraints, resulting in gas mains replacement being a main area of focus for Network Innovation Allowance projects (see p23). This freedom has contributed to GDNs outperforming their totex allowances. Failure and fracture Iron mains fail through brittle cast iron frac- ture and the corrosion of ductile iron – both of which lead to gas escapes developing over a relatively short period. The frequency of failures is related to ambient temperature. The relatively mild winter in 2014/15 has resulted in a significantly lower number of failures than forecasted for all GDNs. continued p23 Number of fractures and failures Company GDN RIIO-GD1 target Average annual target 2014 actual 2015 actual NGGD EoE 13,517 1,690 999 1,213 Lon 4,039 505 278 308 NW 12,527 1,566 755 909 WM 7,494 937 561 703 NGN NGN 21,936 2,742 815 883 SGN SC 10,398 1,300 455 473 So 12,887 1,611 1,077 1,145 WWU WWU 8,529 1,066 581 616 Industry 91,327 11,416 5,521 6,250