Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/672433
NETWORK / 21 / MAY 2016 ComplaCenCy kills Suleman Alli, director safety, strategy and support services, UK Power Networks What are the main health and safety challenges facing an electricity distribution operator in particular? The first key challenge is continually keep- ing safety at the forefront of our minds. Although we are in a good place regarding safety, the key thing you have got to do in this business is guard against complacency, and how much you are proactively managing risks. The second key challenge is keeping the public safe, while they live and work around our equipment over a vast geo- graphical area. Did the incident in 2012 result in a culture change for UKPN? It reiterates the point about keeping it at the forefront of our mind. As a distribution com- pany you have so many types of risk ranging from working with electricity, working with height, operating machinery. There are a number of risks and operational driving risks. For me it's about making sure that in each of those areas that we have understood any incident that we have had and learnt from them before those incidents result in any sever consequence. How much of a role does regulation play in DNOs' safety objectives? In our outputs in the price control we have as part of our business plan a commitment to reach over two million people with our safety measures over an eight-year period. That's through engagement with schools, businesses and all manner of other industries. We have also set ourselves targets to reduce our lost time incidents. We are a business that last year only had five lost time incidents, and we are committed to getting that to zero. How difficult is it to keep the general public safe? In our asset base we have 65,000km of overhead lines, and public safety has to be a top priority. The key word is engagement. We have got to have sustained engagement with our community, specifically those groups who have higher likelihood of coming into contact with high voltages. Education is key. We have got a dedicated public safety team whose job it is to operate within our local communities and get that awareness out there. What is key to a successful engagement strategy? We use different channels. For example our operational staff love videos – if we can package a safety message in a video, and personalise it to their context, it has a much greater impact. In January we launched a new impact video and the angle we took was "who do you stay safe for?" It gets the mes- sage home in a way that the staff listening to it can draw their own conclusions. Actually engaging people to be aware of their own choices and behaviour, challenging them to maintain diligence, challenging them to not let bad habits creep in… we enshrine that into a programme called Stay Safe. What role does technology play in making health and safety easier? Technology allows you to capture informa- tion from the field in a structured way that allows you to do analysis and spot trends. It also reduces bureaucracy for staff and lets them focus on what's important. Leading edge technology definitely has a part to play, but I don't think you can expect technol- ogy to solve the issues for you. First and foremost you have to have a strong safety culture, you have got to have good leader- ship, and then technology is an enabler. How will health and safety challenges change in the future? We have a new generation entering our workforce who are much more au fait at us- ing technology and social media, so we have to adapt our strategy in terms of how we engage our workforce. The other challenge is about how you keep innovating because you have got to guard against complacency and keep the messages fresh. Lastly, as a business if you look at how our industry is changing, we have new types of assets and technology like storage. We have to adapt to get the benefits but ensure we stay true to our strengths in terms of engineering excellence and safety. Fines and Failings National Grid – £2 million National Grid Gas Distribution was hit with a £2 million fine at Preston Crown Court after it ruled safety failings had led to the tragic death of 11-year-old Robbie Williamson in 2014. An exposed pipe running alongside Leeds and Liverpool Canal was incorrectly recorded by National Grid as being buried, and therefore did not have a steel "fan" installed to prevent access. Williamson was able to climb onto the pipe, from which he fell to his death in the canal. The correct measures were installed by National Grid after the incident. National Grid – £1 million National Grid Gas Distribution was fined £1 million earlier this year after a worker became trapped in a ruptured gas main while supervising repairs. The worker was trapped between two pipes after one of them burst, breaking his femur. The worker's life was saved by the breathing apparatus he was wearing as the fire service worked for an hour in zero visibility to rescue the trapped engineer. Sheffield Crown Court ruled that National Grid had failed to comply with its own gas escape procedures and had not carried out sufficient risk assessments. UKPN – £1 million Electricity distributor UK Power Networks was fined £1 million after jogger Dr James Kew was electrocuted in 2012 by a low-hanging high-voltage power cable in Newport, Essex. The cable should have been 5.5 metres above the ground, but was only 1.5 metres at its lowest point across a well-used footpath after a ceramic insulator failed. The cable was reported to National Grid by members of the public, who in turn informed UKPN. Kew was killed in the 20 minutes it took for a technician to reach the scene. UKPN has now changed its policy to immediately de-energise power lines to remove the possibility of such an incident occurring again. "Ever since the tragic incident our thoughts have been with the family and friends of Dr Kew. I am personally acutely aware of the consequences, and we are truly sorry that it happened. We did a proper review of our processes, and that process was overhauled following the tragic death," said Suleman Ali, UKPN director safety, strategy and support services, UK Power Networks. Suleman Alli is interviewed, left