A 63-year-old man suffered life-threatening 60% burns when he struck a cable with a hydraulic breaker during ground investigation works back in 2008 before the project got underway.
The victim was working for Fugro Engineering Services Ltd, which was principal contractor for a series of ground investigations - Package 16.
At a sentencing hearing yesterday, the Central Criminal Court heard that on 7 February 2008, a Fugro employee was using a breaker to create an inspection pit for a borehole outside 1 Hanover Street, London, when he struck a high voltage electric cable.
An investigation by the Health & Safety Executive found that the system of work in place at the time of the incident did not ensure that the roles of those involved in the project were clearly defined. Effective lines of communication were not established and appropriate training in safe digging techniques was not provided to operatives.
Furthermore, safety documents showing the presence of the cable were not kept at the borehole location. Although the site was scanned with a cable avoidance tool to detect underground services, no markings were made on the road to indicate where cables were found.
.gif)
After the hearing, HSE inspector Lisa Chappell said: "It is completely foreseeable that electric cables would be present in a busy London street, and there is well-established guidance and training to ensure digging is carried out safely.
"Had Fugro Engineering Services provided the correct training, supervision and a safe system of work, proportionate to the level of risk involved, then this serious incident could have been avoided."
Fugro Engineering Services Ltd, of Wallingford, Oxfordshire, had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 in relation to the incident.
The first tunnel boring machine on the project is scheduled ot launch next month.
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
