health & safety

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 HEALTH & SAFETY ALERT: Tampering with MCB’s What happened: During a routine site safety walk it was noticed that a light in the Crossrail Station was not working and other lights in the area were dimming as the sound of a grinder could be heard. Shortly after, the lights went out at high level as the sound of drilling started. When the drill lead was traced, it was found that the drill had been connected to the light circuit, and the transformer feeding this was found to have a nail lodged under the Mini Circuit Breaker (MCB) to prevent the MCB from shutting off the power supply.

Nail used to prevent tripping of the MCB

The light had been unplugged and the power supply connected to the drill.

Future considerations: It is important to note that: • Lighting and tools are fed from different electrical supplies. • Tools should not be plugged into the lighting supply, as this will overload it. • MCBs are important safety devices and should not be tampered with. Are personnel aware of the dangers of tampering with electrical equipment? Are there enough power outlets to deal with the demand? Are you undertaking regular checks on the temporary supplies ? Could this happen on your site? Following this incident a full investigation is now underway.

Date: 21st June 2017