SALFORD BASED KIER INFRASTRUCTURE AND OVERSEAS LIMITED FINED £4.4M AFTER WORKERS WERE ALMOST HIT TWICE BY OVERHEAD POWER CABLES

A Salford based civil engineering firm which carried out works on the M6 motorway in Cheshire has been fined more than £4 million after causing overhead power line cables to fall in the path of passing vehicles.

Staff working for Kier Infrastructure and Overseas Limited twice stuck powerlines between junction 16 for Crewe and 18 for Middlewich, while carrying out overnight road works as part of the smart motorway scheme.

In one incident, an overhead cable the Kier workers brought down hit a lorry. The second time, a cable landed on the motorway.

An investigation by workplace regulator the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found after one incident, Kier workers failed to immediately tell the network provider Scottish Power what they had done.

During the first incident, a team of three from Kier were working a night shift on March 28, 2018.

The workers were clearing tarmac from the hard shoulder and loading a truck with a digger.

A still image from CCTV showing sparks as the powerline is hit (Image: Health and Safety Executive)

As they moved the truck along with an attached crane raised, it struck and severed a 11kV overhead powerline that landed in the motorway and in a nearby field.

The company failed to immediately tell Scottish Power, which meant the cable was reenergised a number of times while it was lying on the motorway and vehicles were passing.

During the second incident, another team from Kier was taking down a motorway barrier on January 21, 2019.

A tractor struck an overhead cable which led to an unmarked 11kV powerline being hit and snapped by an oncoming lorry.

HSE found that inadequate planning from Kier meant the vehicle used in the first incident was unsuitable, despite other more suitable vehicles being available.

There was also no task-specific risk assessment available for the workers.

In the second incident, the workers were unaware of the overhead hazards.

In relation to the first incident, Kier Infrastructure and Overseas Limited, of Clippers Quay, Salford, pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

In relation to the second incident, they pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and Regulation 13(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015.

In total, the company was fined £4.215m and ordered to pay costs of £80,759.60 at Manchester Crown Court on January 12, 2023.

HSE inspector Mike Lisle said:

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“This is a significant fine reflecting the seriousness of the failures here.

“The company’s failure to plan the work properly and provide an adequate risk assessment put its workers and those using the motorway in significant danger.”