DANGERS OF OVERHEAD POWER LINE

A farming business was recently fined £60,000 plus costs following a fatal accident where the driver of a tipper lorry was electrocuted when he tipped stone being delivered to repair farm tracks and his lorry came into contact with an 11kV overhead power line.

The HSE fond that no assessment had been done and the farm had not considered the hazards associated with working near an overhead power line.

The accident could have been prevented by simply identifying a tipping site that was not directly under the route of the line.

The lessons to be learnt from this tragic incident are as follows 

·         Plan the work, considering all the hazards that are on site (Remember Hazard is defined as the potential to cause harm)

·         Avoid or remove the risk by either burying the power lines if in an area of constant activity or contacting the network provider to switch the lines off when activity is taking place beneath them.  (Risk is defined as a combination of the likelihood of harm taking place and the consequences)

·         Measure power lines so you know what height they are. Then make sure the equipment you have isn’t going to infringe on those power lines. Network Operators will measure the lines if asked.

·         If you have power lines that cross your site, create a plan to show exactly where they are and how high they are. You can then share this with staff, contractors and those that are buying straw in the bought.

·         Use goalpost barriers to ensure any vehicle coming onsite does not exceed the height of your power lines.

·         Pay careful attention to clearance heights, especially if any land on site has been built up or new hardcore has been laid, reducing clearance.

·         Be sure that the people coming on site are competent, have been given information on the hazards on the site including overhead power lines, know what they are doing, and know how to work in an environment like this.

The HSE is particularly concerned about a nationwide trend of farm machinery getting bigger, increasing the risk of contact with power lines. Any field map should show the route of the lines, plan you approach accordingly especially at harvest. The HSE guidance is very good https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/ais8.pdf