This is your June 2021 Be Safe brief 

There are two versions of the safety brief – a video version and a text version.

Please watch or read the version that you prefer.

Page contents


Video


Text version

See it, share it

Florin CretuCongratulations to this month’s See it, share it winner Florin Cretu and his team on our Maidenhead project for Volker Highways. This person had jumped the fencing into our construction site putting themselves and the team in danger whilst looking for a short cut through. Florin’s team immediately stopped work and ensured the person was able to exit the site safely.

Identifying an issue and ensuring it was sorted out shows how “we look after each other” – thank you Florin and the team at Maidenhead.
 
Please remember to share observations and good practice – email besafe@vgcgroup.co.uk or use our QR code if displayed at your place of work.

Live carriageways 

Live carriagewaysLive carriageways can be dangerous places in which to work. There will be some form of temporary traffic management to control traffic, and divert it around the work area. 

You must not access the live carriageway for any reason, even to access other areas, or to retrieve anything on the carriageway. Your personal safety is paramount. You must not put yourself at risk by entering lanes that are being used by traffic.

Loading a vehicleIf you are driving, make sure all loads are tightly secured to prevent any possibility of lost loads. Just netting is not enough.

If you are the driver of a vehicle with a load that is not adequately secured, the police may decide to prosecute you, whether the load becomes detached from the vehicle or not. The driver is ultimately responsible for the secureness of any load they are transporting along a public highway. 
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Accidents or incidents at work

You must advise your VGC labour manager immediately if you are involved in an accident or incident at work. 

Phone, text or email them straight away, even if you believe there has been no injury or damage. Don’t rely on someone else to do this. This is as well as any project specific requirements. 

Remember: if an incident is not reported then something similar may happen somewhere else. So please take ownership and make sure you report it. 

What should you report? 

  1. Any accident, whatever the injury, even if it appears minor at the time. 
  2. Any incident, irrespective of the damage or loss. 
  3. Any near miss, even if there was no injury or damage. 

As always, if you aren’t sure, please talk to your labour manager, or call the HSQE team on 01895 671800. ​​​​​

Exclusion zones 

Exclusion zoneExclusion zones are there to protect the workforce from entering an area of the work site where there is a hazard. 

Make sure your routes or activities will not breach any exclusion zones. You must not move the barriers - they are there for everyone’s safety.

You may only enter an exclusion zone with the authorisation of the supervisor in charge of the work area, or the slinger or banksman managing the plant or lifting activities. 

Network Rail safety alert

Finally, Network Rail issued a safety alert last month to remind machine controllers they may never ride in an elevated basket of a MEWP. This is because their role includes emergency rescue using the controls at ground level. 

Some track plant machines have second seats inside the cabs. These may be used in certain circumstances, as long as this is in accordance with the Network Rail rule book and the infrastructure plant manual.​​​​​

Thank you and, please remember, let me know of any observations and good practice you see on ​​​​besafe@vgcgroup.co.uk. And if you have any ideas or suggestions for innovations fill in the form on our webpage at vgcgroup.co.uk/ideas.