to think about the messages behind each door as they will hopefully act as a reminder about keeping you safe at work and at home.

Finally, can I encourage you to speak to your supervisor or manager if you have ideas to improve safety. If you are a supervisor or manager, can I encour-age you to take time to listen and respond to concerns raised.

I truly believe that high quality deliv-ery of works and excellent safety per-formance go hand in hand and are at the core of what we aspire to achieve.

Thanks again for your hard work over the last year. I hope you, your families and your workmates have a safe Christ-mas and New Year.

been undertaken and learning has emerged that helps prevent similar events occur-ring in the future. This said, we have con-tinued to see injuries occur to colleagues

throughout this year, the most serious of which involved an operative break-ing an arm during piling operations.

We need to continue to work hard to prevent these accidents and incidents from happening. One way we can do that is by raising close calls. We know from recent focus groups that some-times this is seen as ‘grassing’ on each other. However we need to hear about them. The close calls you tell us about help give warnings to management that things aren’t quite right on site and help highlight areas that need fixing. Some-thing small to you isn’t so small if other people report similar issues.

On the Thameslink Programme we are committed to ‘Everyone Getting Home Safe, Every Day’ and that includes both you and me! It is something that we work hard to achieve and which everyone needs to contribute to.

By now you should have received an advent calendar. I ask that you take time

WELCOME TO THE 9th issue of Hi-Viz and what is our end of year, Christmas edition. For those I’ve not had the opportunity to meet, I’m Simon Blanch-flower, Network Rail’s Major Pro-gramme Director responsible for the delivery of the infrastructure elements of the Thameslink Programme. I took over the role in August of this year.

Firstly I’d like to thank all of you for your hard work over the last year. We have consistently delivered our key milestones, and are on schedule to deliver the next one, stage LL09, dur-ing the Christmas blockade.

During 2014 we have continued to see a number of events that we’ve treated as significant, as they had the potential to cause harm. Fortunately, in many cases, they have not resulted in any injury, however, investigations have

“The close calls you tell us about help give warning signs”

The boss of the Thameslink Programme says hello and sends his thanks for 2014!

DECEMBER 2014ISSUE9THE THAMESLINK PROGRAMME

FREE!

EVERYONE GETS HOME SAFE EVERY DAY!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

0302

Any ideas or suggestions email Hi-Viz@networkrail.co.ukEditor, Sharon Fink, Health & Safety Manager, Network Rail

DECEMBER 2014 ISSUE 9

WINTER PREPARATION & PLANNING CHECKLISTWHILE IT’S TRUE that many of us prefer to spend more time indoors by the warm fireplace in the winter, there are also those who embrace the outdoors, the snow and colder temperatures.

Winter may be cold, but it doesn’t have to be dangerous. Good planning and preparation will help make travelling and working in winter beara-

ble if not enjoyable. Having a winter preparedness plan in place will also help you cope with the chal-lenges that winter weather and conditions can pre-sent.

Always stay up to date on the weather forecast and be prepared for travel disruptions.

We have prepared an easy to read and simple

checklist in this issue of Hi-Viz to help you plan, work and take care of yourself twhis winter.

Stay warm and safe whilst out working – and go home safe every day!

Article by Steve Diksa, Corporate Development &

Sustainability Director, Bridgeway Consulting

DEPARTMENT PLANNERS/SUPERVISORSl Review risk assessments and methods of work in

changing weather conditions.l Don’t forget to brief people about the arrangements – and

also on the signs and symptoms of cold stress and hypo-thermia.

l Consider additional breaks so workers can warm up and/or change clothing.

ALL STAFFl Ensure that you are wearing enough clothing layers as tem-

peratures can drop suddenly, particularly at night.l Keep active, drink warm drinks and eat regularly to maintain

your body temperature.l Wear gloves to keep your hands warm.

DEPARTMENT PLANNERS/SUPERVISORSl Consider issuing additional PPE to replace items that are

too wet to wear – or to allow a change of clothing mid-shift.l Consider manual handling operations; muscles strain easier

when they are cold, loads can be slippery, provide gloves with a good grip surface.

ALL STAFFl Ensure that footwear has good grip to ensure firm footingl Do not use hoodies or balaclavas that impair your sight or

hearing.l Wear gloves to keep your hands warm.

DEPARTMENT PLANNERS/SUPERVISORSl Order sufficient rock salt to keep walkways clear and slip

free during snow and frost. Be aware of weather forecasts so precautions can be implemented in a timely manner.

ALL STAFFl Make sure that suitable approved footwear with good grip is

worn.l Always use authorised walking routes; short cuts over un-

made-up ground can result in slips and falls, and mud be-comes a hazard on otherwise safe walking surfaces.

l Clear wet autumn leaf fall (a common cause of slips and falls) on walking routes.

l Do not walk with your hands in your pockets.

DEPARTMENT PLANNERS/SUPERVISORSl Ensure staff have vehicle emergency contact numbers in

their site work packs.l Remind staff to check their vehicles.

ALL STAFFl Plan your journey - take weather forecasts into considera-

tion and allow extra time to travel.l Make sure your windscreen is clear and all driver

checks are carried out.l Drive at the appropriate speeds for the prevailing cond

tions - do not speed.l Keep an emergency kit in your vehicle at all times.

DEPARTMENT PLANNERS/SUPERVISORSl Ensure staff have adequate rest before changing their shift-

pattern.l Review staff night shift patterns to ensure staff do not do

more than the maximum permitted.

ALL STAFFl Get plenty of sunlight and excercise whenever possible.l Eat well - eating a balanced diet can help boost your energy

levels.l During the Christmas holidays enjoy socialising sensibly -

get adequate rest and don’t take alcohol at least 12 hours before your next shift.

DEPARTMENT PLANNERS/SUPERVISORSl Maintain facilities on site so workers can make hot meals

and drinks.l Check heating in cabins’ works – particularly where

PPE and personal clothing has to dry out.l Check fire extinguishers (particularly water and foam) to

make sure they have an appropriate anti-freeze additive or are protected from frost. Keep absorbent mats around doorways to prevent internal floors from getting wet/muddy and regularly change them to maintain the control.

ALL STAFFl Ensure that you wipe your footwear before entering facili-

ties to prevent mud and water causing slip and fall hazards

DEPARTMENT PLANNERS/SUPERVISORSl Check with HR to see if staff are able to work if your staff in-

forms you that they are taking medication.

ALL STAFFl Inform your doctor or pharmacist that you are a safety critical

worker.l You must inform your supervisor, manager and HR if the medi-

cation you take could affect your ability to work safely.l If you are selected for drug testing you must declare any medi-

cation taken to the tester. Any medication not declared may in-dicate a positive test result for drugs.

DEPARTMENT PLANNERS/SUPERVISORSl Review your arrangements for lone working; how will you man-

age people alone on site.l Ensure that those working alone remain in regular contact with

colleagues when it is safe for them to do so.

ALL STAFFl Ensure that your mobile phone is fully charged and carry spare

batteries.l Ensure you inform someone of where you will be working and

when you expect to finish.l Use the Sentinel Lone Worker System.

DEPARTMENT PLANNERS/SUPERVISORSl Review site lighting requirements in view of changing weather

and light conditions.l Provide additional lighting for walk ways, scaffolding and work

sites generally; with particular attention to preventing areas of black shadow.

ALL STAFFl Be aware of slip, trip and fall hazards around the worksite and

walking routes.l Alway use a head lamp when walking in darkness and keep

spare batteries.l Keep a torch with you as a backup.

Cold Weather

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Slips, Trips and Falls

Winter Driving

Fatigue

Facilities

Taking Medication

Lone Working

Site & Personal Lighting

“ALL CHANGE PLEASE, all change.” These words will be familiar to anyone who’s ever used a train. Well, now they’re true for the people who make the trains run!

The senior leadership team on the Lon-don Bridge Station Redevelopment Project has appointed two new project directors: Mark Howard and Laurence Whitbourn. Mark will be taking over as Costain’s De-livery Director, replacing Clive Loosemore and Laurence will be picking up the reins as the Network Rail Project Director, re-placing Andy Gent who has become a re-gional director of Infrastructure Projects.

Mark Howard has been working on Lon-don Bridge since its early planning and de-sign changes, so he knows the job better than most, “I feel very proud to have been given the opportunity to assume the role of Delivery Director.” Mark said, “Clive Loosemore did an outstanding job of get-ting us to where we are now and I am deter-mined that Costain and NR continue to work together to deliver on this success. I know there is a lot of work ahead of us but I’m certain that the people working on Lon-don Bridge are equal to the task!” He add-ed, “We’ve got some of the most challenging aspects of the programme facing us, and we need to make improvements in certain are-as to ensure successful delivery. I’ll be look-

ing for support from my team to make sure this happens, I know we can do it.”

Laurence Whitbourn was also upbeat, “I’ve worked upon both Key Output 1 and the Outer Area Portfolio, so I know the Thameslink Pprogramme very well and understand the unique challenges that a project of this scale presents”. When asked if he planned to make any major changes, Laurence said that it would broadly be business as usual, “Every major project evolves as it progresses and so some change is inevitable” said Laurence, “but I don’t see the need for any radical overhauls”, he went on, “Mark Howard and I are deter-mined to strengthen collaborative working and the joint organisation approach to de-liver success. We need to maintain an envi-ronment that allows for ongoing continu-ous improvement but which also enables the project to harness the enormous poten-tial contained within the team..”

Laurence is already in his new role and

UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT

Meet the new Project Directors now in charge at the London Bridge Redevelopment Project

ering we have so many each day? Surprising-ly, there is a skill to having good conversation. Like any other skill, it can be learned and per-fected.

Having a good quality conversation about safety is invaluable. The use of open ques-tions starting off with the words “WHAT”, “HOW” and “WHY” is essential.

Having a conversation about safety is not just restricted to site environments! It is very important that we use our skills in the office environment too. We can all have good safety conversations and we can practice this at home with our mates or our family.

So the next time someone has a Safety Con-versation with you or you have a Safety Con-versation with someone else, remember to be respectful, open and honest. We are all work-ing together with the aim of achieving the

same goal. To ensure “Everyone gets home safe every day”

For more information, talk to Sharon Fink, Mike Netherton, Michelle Gander or Declan Keane

Article by Declan Keane, H&S Manager, Network Rail

Network Rail embed the ‘Leading Safety Conversations’ programme into its cultureRECENTLY, NETWORK RAIL staff working on Thameslink participated in a training programme called “Lead-ing Safety Conversations”. In a nut shell, the main aim of the training was to remind people of the importance of having meaningful conversation in re-lation to Health and Safety at work (or indeed at home!!). At work we use conversation to understand the risks associated with construction activi-ties. We use conversation to build trust amongst our work mates. We use conversation to express how we feel about certain situations.

So if we have conversations all the time, why did we feel it was important to train people on “Leading Safety Conversations”? Shouldn’t we be good at it any way, consid-

SAFETY CONVERSATIONS…ARE YOU HAVING ONE?

Laurence Whitbourn, left, with Mark Howard

Mark will be starting officially in the New Year. We wish them all the best!

Q&A

Q&A

Name? Laurence WhitbournAge? 41Family? Partner and 2 childrenWhere do you live? AshfordWhat are your ambitions for the London Bridge project A high quality product delivered safely and efficientlyWhat will your priorities be? To build upon the successes to date through structured continuous improvement.Favourite food? Roast ChickenLast concert you went to? Dolly PartonFavourite holiday? Garden Route from Port Elizabeth to Cape TownUltimate dinner party guests? Tom Kerridge, Gazza, Ricky Villa, Freddie MercuryTell us about a secret talent you have! Very accurate with a 9mm pistol.

Name? Mark HowardAge? Not saying! But 20 years main contractor experience Family? Married to Lucy with two daughters and another child on the way. So 2015 is likely to be a big year.Where do you live? We live between Royston (north Herts.) and London, but are due to change Royston for Suffolk in a few weeks timeWhat are your ambitions for the London Bridge project? I really believe in the integrated NR and Costain team and genuinely think this should be the blueprint for major projects. In this collaborative environment It is my ambition that we successfully deliver this complex project with progression and recognition for all the team (pick-ing up an award or two would be the ic-ing on the cake)What will your priorities be? The team are doing a fantastic job of delivering the works safely and to programme, my top priority is to continue to support them in achieving this. With this in hand I can focus on working with Laurence to provide greater cer-tainty for both our businesses on the project out-turn in 2018.Favourite food? My wife tells me it’s anything in large quantities, I’d have to agree.Last concert you went to? Sheryl Crow at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the Bluesfest week.Favourite holiday? Our family holiday in Corsica this summer was brilliant. I do need to improve my French to avoid ordering octopus bolognaise again!Ultimate dinner party guests? My work colleagues, they are great bunch. I’d throw in Brian Clough, Brunel and the Duke of Wellington for a bit of ad-ditional interest.Tell us about a secret talent you have!I recently learnt that I can stab a straw through a potato in an exercise in self confidence - a talent that’s of limit-ed use for the project!

But the key message is believe you can achieve a goal and you’re much more likely to do so, that’s the culture that’s helping us succeed here, long may it continue.

Article by Tim Witcomb, Partnering Manager, Thameslink Programme

05DECEMBER 2014 ISSUE 904

Operatives gather to raise concerns and make a differenceIN JANUARY 2014 a Safety Action Group was formed with all staff working on the Balfour Beatty Rail Projects Belle Isle to St Pancras project invited to participate. ‘The aim of setting up this group was to get staff together to talk about any issues that they had concerning safety or work-ing conditions so we could get an accu-rate picture of what needs addressing from the “ground up”. The idea being that there is no Supervisor present and any is-sues raised are anonymous; this enables members to say whatever they felt had to be said in a relaxed atmosphere without fear of recriminations.

The beginningThe first meetings were approached with a little scepticism but as the two weekly meetings progressed and the staff saw some of their issues being addressed, the confidence to bring different problems to the table began to grow.

The group is now attended by up to 25 members at a time and consists of Machine Controllers, Machine Operators, Linesmen, COSS’s, Point’s Operators and some of the ground crew. A Health and Safety Rep is also present at each session who tries to answer any questions that are posed on the day.

Making a DifferenceWe have since listened to many concerns ranging from issues with basic welfare, which resulted in a 3 day stand down un-til all issues were addressed, to a change in the Athena Bluetooth Headsets for the staff working on M.E.W.P’s.

IN 2003, SKANSKA implemented our Injury-Free Environment (IFE) initiative on all our projects with a goal of zero ac-cidents.

IFE is a culture where everyone has the responsibility to be personally in-volved in preventing harm to themselves and their teammates.

IFE is the shared belief that safety is a value not compromised by cost or sched-ule. This safety culture is designed to create a mindset intolerant of any fre-quency or severity of incident or injury. All employees and everyone on our pro-jects, from craft workers to clients, has ownership of the safety program and is held accountable for its implementation. The core principles of our IFE philoso-phy are:l All incidents and injuries are prevent-

able;

IOSH ARE THE Institution of Occu-pational Safety and Health and set the standard for much of the health and safety training delivered in the UK.

Their IOSH Managing Safely in the Railway Industry course is widely considered to be the indus-try-standard health and safety training course for managers and supervisors. The course deals with the specific hazards and risks en-countered within the UK rail indus-try and brings managers and super-visors up to speed on the practical actions they need to take to handle health and safety in their teams.

On the Thameslink Programme, Carillion recently ran two of these courses themselves specifically aimed at Supervisors. They had an exam to pass at the end of the course and then a work based pro-ject to complete.

Fifteen supervisors attended in total and all successfully passed the course gaining the nationally recognised IOSH Managing Safely qualification.

MANAGING SAFELY

Some of the members of the Safety Action Group

‘Single Ear-piece’ ATHENA Headset worn by the site team

The operators reported that although ATHENA was a significant improvement on DECT.Com, it was not perfect when working at height to keep in touch with the Machine Controller as well as the Linesman in the basket. This was resolved by talking to the supplier and a Single Ear-Piece Athena headset is now being used, resulting in a safer and clearer com-municated worksite.

Other examples of issues solved are as follows:

The delivery of Halfen Channels, weigh-ing roughly 20kg, that were originally planned to be carried down a set of stairs, this was raised as a potential hazard so an

SAFETY IN

ACTION

agreement was made with Carillion to uti-lise their Crane to lower the channels on a pallet removing the risk completely.

Extra site lighting was requested to flood areas of works; this was resolved by the next working shift.

A request for Emergency Numbers to be displayed for each sub-contractor on site was suggested so as to have quick access to numbers in case of fatigue, all numbers were sourced and a statement from each Sub-contractor regarding their process was also recorded. This was displayed the fol-lowing weekend shift.

IOSH training success for Carillion supervisors

Bobby Thomas, Supervisor M&E being presented with his certificate by Martin Welch, H&S Manager

“An accurate picture of what needs addressing from the ground up”

“Carillion recently ran two of these courses themselves”

To date, we have had 44 of 45 issues raised and closed which is a very success-ful turnaround.

At the beginning of each S.A.G meeting we let all staff know how we have addressed the issues of the past meetings so the work-force are included into the feedback process.

Another benefit has been an increase in Close Calls from our Contracted staff which again shows that if we are listening then more will be said.

We have also issued vouchers out to the site operatives who have put forward good ideas and suggestions.

I would like to say a big thank you to all the staff who have got involved as your comments have, without a doubt, created a safer workplace for all. It shows that you are happy to be a part of the safety and in-formation process when given the chance to air your views. Please stay vigilant and continue to raise any concerns you have going forward, your opinions are appreci-ated and will be heard.

Article by Dave Sullivan, Principal Contractor Monitor, Balfour Beatty Rail Projects

Article by Martin Welch, H&S Manager, Carillion Rail

IFE AND ME

l Injury-free operations are possible in construction;

l Safety awareness is personalised every day; and

l Each worker is empowered and accountable to stop any unsafe act or condition on the job site.During the month of November mem-

bers of the BDU /SSP team demon-strated how important an Injury Free Environment is to them.

Here are some of our team sharing their personal messages of why working safely and getting home unharmed every day mat-ters to them. We all have family and friends that we look forward to seeing every day and as I say to everybody at Induction ‘’Your job is only as good as the life you have out of it’’.

Article by Feila Scally, EHS Manager, Skanska

What does an Injury Free Environment (IFE) really mean to the staff working at Bermondsey

“I’m only 23 and life is

good” Nick Hancock

– Skanska Engineer

“I’m responsible for the guys I

put to work and I don’t want

to see any of them get hurt” Liz Rawlinson

– Skanska Engineer

“I have a 9 year old grandson to look after.

His name is Corey”” Eamon Baxter – UKR

Plant Operator

“My wife and son need me at home”” John Mander – Magics Electrician

0706 DECEMBER 2014 ISSUE9

I HAVE BEEN with the programme since 2009 and am largely responsible for the development of the staging strategy that underpins the delivery of London Bridge Station redevelopment.

The master staging strategy is essentially the key step-by-step programme of combined track and signalling stage-works which creates the construc-tion areas to not only rebuild London Bridge Station, but also Bermondsey Dive-Under (BDU) and the introduction into opera-tional use of the new Borough Market Junction and the Western Structures. This strat-egy defines the track access re-quired to deliver the main works under possessions and major com-missioning events.

Throughout the development of this strategy, one of the key risks was the project’s ability to deliver each sequential stage of the works on time without putting delays into the construction pro-gramme for the station or BDU. It was understood that if any stage or major commissioning event failed to meet the baseline programme, the programme and cost impact to Thameslink overall would be significant.

From the outset, it was always appreciated that the works would be complex and the risk profile high, based on a number of factors. The complexity of the Railway in the London Bridge area with 11 approach tracks from the East and a number of critical junctions combined with the volume of services terminating and passing through London Bridge would be extremely limiting. It was always likely that the majority of the works would have to be completed with parts of the Railway still open to traffic, which in itself presents a multitude of risks, not least of which is Adjacent Line Open (ALO) and associated operational risks of work-ing on operational signalling systems.

Managing our delivery RisksIt is fair to say that from the delivery of works to date on London Bridge Low level we have experienced a different risk profile when compared to a number of other major resignalling projects in the past. This is due in no small part to the complexity of the Railway in this area but also other key factors such as working on Viaduct structures, on major multi-road gantries, continuously working at height and simply very tight worksite areas with limited space for access, storage of materials, cable routes, movement of plant and age/condition of existing assets.

The programme of stage-works since the commence-

ment of the first stage (LL01) at London Bridge in May 2013 has been pretty relentless and has put our teams under considerable pressure. In 2014 alone over a 45 week period we have successfully delivered 2 major signalling commissioning events (LL04 & LL07) along with multiple track and signalling stage-works to continually lay in the new track lay-outs ready for the final commissioning at Christmas 2014.

Good Safety Performance is Part of Successful project Delivery

Before we committed to the programme of works for Thameslink Key Output 2 we dis-cussed at length the demands of this programme and the risk profile associated with it. We all ac-knowledged that our success and the overall per-formance would depend hugely on how well our teams would collaborate and work together and

how important the safety culture and our safety per-formance would be in influencing the overall success of the programme.

It was recognised that any major safety incident or event could lead to serious programme impact and the

associated delays and cost escala-tion that would follow. So af-

ter more than 3 and a half years of enabling works

and delivery of the ma-jority of the low level stage-works how have we done?

I will talk about this in general terms rather than quote, facts, fig-

ures, KPI’s or AFR;s to name but a few common

safety jargon acronyms! I

During our major blockade in August to deliver the remodelling at Spa Road junction and the inner sta-tion throat at London Bridge along with the renewal of Bridge 508 at Bricklayers Arms we managed over 500 people a day on our sites across the London Bridge area during the 9 days of the blockade.

As I recall there was over twenty engineering trains serving three separate sites, with complex inte-grated train planning, removal of huge volumes of track and redundant track materials and the installa-tion of large track slues and new switches and cross-ings. We managed to deliver these works along with all the supporting signalling installation works, not to mention civils works to existing gantries and the completion of the renewal of track and railway sys-tems across Bridge 508 without a single reportable accident.

I was either on site during those 9 days or supporting our teams in the New Cross Gates war room and from a personal perspective, I was impressed with the commit-ment and the professional approach of the vast majority of our teams working on site throughout the blockade. I witnessed some great working practices, good safety conversations on site and in general very few issues that caused me any great concern. This is borne out by great safety statistics from the blockade and without doubt this was a key factor in the success of our commission-ing. Knowing at the end of the blockade that over 9 days and literally several thousand shifts on site by our teams that all of our people went home safe every day, you cannot ask for a better result.

Christmas Blockade 2014We are now approaching an even bigger and far more challenging milestone with the 16 day blockade at Christmas. The works this time not only cover major track remodelling at London Bridge and Bricklayers Arms but the complete resignalling of the entire London Bridge South Central control area with the eventual transfer of signalling control to Three Bridges Route Operating Control Centre.

The workscope is similar but the risk profile is dif-ferent, we are working with much shorter daylight hours, potentially with the risk of adverse weather to cope with and even greater pressure to hand back on time. 16 days is a long time and people will be away from their families at a time of the year when families are normally together so this will be hard for people, especially those with young children and this can often be a real distraction.

This is the single largest project being delivered on the Network Rail infrastructure during the Christmas period so the eyes of the world, so to speak will be upon us… No pressure there then!

I am confident that our teams can repeat the success of LL07 this Christmas and deliver our works safely and on time. Why I am so confident?

There are a number of factors that will influence how well we manage delivery during Christmas:l Detailed Planning and attention to detail in every

possible aspect of deliveryl Identifying and managing the risks that we have

grown to understand over the life of this project to

date and focussing on the key changes from LL07l Continuation of strong collaboration between teams

and learning from our mistakes and repeating best practice we have developed

l Great leadership and decision making throughout, consistent site supervision and management

l Effective communication between all teams and sharing and solving problems together

l Deliver the plan, re-plan properly when we encoun-ter problems

On a Personal NoteWhen I look back, I cannot believe quite honestly where the last two years have gone since we com-menced our main works at London Bridge. I can re-member on many occasions reflecting on the sheer scale and complexity of the project we were about to undertake and conversations with many people in the team on just how difficult this will be.

I have never underestimated just how difficult deliv-ering a new station, track and signalling infrastructure would be at London Bridge. You have heard the Network Railway strapline “delivering a better rail-way for a better Britain” and this could not be truer than the transformation that is taking shape at London Bridge.

I am extremely proud of what our teams have deliv-ered together in that time, our record of success to date on such a large and complex programme is in my opin-ion unparalleled when compared to other programmes, particularly when you consider that nearly 50 million passenger journeys have continued through London Bridge whilst this work has been taking place.

It is an absolute privilege to be leading a programme of work with such experienced, dedicated and capable people who I trust implicitly to deliver this project with successful outcomes. Christmas is going to be a huge challenge to all of us involved and we all have an important part to play. After January 5th 2015, we lit-erally get just a few days break before we start on the high level programme. SAFETY & PERFORMANCE

GO HAND-IN-HANDInstallation of new EBI Tracks at London Bridge

NR Project Director shares his views on delivering safe work and how this underpins our performance on Thameslink

Track Remodelling at Spa Road during LL07

believe we have developed a great overall safety cul-ture within the Railway Systems teams, I believe that our teams are committed to delivering works safely and genuinely believe in Network Rail’s adoption and application of the Life Saving rules and how these ap-ply to our works.

So how does this relate to Network Rail’s new Chief Executive Mark Carne’s mantra that Safety Performance and Business Performance go hand-in-hand? For me it is simple, you cannot deliver works within possessions with the level of plant, equipment, material and people in tight confined worksites, with-out having an underpinning robust core set of safety principles and values. In my experience from the peo-ple I have worked with and met on Thameslink, these are founded on well-established working methods and managed and delivered by competent people who have a good deal of experience and knowledge and under-standing of how to deliver their works safely.

TBROC South Central Workstation Under Test

Opening of the new Platforms at LL04

“I believe our teams are committed to delivering works safely”

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for the support, hard work, dedication and com-mitment you have given to deliver the success we have enjoyed to date.

On behalf of Network Rail and the Thameslink Programme I would also like to thank you and your families for their understanding and forbearance whilst you work with us over the Christmas period.

Please remember that Great Safety performance goes hand-in-hand with great delivery performance. Please work safely, look out for your colleagues and never be afraid to speak out or stop work if you feel work safety is being compromised. Good luck for the commissioning, I look forward to meeting you out on site during the Blockade. Lets make sure “everyone gets home safe every day”.

Article by Mark Somers – Project Director Network Rail

Dual Tamping at London Bridge

during LL07

(Inset) Mark Somers, Network Rail’s Project Director for Thameslink Key Output 2 Railway Systems

0908 DECEMBER 2014 ISSUE 5

Network RailWe are responsible for providing ad-vice/support and influencing/promot-ing Health & Safety via campaigns, and sharing good practice & lessons learnt amongst the project teams.

Each time we have a safety event; there is an opportunity to learn. We need to use the recommendations made in each investigation, to help us pre-vent mistakes from reoccurring. We all need to have a similar mindset and use the past to help shape a safer future.

Alongside this, we are working with the other H&S Managers to make sure that investigations are thorough and the individuals involved are treated fairly. Basically we act as the ‘con-science’ of the team.

UKPNS

job easier as they have truly got an amaz-ing safety culture in which everyone

makes it their business to get home safe every day.”

Costain“Part of our role is to be involved with the project team assisting on all things to do with safety.

“The team has to provide a service with a perspective outside of produc-tion, in some cases we act as a con-science.

“As legislation and company policy changes we update the team ensur-

ing we have all the information needed. Ongoing audits and checks are carried out regularly on site to maintain compli-ance.

“We believe safety is more than just po-licing, our role is to be more involved en-

gaging with the workforce, finding out the issues and needs helping support site supervision.

“consulting with the workforce is key to finding out what we do well and what needs improvement, discussing issues with management introducing new ideas and innovations.

“Working on a prestigious job like London Bridge there is a real opportunity to make a difference to construction safety, something we can all be proud of.

“Here are a few other activities we are involved in:

Site safety inspections, Training, induc-tions, safety campaigns accident investiga-tion, auditing, checking legal compliance, influencing and guiding safety culture and behavioural safety. Safety meetings com-mittees, Mentoring engineers,occupational health and wellbeing. “

Balfour Beatty“Over the years I have led safety, environ-ment and quality im-provements in vari-ous industry sectors including manufac-turing, service and construction. I’ve had six years rail sector expe-rience, and am in my first year with Balfour Beatty Rail Projects on the Thameslink programme.”

Peter Carter says “We are very passion-ate about ‘making safety personal’ and so always encourage people to challenge unsafe practices and conditions; share their initiatives or ideas; and by doing so ensure continuous improvement is main-

tained. Overall our singular aim is to work towards making better safety become better productiv-ity, in line with the business objective – to send everyone home safe every day!!!”

CarillionSafety is everyone’s responsibility - from the Quantity Surveyors letting a contract / project, to the guys carrying out the work out on the sites. Both Martin and Neil are fully committed to working with Carillion and Network Rail to help ensure “Everyone gets home safe every day”. Martin is ex-tremely passionate when it comes to work-force safety training and general compe-tence. Martin is a certified (CITB and City & Guilds) trainer and provides a range of training programmes for his colleagues working for Carillion across the Thameslink programme.

Neil has strong views on getting people involved in safety. “Carillion SOS events, Don’t Walk By’s, forums and Safety Action Groups (SAGs) are all opportunities for the lads to have a say, to be listened to and rec-ognized. SAGs are billed as ‘not for manag-ers’ - so the guys will speak freely”. Neil says that as a Safety Professional “We aren’t policemen. I’m not here to dish out the regula-tions - we are here to en-able people to work safely.”

Siemens“I have 15 years expe-rience working on

the railway. Straight out of college I ob-tained a summer job with what was Westing-

house Rail, and since then I’ve never

looked back. I have gained lots of experience & countless qualifica-tions in Health, safety and Environment along the way.

“I have been on the Thameslink project for 5 years now responsible for Safety and Environment with Westinghouse/ Invensys and what now is Siemens.”

AN AUTOMATED EXTERNAL defi-brillator (AED) is a portable device that checks the heart rhythm. If needed, it can send an electric shock to the heart to try to restore a normal rhythm. AEDs are used to treat sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).

SCA is a condition in which the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When this happens, blood stops flowing to the brain and other vital organs.

SCA usually causes death if it’s not

Automated External Defibrillators (AED) now available on Carillion sites and why

treated within minutes. In fact, each minute of SCA leads to a 10 percent reduction in survival. Using an AED on a person who is having SCA may save the person’s life.

During October 2014, on site training and briefing was delivered on Carillion sites to raise awareness of how to use an AED. In each Site Access Cabin on Carillion sites an AED is available if required…hopefully it never will be.

Article by Martin Welch, H&S Manager, Carillion Rail

Bob Strickland, Site Access Controller at Canal Tunnels with an AED

The Health & Safety Teams who are helping to promote a positive health and safety culture in your workplace

Declan Keane (Outer Areas). “Before joining

Thameslink I used to work for Costain. In fact I worked with Costain on London Bridge Station Re-

development, where we were responsible

for the deconstruction of the train shed roof and other

enabling works. Now I work for Network Rail on the Thameslink Outer Areas projects and I love it!

“It’s rare that I am the tallest in a group… I like working in this team.”m”

Sharon Fink (Civil works, London Bridge) I’ve worked in Net-work Rail for 20 years; 8 of which has been spent on the Thameslink Pro-

gramme working in both Railway Systems

and Buildings & Civils.“The one thing I would change if

anything is people’s mindsets….no one ever thinks it will happen to them.”

Mike Netherton (S&T Works, Lon-don Bridge) “I have worked in en-gineering for vari-ous industries since leaving school and have worked in the

railway for the last 10 years.

“People often ask why safety, I say well experience

has shown me the tricks and shortcuts people often take and this puts me in a good position to understand and help introduce things that make the job safer!”

Michelle Gander (H&S Specialist, Programme)

“I have worked with the team for three years and am re-sponsible for manag-ing period end re-

porting (analysing ac-cidents/incidents and

close calls) and support-ing promotions, campaigns

and all related activities on the pro-gramme.

“Don’t be fooled; I make the oth-er three look good!”

“For over 30 years now, and probably seen and done most things, but the most important job I have, is making sure you guy’s get home Safely every day! Remember, when in doubt ASK!!”

Bridgeway Consulting

John McGiffen, UKPNS Health & Safety Manager – Outer Areas, Williams Way & London Bridge)

“I started my railway career at Malla Rail before joining Network Rail (Amec) where I was up skilled to a Controller of Site Safety, Machine Controller and Engineering Supervisor.

“I returned to Malla Rail in 2006 as their Health, Safety, Envi-ronmental and Quality Assurance Manager, and was then offered a position within Bridge-way Consulting Limited in 2013 as their Delivery Man-ager for the programme.

“My role has been differ-ent with Bridgeway as pre-vious employers as I have moved away from Health and Safety and into a delivery position, ensuring that we meet the client’s re-quests and deliver a prompt, profes-sional and safe service to the RAT on Thameslink. Whilst we have a dedicated HSQE team at Bridgeway, our philoso-phy is that safety is everybody’s respon-sibility and Managers like myself have an additional responsibility in relation to safety leadership.

“We stand by both Network Rail and Bridgeway’s Life Saving Rules, which will ensure that we all go home safe every day.”

Skanska“I have worked in Con-struction since moving to

London and this by far is my favourite job. (My previous experience in an abattoir and getting hit across the head with a beef car-cass was not

the most de-lightful). “Your job is

only as good as the life you have out of it.”

“My work varies from setting up in-ductions, input-ting hazards and close calls and do-ing trends.

“My favourite part is the rapport that this job has al-lowed me to build with everyone on site, knowing that I can rely on them to help me when needed.

“The team we work with makes our

 

Lee Gambrill, Delivery Manager, Bridgeway Consulting Limited

Feila Scally (EHS Manager - Bermondsey Dive Under & Structures Programme)

Vanina Velikova (EHS Administrator - Bermondsey Dive Under & Structures Programme)

MEET THE HEALTH & SAFETY MANAGERS

“Our role is to be more involved engaging with the workforce”

HEARTBEAT

Neil Selling, H&S Manager, Carillion (Peterborough)

Martin Welch, H&S Manager, Carillion (Canal Tunnels, Horsham & Three Bridges)

The London Bridge safety team (Left to right) Brett Cleavely SHE Advisor, Emily Castle Trainee SHE Advisor, Leanne Maeer SHE Manager, Jim Lawson SHE Advisor,

Tom Hambly - EHS Specialist- Siemens Rail Automation

Peter Carter, Safety & Sustainability Specialist

Joe Hagan, Safety & Sustainability Partner

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY

10 DECEMBER 2014 11ISSUE 9

I WOULD LIKE to share my story with you about how a small metal splinter has affected my life re-cently and I hope that this story will make you sit up and listen to how the cor-rect PPE can make a difference.

One night in October last year, I was working on a non-Thameslink project and asked to carry out a shift with a RRV and an auger attachment which I had been doing for a few months. Whilst I was car-rying out the activity of changing the metal teeth on the auger with a ham-mer and drift, I felt an irri-tation in my eye (I later found out, a small metal splinter had entered my eye). I thought nothing of it at the time and continued with the rest of my shift.

The next day my eye was still red and in a bit of pain

An injured operative from one of our sub-contractors tells his story

carried out more tests, a CT scan, an X ray and put drops and dye in my eyes to carry out the tests. The surgeon at my local Hospital decided that I needed to go to a specialist Eye Hospital to have an operation to remove the piece of metal in my left eye.

I arrived at the specialist Eye Hospital the same day where they decided to op-erate on my eye. They re-moved the piece of metal splinter which was ap-proximately 2mm long. They also had to remove the whole lens from the back of my eye.

Since this operation I have had to visit the eye specialist many times where they have carried out more tests, have seen various consultants and have also tried out numer-ous temporary lenses. In the end I had another op-eration to fit a permanent lens. The Consultant told me that 95% of people who have had a similar type of eye injury lose total vision in the injured eye and that I was very lucky to get to the correct standard of vi-sion to get back to work.

This accident happened in October 2013 and due to the injury I have not been able to work my normal job for the last 12 months. This has affected both my young family and me. I have worked all my life since leaving school and have not had a sick day

so I asked my partner to wash it out with saline so-lution. The next day my eye was still red but my vi-sion was deteriorating and I was having blurred vi-sion and this carried on for the next day. Due to the pain and discomfort I got booked in with vision ex-press and when they started to examine my eye, they informed me that I needed to go to A&E im-mediately. They stated that the eye damage was serious and suspected it was a self afflicted cata-ract as they could not see behind the eye.

I then went to my local A&E Hospital where they

The ‘Operative’s eye shortly after the accident

Article by James Forrest, Marketing & Business

Analyst, UK Power Networks Services

“I have not been able to work my normal job for the last 12 months”

once, yet there I was sitting at home getting frustrated, wanting to come back to work.

I wanted to share my story with you because we are in the same industry and I often see staff on site not wearing safety glasses. I will go up to them and tell them don’t be stupid and let them know what had happened to me. I also thought if you read my story you might think twice and put your eye protection on.

Safety eye protection is issued to you for a reason and if you want to see your kids, family or special mo-ments please wear them.

Article provided by Richard Romaszko, TXM Director,

following the injury to one of his operatives

MANOR GREEN COLLEGE in Crawley has undergone a DIY S.O.S-style trans-formation thanks to three companies working on the Thameslink Pro-gramme.

Manor Green College is a dynamic sec-ondary school for students between the ages of 11 and 19 who experience a wide range of learning difficulties. Students and staff returning to school after the Oc-tober half-term break were surprised to find their playground had been trans-formed into a sensitively-designed space that is safe and fun to be in.

The improvements include a new cycle track for play and road safety lessons, benches, burgundy tarmac and gates. The team also painted fences, refurbished playground equipment, replanted shrubs, cleared out a pond and made a raised veg-etable bed. Inside, the team also improved ventilation in one of the classrooms.

The transformation has been made possible by 40 volunteers from Net-work Rail, UK Power Networks Servic-es (UKPN) and BPH Rail.

On November 4 the children of Man-or Green College invited the volun-teers to a small party celebrating the new surroundings. A number of stu-dents came into school a day early to bake some cakes and make sandwich-es for the event.

Speaking at the launch of the new playground, Julie King, Deputy Principle of Manor Green College, said, “The work of the volunteers has completely trans-formed the play area for our students. The area has been enhanced, is now looking like new again and is safer and more secure. On behalf of the students and staff at the college we cannot thank you enough for all your hard work”.

UKPN Programme Director, Barry Dilks, said: “Our aim is to not only im-prove the lives of commuters, but make a genuine difference to the local communities we’re working in.

“We’re proud to be able to help give the staff and students the environment they deserve. It’s been an absolute pleasure to spend time with the chil-dren and staff and I am sure all our vol-unteers will feel proud that we could provide such a wonderful improvement for some very special students”.

DIY SOS

Team photo of volunteers from Network Rail, UKPNS and BPH Rail

Local school playground makeover is now on track

Volunteers painting a fence at Manor Green College

OUR GOAL FROM the very start was to be fully compliant with client and com-pany procedures providing on site clini-cal services.

In particular these services were safety critical medicals, drugs and alcohol screening and professional nurse cover-age for the workforce.

Our services are now far more than just dealing with D&A testing and first aid incidents.

With 8164 D&A tests and 1013 safety critical medicals carried out since we started on the London Bridge project, and the standard services provided be-ing frequently used, it’s clear that the initial goal has been achieved. Our next challenge is to evolve our Occupational Health & Wellbeing services.

A year ago we looked at our range of services and considered how we could provide more in relation to Health and Wellbeing.

We started by planning month by month health campaigns by looking at the World Health Organisation for ideas, and tailored them to suit the projects needs keeping them relevant.

Each month we provide the informa-tion on the campaign through weekly newsletters, on the TV screens in the canteen, at the Start of Shift briefings, face to face with our nurse, leaflets and more recently on the dot matrix news ticker at the site entrance.

With our monthly campaigns rolling out we began to see a significant uptake on our wellbeing medicals which was an encouraging sign that the message was getting out.

We still believed we could do more so we looked at how we managed the data collected from medicals and various other services that we are providing. We were now in a position where we had a huge amount of paper records and some records electronically. This made using the data collected difficult and time con-suming to collate for statistical analysis.

So what do we do with all this data? The project is in a unique position where a large amount of data can be collected over a long period of time. The challenge was, if we want to make the best use of all this data we needed to improve the effective-ness of how we manage it.

With this in mind we looked at the vari-ous departments to see how we manage data. Our search found that some data on the project was being managed using be-spoke databases created by the project risk team.

A plan was hatched to develop a bespoke data base for occupational health. The re-mit for the database was simple. Capture all medical data collected, allow for trends, reports and statistics to be created, make it simple and secure.

Following this remit John Holland (Project Risk Manager) and Veronica (Project Nurse) worked closely together to create a database for the project. This is al-ready providing useful statistics about health trends and over time it is being re-fined and tailored to do exactly what we need.

Prevention is better than cure. Active not Reactive

Using the data we look for leading indica-tors and active measures that can be taken to intervene. The statistical information helps us target specific groups of people by age, ethnicity or occupation. This provides a great opportunity to tailor our services to be more directed and effective.

The case studies speak for themselves demonstrating where positive intervention has had a profound effect an individual’s health.

Part of the Health and Wellbeing plan for the project is to provide a full range of services for the entire project workforce, many of whom live away from home to work. Providing assistance to workers liv-ing away from home like arranging pre-scription collections, temporary registra-tion with local doctors, dentists, health monitoring are just some of the services we provide.

Drugs & AlcoholBeing a Network Rail project, a zero tol-erance approach has been taken in rela-tion to drugs and alcohol on site. Everyone inducted either fully or on a temporary induction has to have a D&A screen before they are allowed on site.

The project also carries out random unannounced testing, post incident to identify if this was causation of an inci-dent and for cause testing if there is rea-sonable suspicion that someone is under the influence.

Our data collected on drugs and alco-hol shows over 50% higher instances of failures amongst the temporary popula-tion of inductees. At times when the pro-ject demands additional resources dur-ing possessions there is transient work-force coming to site at short notice. Our insistence on D&A screening of all full and temporary inductees has proved to be very effective and necessary based on the rate of temporary failures.

Having this process in place is very necessary to minimise the risk of people under the influence coming onto site, and most importantly ensuring people who hold safety critical roles are fit to work.

Safety Critical Costain has a list of safety critical roles that must provide evidence of a medical before they can commence work on site, if this evidence cannot be provided they are given a medical on site.

The following trades require safety critical medicals

Crane Operator , Tower Crane Operative, Mobile Plant Operator, Traffic Marshall , Banksman , Slinger Signaller , Confined Space Worker , Working at Height without collective protection , Miner / Tunneller , Asbestos Licensed Worker , High Speed Road Worker , Night Worker , Lead Worker , Hyperbaric work , Railway Safety Critical worker , Radiation worker.

London Bridge team raises the bar with its health and wellbeing services

FIT FOR WORK, FIT FOR LIFE Case Study 1

High Blood PressureIt’s not uncommon for high blood pressure to go undiagnosed for years as often no symptoms present themselves until it’s too late.

A 58 year old male came for a med-ical with a burst blood vessel in his eye. He had no history of health prob-lems and had not seen his GP for some time. His blood pressure was 215/128 which was off the scale which is dangerously high.

He was immediately sent to hospi-tal and was given Anti-hypertensive medication with a letter for his GP.

With medication his blood pressure is now under control and back to within normal. He still sees the nurse to have it checked regularly.

Case Study 2 High CholesterolThe ideal cholesterol measurement would be less than 4, yet the UK av-erage is 5.3.

If the level is higher than 6.5 treat-ments should be sought

A 29 year old male had his cholesterol checked in June 2014 with a few of his colleagues. His cholesterol measurement was 6 but his colleagues were all less than 3. He was quite fit and not overweight.

His diet was discussed and we dis-covered that he and his extended family all cook with a product called Ghee (this is a traditional butter cooking product that has a very high saturated fat content).

He spoke with his family includ-ing extended family about the dan-gers of this, and following the sub-stitution of this product for a lower fat alternative his cholesterol level has since lowered to 3.4.

Next Steps for 2015 We will continue to collect the data and refine our tools to better target specific demographics. We remain active not re-active to Health and Wellbeing and by rolling out the next 12 months health campaigns, we maintain our dedication to the Health and Wellbeing of our workforce.

Article by Brett Cleavely, SHE Advisor, Costain

12 DECEMBER 2014

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