Crossrail reviews safety procedures after a string of ‘near misses’
Crossrail has conducted a review of its safety assessment measures, after a spate of incidents where construction workers almost seriously injured.
Morning Wire exclusively reported in December that “high risk incidents” in the construction of the £18.25bn train line doubled last year.
These incidents, known as as high potential near misses, “could have resulted in significant injury”, according to project manager Jacobs.
Crossrail chief executive Mark Wild cited three examples of recent “near miss incidents” in a letter to the London Assemly earlier this month, two of which happened at Bond Street Tube station.
In one of the Bond Street incidents, a Crossrail worker was almost hit by a “falling bracket”, while in the other there was an “incorrect authorisation process” in the use of a crane.
Wild said that safety reporting and assessments have now been reviewed to bring down the number of near misses.
He wrote: “A review of the quality of Health and Safety Performance Index (HSPI) reporting by contractors recently took place, resulting in a tightening up of the overall accuracy of the data submitted.
“Contractors recording poor HSPI scores will have to explain their improvement plans at Crossrail Safety and Health Executive Leadership Team meetings.”
The central part of Crossrail, which will be renamed as the Elizabeth Line, is now expected to open in summer 2021, which would constitute a near three-year delay.
The project – which will connect Reading and Heathrow in the west to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east – has also gone more than £3bn over budget.
National construction officer for Unite, the union covering Crossrail’s construction workers, Jerry Swain said he was concerned that pressure to get the line done could result in reduced safety measures.
“Unite is concerned about a desire to speed up decision-making as history shows that when this occurs it results in mistakes being made and accidents occurring,” he said.
“It is striking that there is no mention of any consultation [in Wild’s letter] with workers or their representatives.
“Unite believes that construction safety is achieved when there is an open and honest collaborative approach on safety involving clients, principal contractors, workers and their representatives.”