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12 months without a Lost Time Accident for EPS3 construction teams
The continuing emphasis on safety by both Sellafield Ltd and the main contractor at work on the Encapsulated Product Store 3 (EPS3) project - Laing O’Rourke has resulted in the teams recently completing 12 months without a Lost Time Accident (LTA).
Ewan Smith, Sellafield Ltd’s project manager said: “This significant improvement in safety has been achieved through the application of a joint Sellafield Ltd, Laing O’Rourke safety improvement action plan. The plan includes safety targets which are set and monitored at the projects strategic safety forum which is chaired alternately by myself and the Laing O’Rourke project director. These targets are well publicised through the use of the project’s safety dashboard, which is seen as best practice by the Project Management directorate”.
Central to the projects impressive safety performance has been the relaunch of Laing O’Rourke’s Hazard and Near Miss card system along with the introduction and extensive use of Sellafield Limited’s Peer to Peer observation process.
Ian Tongue, Lead EPS3 safety advisor, explained: “The concerted project effort, at all levels, to take responsibility for assessing risk, spotting hazards and most importantly removing them, has resulted in this level of safety performance. This is evidenced by the sharp increase in the use of Peer to Peer and the LOR Hazard and Near Miss process and the decrease in the number of accidents and significant events”.
On the use of Sellafield Ltd’s Peer to Peer observation process Ewan said: “I am really pleased that EPS3 personnel have now won seven of the Project Management Directorate’s monthly best Peer to Peer awards since their inception in 2010 and was delighted when members of the project team won two site wide quarterly best Peer to Peer awards”.
Richard Jewell, a project safety advisor and one of the quarterly award winners, added: “The construction team has found the Peer to Peer process really beneficial. The conversations that are held as part of the process have helped build relationships between the construction team and operatives. The operatives definitely appreciate the chance to give feedback when challenged”.
In the last 12 months the project has conducted three major lifts to install the shield door and the two vault cranes, cladding and roofing activities have been completed and Mechanical Electrical & Instrumentation installation has made significant progress across all fronts.
