A company has been fined after failing to protect its self-employed workers from the risk of a cable strike explosion or electrocution whilst carrying out repairs at AVL Powertrain, Viggen Way, Coventry.

Coventry Magistrates’ Court heard that on 28 November 2018, two self-employed workers received serious burns to their hands whilst using a drill to attach a pre-fabricated cowling to a cable tray. The incident occurred when one of the fixings went into a cable, striking one of the phases and causing an explosion.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Unique Envelope Façade Solution Limited’s risk assessments and method statements did not consider the risk of drilling into cable trays containing live cables, isolating the electrics to complete work, or other methods of fixing which did not involve drilling.

See https://press.hse.gov.uk/2019/11/27/industrial-roof-and-cladding-company-fined-after-self-employed-workers-suffer-burn-injuries/?_ga=2.67618707.308826532.1575311167-156369869.1574764268#utm_source=hse.gov.uk&utm_medium=refferal&utm_campaign=press-channels-push&utm_term=roof-cladding-fined&utm_content=news-page for more details