The jointers should have isolated and applied a caution notice at the source in this case overhead feeding fuse before starting work on the damaged cable, despatch should have done a full hand over and the two incidents could have been tied together, therefore no need to send a second team . Linesmen should have patrolled the section on line/underground cable to make sure there is no obviously damage before re-energising. However his low voltage (LV )rubber gloves, would have saved him from the electric shock
A very interesting watch. Just shows how a series of seemingly small mistakes and carelessness can be catastrophic when they come together. One thing that surprises me is that there’s no system in place to inform the second dispatcher that there’s already a job in progress resulting in the loss of electricity to the lady who called, if her supply is also fed from the same pole as the faulty cable.
There also rushing to his Aid and not checking if his still in contact with the source ⚡ there could of been 3 fatalities here. so I hope the vedio serves a message to people coming in to the industry and anyone who finds themselves in such a danger. It takes a death to reborn some common sense unfortunately
Communication is the key at one point to another here (SAFE ISOLATION AND LOCK OFF /WARNING LABELS AND KEEP THE KEY UNTIL NOTIFIED + REPROVE TESTER AFTER CONFIRMING ISOLATION ) . Even though he failed on the PPE which would of saved him and only short circuit which in turn the short circuit blast could of easily destroyed his face and vision even being insulated from shock (no face Guard) ⚡. This is a pretty powerful shock and as I can't see a Neutral there, this looks like a 11kv- 3 phase but that could be down to the dramatics in the vedio for demonstration. but the point is at any level of Voltage the same "safe rules and practices apply" to all voltage Bands as they can wipe you out in a Flash. also some of the guys need there face guards especially inserting fuses in to distribution transformers as if the fault remains there's a chance of a blow back. PROTECT EVERYTHING GUYS!!! ⚡⚡⚡
This was genuinely scary. It made me feel quite uncomfortable watching and hearing the moment the guy was electrocuted. I've only just recently woken up so it may be due to that but the acting in the scream sounded very realistic. It's the follow up before the accident that made it realistic, the camera shot of the unused PPE gloves and the subtle delay in when electrical contact was made. It's just acting but the message is clear, always use PPE.
The message I get from this video, apart from to always stay safe by always using PPE and not letting distractions or time pressure affect your safety mindset, is that even if you don't make a mistake yourself, someone else can that may affect you too. What I want to know is if he would have survived that with the PPE supplied because it looks like seriously high voltage ?!
Sheer coincidence that just days after you were doing work in my road that two electrical devices which had never before let me down both blew their fuses? Have tried other working devices in the same sockets and the sockets appear fine.
I realise this video is aimed at electricity engineers and I get the broad point about not taking short cuts or chances (not wearing protective gloves etc), but in this scenario what caused the line to re-energize ? Was it that engineer re-fitting the fuse assembly on the pole ?
Yes. Although the problem arose with the change over at the control centre and information not being shared. The guy changing the fuse should have been told about the work going on nearby.
Thanks for clarifying. I wasn't sure because the film suggests that it is some time after the fuse box is closed that the line becomes re-energized, given the change from day to night and the fact that 'Matt' is seen touching bare cable several times after the fuse closure before the accident happens. The overall message of the film seems to be that there are inadequate safeguards within the control centre to prevent engineers being killed as a result of human error. Hardly reassuring if you're an engineer.
Ultimately, Matt got killed because he wasn't wearing his gloves. He and his more senior colleague made assumptions, but the film serves to make everyone aware that these things happen because of a series of errors and is a wake up call for those who are perhaps in offices or control centres who often don't think about safety, reminding them that everything they do has an impact on safety in some way or another, be it from creating time pressures or from poor communication.
Thanks Miles, yes that makes sense and I think I always understood the overall message but I've then focused too much on one or two particular elements. Just one last question if I may - do you know how high a voltage do those insulated gloves protect against ? I'm assuming from the ferocity of the incident shown here that we're talking 11kv.
I don't know the answer to that one, Martin. I just wrote the script based on the info they gave me. I imagine that since the inference is made that the gloves would have saved him.
