HSE SAFETY NOTICE: WORKING NEAR LAMP COLUMNS

Child death following column fall prompts warning and call for action 

In February 2010 a young child died and a woman injured following an incident in which a lamp column fell during streetwork. The lamp column fell outside the boundary of a site where street works were taking place.

The incident has prompted HSE to issue a Safety Notice FOD 5-2010 warning of the risks associated with working on or near lamp columns with non-standard roots during excavation works.

Summary of action required – see Safety Notice for full details
  1. Information: information concerning non-standard lamp column root design should be obtained and shared by all parties designing and carrying out the works;
  2. Planning: work carried out in the vicinity of non-standard root lamp columns should be planned, discussed and agreed with the local authority etc.
  3. Excavating: excavation works in the vicinity of lamp columns must not compromise column stability. The nature of any unidentified or unusual object encountered should be ascertained before any action is taken to disturb or modify it.

This article was posted on 15th July 2010 in ALL LATEST NEWS, PUBLIC RISK.
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