Thursday 16 May
We are back at sunny Stanton, the ground is drying out so the digging is harder but turning the truck round is easier. First off we dropped Michael up at the down side crest to finish off the headers on Chamber 3. Then we moved down to Bridge 11 to start on the up side cess headwall and to do some more site set-up.
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| Michael can see an end to kneeling |
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| Andrew and Roger square off for the footings |
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| Toe boards fitted to the bridge railing to protect the workforce below |
Working under the bridge means that there is a potential risk of objects falling over the side, preventative measure have been implemented.
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| Heras fencing clipped to the railings |
Dave was keen to get the remaining bricks out of the culvert, only we forgot to load the ropes so that job was abandoned for today.
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| Bricks taunting us from the safety of the culvert |
Andrew and Roger concreted the footings for the new cess outfall headwall
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| Concrete being shovelled in |
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| Alastair on mixing duty again |
Dave, Stuart and Dieh continued unearthing the gully pipe
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Digging along the gully pipe
(Photo: Alastair) |
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Andrew stamps his mark on the job
(Photo: Alastair) |
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At last! you could hear the sigh at Toddington
(Photo: Alastair) |
Once the footings were in and Michael had returned from the north most hands concentrated on the gully pipe dig.
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| What's going on here then |
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| Danger - men at work |
The verge on the down side of the culvert holds a cache of bricks so the hunt for more tapers moved to there.
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| Culvert 11A, down side |
In the afternoon a walk down to Culvert 11C revealed that the small footbridge on the fence-line has silted up; another job to go on the list.
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| Culvert 11C, up side fence |
By the end of the afternoon session, the progress was evident.
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| Haul of bricks from the down side verge |
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| Wrapping up for the night |
Now that the channel wall is exposed, the damage is more apparent.
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| Up side channel - Culvert 11A |
Thursday is the most popular day for volunteering evidently, Alastair managed to catch the rest of us having lunch. We'll have to start an appeal for more folding chairs (although they aren't good for productivity, as getting back up is hard work 😊)
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The team at lunch
L to R: Stuart, Michael, Dave, Dieh, Andrew, Roger
(Behind the camera: Alastair) |
It appears that there have been some over onerous H&S / Insurance rules put in place in recent times affecting anyone working on track or trackside, that are overkill for the low risk jobs normally taking place.
ReplyDeleteThe need for the time consuming erection of the Heras fencing is one example, when there appears to be no loose objects in the vicinity of the parapet; unless the material can self levitate and throw itself at the members of the drainage team.
Is there an issue with injuries from accidents caused by falling from, or being hit by objects, from height, or just a perceived issue.
If actual, should not the team be wearing hard hats at all times, or have safety harnesses when strimming on embankments and along bridge wing walls, or working by water courses? Common sense on the job risk assessments should suffice, and only need to use protective equipment when a high risk score applies.
If vehicles are being loaded/unloaded on the bridge, which happens, there is a real danger of things falling over the side. As there was nothing parked or moving on the bridge after the fence was unloaded and erected the risk assessment deemed that the team could forego wearing hard hats for that day. As for headwalls and wing walls it is likely that edge protection or scaffolding will be mandatory for anything above 2m. There is no suitable anchor point for harness/landyard working on the wing walls, and the brushcutter harness would conflict with the restraint harness.
DeleteThe safety of the volunteer workforce is paramount and our practices and methods are developing to meet best practice.
If you could indulge my curiosity, what's the story with that large crack in the wing wall (I think that's the correct term, but I may have it wrong), shown in the picture captioned "Culvert 11A, down side". Does that need attention, and if so, are any plans in place yet?
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the work documenting your travails, and answering our queries!
Noel
Noel, the wing wall does show signs of settlement, the shadow makes this look worse in that picture. It is being monitored for movement, but as yet it isn't a major concern. No problems with questions :-)
DeleteStuart