Case study: work site safety
12 September 2024
A reporter had concerns about VolkerRail Story Joint Venture (JV) construction work at Dore and Totley railway station.
Image: Dore and Totley railway station © M J Richardson / Wikimedia Commons
There were no barriers or debris netting where scaffolding was next to the railway. Loose tubes were stored on the lower levels of scaffolding. Scaffolding track bed supports were loose. The site was also untidy, risking slips, trips, and falls.
VolkerRail and VolkerRail Story JV senior managers and site teams fully investigated. The regional director and senior project manager visited in addition to their normal site inspections. This revealed that housekeeping and material storage weren’t up to standard.
A review showed nine close calls about poor storage. Each had been resolved, but after the report and visit, VolkerRail stood down the site for a full tidy and to improve storage. It’s investigating the underlying causes. Sites will be reviewed as part of the command-and-control process prior to work, and there will be further assurance activities.
The scaffolding’s temporary works design included toe boards and brick guards (mesh fencing) on the working platforms to mitigate the risk of falling debris. Records confirm there were weekly inspections. These also found no issues with the track bed support.
The civils construction responsible engineer didn’t consider debris netting necessary. It’s used when there are working platforms at various levels of scaffolding, or if work generates a lot of dust—neither were the case. VolkerRail learned the decision wasn’t recorded as required to ensure changes are properly assessed and authorised, so it’s ensuring this process is captured.
The scaffolding was removed in line with the programme. There was no evidence—photos, close calls, or inspections—of loose tubes stored on lower levels, but VolkerRail communicated safe working practices for scaffolding across the business.