Kier has been fined more than £4m after its staff twice struck overhead powerlines while working on a smart motorway scheme, causing cables to land in the path of passing vehicles.
In one incident, an overhead cable the Kier workers brought down hit a lorry. The second time, a cable landed on the motorway.
Kier Infrastructure and Overseas Limited pleaded guilty at Manchester Crown Court to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015.
The prosecution followed an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which found that after one incident Kier workers failed to immediately tell network provider Scottish Power what they had done.
Both incidents happened between junctions 16 and 18 of the M6 near Sandbach in Cheshire on overnight road works part of the smart motorway scheme to convert the section between junctions 16 and 19 to all lane running.
Kier carried out the scheme, which is now fully open, on behalf of National Highways.
In total, Kier was fined £4.415m and ordered to pay costs of £80,759.60.
HSE inspector Mike Lisle said: 'This is a significant fine reflecting the seriousness of the failures here. The company’s failure to plan the work properly and provide an adequate risk assessment put its workers and those using the motorway in significant danger.'
The HSE said that during the first incident, in March 2018, a team of three from Kier were working a nightshift, clearing tarmac from the hard shoulder and loading a truck with a digger.
As they moved the truck along with an attached loading bucket raised it struck and severed a 11kV overhead powerline that landed in the motorway and in a nearby field. Kier failed to immediately tell Scottish Power, which meant the cable was re-energised a number of times while it was lying on the motorway and vehicles were passing.
During the second incident, in January 2019, another team from Kier were taking down a motorway barrier when their crane struck an overhead cable, which led to an unmarked 11kV powerline being hit and snapped by an oncoming lorry.
The HSE said it found that inadequate planning from Kier meant the vehicle used in the first incident was unsuitable, despite other more suitable vehicles being available. There was also no task-specific risk assessment available for the workers.
In the second incident, the workers were unaware of the overhead hazards.
A Kier spokesperson said: ‘Operating a safe and responsible business is Kier’s number one priority. We are proud of our industry leading reputation for rigour and innovation on managing safety, health and wellbeing.
‘We have learnt from these incidents which occurred under Kier’s previous management and further improved our procedures. We remain committed to maintaining the highest possible standards of health and safety.’
