Hochtief face plant ban on £140m Glendoe project

The main contractor on Scotland's £140m Glendoe hydro-electric project has been ordered to suspend use of all plant and construction vehicles following an accident last week that left a man with a broken leg.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has served Hochtief UK with a prohibition notice banning it from using all vehicles and rider-operated plant until they are certified safe.

The order follows an accident on 15 October, in which a worker was injured when the roller he was driving overturned. The roller was later found to have a defective seat-belt.

Hochtief UK managing director John Jackson said many of the vehicles had been inspected already so the ban would not delay the project and the company had launched a review of its safety practices.

He said: "There is always a review after any accident, and it is not a knee-jerk reaction. I can say that the most recent accident occurred when one of our workers got on a roller when he was not authorised or trained to do so."

The accident has raised concerns over Hochtief's safety record, which was called into question after a man died in a "suspected telehandler" accident on the site last month.

A HSE spokesman said it had conducted "several" checks of the site in the weeks leading up to the roller accident.

He said: "There have been a number of issues on the site, but you must keep in mind that it is one of the largest civil engineering projects in the UK at the moment."

Records show that over the past two years, the HSE has served Hochtief with four enforcement notices relating to 10 health and safety breaches.

Many of these breaches were uncovered during an exhaustive spot-check of the site in January 2007.

Factfile

• Project: Glendoe hydro-electric scheme
• Client: Scottish and Southern Energy
• Main contractor: Hochtief UK
• Start date: January 2006
• Finish date: November 2009
• Value: £140m
• Location: Beside Loch Ness in the Scottish highlands