Have you actually worked in power stations?

Yes, for years and from the contractor side, managing subcontractor teams inside operating stations, from one of Europe's largest through coal-to-biomass conversions, gas-fired plant and nuclear licensed sites. Confined spaces, work at height, heat, fire watching, and the falling-object risk we call lethal rain. We know what a permit system looks like from underneath, which is where it either works or fails.

Can you review our contractor control arrangements?

Yes, and from an unusual angle: we have spent years as the contractor being controlled. We know exactly where permit systems, competence checks and point-of-work assessments hold up and where they get worked around. We review the arrangements on paper, check them against what happens on the ground, and tell you plainly where the two have drifted apart.

What should a contractor competence framework include?

For each role: the tasks it involves, the training, qualifications and cards required, how competence is assessed and by whom, any site authorisations, supervision arrangements for people not yet fully competent, and refresher intervals. Each worker should be traceable to the evidence behind each requirement.

Power Station Health & Safety Consultant

Q: Who regulates health and safety on a nuclear licensed site?

The Office for Nuclear Regulation. On licensed sites ONR regulates conventional health and safety as well as nuclear safety, whereas at conventional power stations the enforcing authority is HSE.

We have worked inside operating power stations for years, as a contractor managing subcontractor teams, from one of Europe's largest stations through the coal-to-biomass conversions, gas-fired plant and nuclear licensed sites. The work was the high-risk end: confined space entry, surface preparation with heavy substance use, non-destructive testing sequences. That meant writing the risk assessments and method statements, maintaining the competence framework for every person on the job, and running point-of-work assessments as conditions changed. Every station is unique, but the recurring hazards travel with you: work at height, heat exhaustion, fire, and what we call lethal rain, falling objects, one of the most underestimated killers in generation plant.

What are the hazards associated with power stations?

Generation plant concentrates high-energy hazards in one place: pressure systems, rotating machinery, high voltage, heat, heights, confined spaces, hazardous substances and, during outages, hundreds of contractors working in close proximity. Most serious incidents in operating stations involve contractors carrying out non-routine work, which is why contractor control and the quality of the risk assessment at the point of work matter more than any policy on the shelf.

Contractor control and permits to work

An operating station depends on its permit to work system to keep isolations, hot work, confined space entry and work at height under control. The system only works if the contractor understands it, the isolations are verified, and the permit reflects what is actually being done.

We have spent years as the contractor being controlled. That means we know where permit systems hold up and where they get worked around, and we write contractor documentation and review client arrangements with that in mind.

Outages and shutdowns

Outages compress months of maintenance into weeks, with large numbers of contractors on unfamiliar plant, long shifts and constant changes of scope. Planning, competence checks, supervision ratios, fatigue and communication between trades all need to be designed in from the start.

We produce outage RAMS, competence matrices and point-of-work assessment arrangements for contractor teams, so that when conditions change the assessment changes with them.

Confined spaces

Boilers, vessels, ducts, flues, tanks and silos are all confined spaces. The Confined Spaces Regulations 1997 require entry to be avoided where possible; where it cannot be, work must follow a safe system of work, with emergency and rescue arrangements in place before anyone goes in.

In practice that means atmospheric testing, isolation, ventilation, trained entrants and attendants, and a rescue plan that has actually been rehearsed, not just written down.

Work at height and dropped objects

Generation plant is full of height: boiler galleries, scaffolds, cooling structures and steelwork. What we call lethal rain, objects falling from height, is one of the most underestimated killers in the sector. Tools, fixings and debris dropped from a gallery can kill someone working below.

Controls include exclusion zones, toe boards and netting, tool tethering, housekeeping and coordination between teams working at different levels, alongside the Work at Height Regulations 2005 hierarchy of avoid, prevent and mitigate.

Surface preparation, coatings and COSHH

Blasting, grinding and coating work generate dust, fumes and solvent vapour, often inside enclosed plant. COSHH assessments need to reflect the real task, the ventilation available, respiratory protective equipment that has been face fit tested, and health surveillance where the assessment calls for it.

Heat, fire and hot work

Working near hot plant brings a real risk of heat stress. There is no maximum working temperature in UK law, so the risk has to be assessed and managed through work and rest regimes, hydration, cooling and supervision. Hot work in plant containing fuel, oil, coal dust or biomass needs permits, fire watches and checks after the work has finished.

Nuclear licensed sites

On nuclear licensed sites the Office for Nuclear Regulation regulates conventional health and safety as well as nuclear safety, and site licence conditions shape how contractors are inducted, supervised and controlled. We have worked on licensed sites and understand the extra layer of arrangements that brings.

Competence frameworks

A competence framework sets out what each role must know and be able to do, how that is verified, and when it is refreshed. It is the evidence a client asks for before letting a team onto plant, and the first thing an investigator asks for afterwards. We build frameworks that link each person to their training, cards, authorisations and supervision.

Health and safety in power generation.