CPA Bulletin

46 CPA Bulletin > August 2020 www.cpa.uk.net rail plant association RAIL PLANT ASSOCIATION: 1 Security of Plant One of the issues regularly discussed by the committee is that of delivery point management, but we have now found some disturbing trends relating to this issue which we have shared with the membership. It has long been of great concern to many plant companies that they deliver a range of equipment, including attachments, to sites in good time for a shift. Sometimes they are placed in a locked compound but often they are put in an unguarded location as directed by the contractor. It is this period of time, between delivery and shift starting time that the plant is at most risk as well as the period immediately following the end of the shift. Over the years there has been damage caused to standing plant, usually of a minor nature such as graffiti or smashed windows which are more annoying than anything else. On some occasions plant has been set on fire but thankfully that is quite rare. Without full security these events are likely to occur again in the future. Sabotage The development that has been brought to our attention now has been described as sabotage. It is the deliberate tampering with a piece of plant with malicious intent and is being carried out by people who understand the mechanics of the kit so that they can make amendments that would not generally be noticed until the plant is used. At a Network Rail site in South Yorkshire at the end of May, a machine was ready for use when it was found that the plant had been vandalised. The culprit had targeted the hydraulic brakes, pipes, electrics and brake systems in such a way that the person who carried out the attack absolutely understood what they were doing. Details of the event have been circulated to our members and it has become a police matter. Having started the discussion, it was then found that another hirer had suffered from a similar event. A machine that had been properly checked and inspected prior to delivery in Wales was loaded and delivered to site ready for the night shift. The operator started the machine and began to move the boom when he heard a squealing noise. He immediately stopped the movement of the plant and reinitiated the armmovement with the effect of blowing the pipes from the check valves along with all the internal seals. It was obvious from the failure that the machine had been tampered with following delivery and it would need someone with knowledge and tools to make such an adjustment. Other incidents have also been reported including an issue with brake lines being tampered with and whilst this appears to happen very infrequently, the effects could be catastrophic so we recommend taking care when starting any plant that has been left outside of a secure and guarded compound before any movement takes place. Ballast Dust We recently made a presentation to the Ballast Dust Working Group to help further their research into ways that the effects of ballast dust can be mitigated on site. There is a serious health risk if people are exposed to dust and so it is important that we all engage effectively to find satisfactory and workable solutions. It is our belief that there will be a number of control measures that have to be put in place and reliance on a single solution is unlikely. The first thing though is to remove dust from the ballast before it comes to site so that our operatives are not exposed to Over the last few weeks, as lockdown becomes a bad memory and we start to adjust to the future, the RPA committee have also adapted to meeting remotely by video conference calls. Whilst this is not perfect, it has enabled us to carry on looking at the issues the industry faces. The social interaction is sadly lacking in these meetings and they are certainly different to what we have known in the past but it is likely to have an effect on how often and in what context our work is done in the future.