Health Hazard Control in Energy and Utilities Infrastructure Delivery

The UK is home to around 28.6 million households, each relying daily on national energy, communications and essential utility infrastructure.

As the population continues to increase, delivering energy and utility construction, maintenance, upgrades and repairs on time is vital for keeping everything running smoothly.

Essential works carried out by engineers are often done in live environments, presenting real health risks to teams carrying out works and those nearby, making best practice in energy and utilities more than just keeping systems operational. These projects are about creating environments where engineers can work safely, efficiently and sustainably in increasingly demanding conditions.

Unique challenges faced by energy and utility engineers

Live systems near active works can make projects more difficult to tackle, with no access to certain areas and often with an increased risk to injury and health.

Systems remain live because millions of households are reliant on ongoing supply, increasing the pressure on project teams to complete works with minimal disruption. This often means longer working hours to meet short turnarounds or hard deadlines, increasing the risk of long-term exposure to hazards such as dust, fumes and noise. If work takes place underground, in tunnels, shafts, pipelines or similar, the lack of access to fresh air compounds those risks even more.

With an increasing population and existing infrastructure ageing, multiple modernisation projects are happening simultaneously. For example, the great grid upgrade is underway demanding more than ever from energy and utility engineers.

Typical scenarios where hazards might be present in energy and utility projects

Electricity Infrastructure

Hazards commonly arise during substation upgrades, cable jointing and equipment replacement, where engineers work in confined or enclosed spaces alongside dust from cutting concrete, fumes from resins or oils, and elevated noise levels. These risks are often intensified by the need to work close to live electrical assets.

Gas, Fuel and Pipelines

Gas and fuel projects frequently involve excavation, welding and confined chamber work, exposing engineers to silica dust, welding fumes, hydrocarbons and poor air circulation. Tight shutdown windows and live network interfaces can increase pressure to work quickly in challenging environments.

Telecoms and Digital Infrastructure

Fibre and digital rollout projects generate hazards during drilling, coring and duct installation, particularly in urban areas where dust, diesel exhaust and noise can affect both workers and the public. Repetitive short‑duration tasks often lead to prolonged exposure if controls are not consistently applied.

Energy Networks and Power Stations

Maintenance and upgrade works within energy centres and power stations often involve enclosed plant rooms where heat, poor ventilation, noise and hot‑works fumes are present. These environments can quickly become uncomfortable and hazardous without effective air movement and extraction.

Multi-Utility and Enabling Works

Multi‑utility and enabling works typically combine several activities in one location, increasing the likelihood of dust, exhaust fumes, noise and vibration occurring simultaneously. Engineers often work near live services in constrained spaces, making hazard management more complex.

Renewable and Low Carbon Infrastructure

Renewable and low‑carbon projects, such as EV charging hubs, battery storage and grid connections, present hazards during groundworks, electrical installation and commissioning, including dust, noise and heat build‑up in enclosed systems. Rapid roll‑out programmes can magnify exposure if controls are not scalable and easy to deploy.

Our energy and utilities brochure goes into more detail around specific uses for hazard controls and gives case study examples of RVT Group’s experience in supporting them. Download and read our brochure here.

Hazards commonly faced by energy and utility engineers

• Inhaling respirable dust such as silica dust from activities like cutting, coring and excavation

• Exposure to diesel fumes from generators and plant being used on the project

• Build-up of welding and hot-work fumes, particularly when maintaining or repairing pipes

• Excess noise during new asset construction, work taking place in live plant rooms and streets in urban areas

• Lack of fresh air in tunnels, chambers, shafts and substations can mean inadequate air quality and unsafe working conditions

• Unmanaged contaminated water from early-stage groundworks including piling and excavation can cause non-compliance and disrupt existing ecosystems

Suitable temporary hazard controls for energy and utilities projects

Dust Control

DUSTEX® dust control solutions enable you to capture dust at the source and extract it safely through multiple filter media and is capable of creating filtered negative pressure to help ensure zero dust migration outside of the work zone.

Targeted and controlled dust suppression is also available to help manage airborne dust generated from activities such as groundworks, earthworks, and other dusty processes.

Fume Control

RAVEX® fume extraction units are LEV systems designed to help you to remain compliant with COSHH regulations and remain within Work Exposure Limits.

Solutions are capable of removing hot and volatile fumes when used in conjunction with our spark guard with ATEX IECEx Certified fume extraction kits available for use in Zones 1 - 21.

Noise Control

BS7955 certified SOUNDEX® solutions provide a noise reduction of up to 59.9dB to absorb and reduce excessive noise from site activities.

The ingenious and unique Velcro connection of RVT's sound barriers creates a virtually unbroken noise barrier, it is unlike anything else on the market. Velcro connections also make our solutions quick and easy to install.

Ventilation

RVT Group can provide High pressure axial and centrifugal fans capable of moving up to 120,000m³ of fresh air per hour.

Clean air can be forced into a work area such as a tunnel, shaft or confined space to displace or dilute airborne contamination.

Water Treatment

The EnivroHub water management system is designed to reduce the burden or stress when managing and disposing of water on site and help ensure compliance with environmental regulations.

RVT can provide a fully modular system with a tailored set-up for your site. Furthermore, water can be pH neutralised using CO2 or chemicals if required.

The benefits of using hazard controls for energy and utility projects

As well as protecting the engineers carrying out the work, implementing proactive hazard control and monitoring systems can minimise stoppages during works. By reducing the need to source and waiting for appropriate temporary hazard controls to be installed, the programme stays on-track and costly delays are avoided.

Regulators will often look for engineering-led controls, ensuring PPE is only ever used as a last line of defence. Including compliant hazard controls can help ensure sites are adhering to standards such as COSHH and acting in accordance with local authority guidelines. By staying compliant, it reduces the chance of public complaints or enforcement action both of which can impact project timelines and reputation with important stakeholders.

Best practice can no longer be considered a tick box exercise for energy and utility projects as it is an integral and leading factor in responsible infrastructure delivery. Implementing the right hazard controls for works taking place can not only help with skilled worker retention and workforce wellbeing but also be a differentiating factor when it comes to future bidding.

Prioritising health, safety and wellbeing on energy and utility projects exemplifies a higher standard of maturity and experience for a civil engineering company that strives to deliver reduced nuisance, cleaner environments, improved ESG outcomes and next level stakeholder confidence.

[1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/families/bulletins/familiesandhouseholds/2024