Equipment malfunction caused power failure, fall on Bipole III line, Hydro contractor says
A Manitoba Hydro contractor says equipment failure is responsible for an accident during installation of the new Bipole III transmission line earlier this week that caused a worker to fall from a pole and briefly knocked out power for 900 customers.
Around 1 p.m. on Monday, workers for Forbes Brothers Ltd. were stringing a live 66-kilovolt wire, called conductor, to a Hydro tower on Highway 16 west of Westbourne, Man., when a chain hoist failed, said Corey Papp, vice-president of Health, Safety and Environment for Forbes Brothers.
A chain hoist is used to hold the conductor in place as crews secure the wire, Papp said. One worker was secured to the tower when the chain hoist failed and let the live conductor fall to the ground. The worker also fell, but he was stopped by the fall protection he was wearing. He was taken to hospital to be assessed but he wasn't injured.
According to Manitoba Hydro, the worker was hanging for 15 minutes between the time of the fall and when another worker was able to climb the tower and rescue him.
The incident also snapped two riders — large wooden poles — that had been installed as a safety barrier, and cut power to 900 customers in Gladstone, Man., according to Manitoba Hydro. It was restored by 2 p.m.
It's uncommon for chain hoists to break, said Papp, and his company still doesn't know what caused the malfunction. The device had been inspected and certified within the past year, he said.
"We just got out of meetings with the manufacturer of that particular device, and they have indicated that they have never seen the level of damage when they open it up that they are seeing," Papp said. "They are sending it to their engineers in Japan to get it further analyzed."
The company is investigating the incident, Papp said.
"We're very interested to understand why and what happened."
Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health was notified of the incident, Papp said. The department is not conducting its own investigation, but has requested a copy of the finished report from Forbes Brothers.
The firm was hired by Manitoba Hydro to build a transmission line connecting the under-construction Keeyask Generating Station to the existing Radisson Converter Station near Gillam.
2nd incident involving Forbes Brothers staff in 2018
The incident is the second mishap on the Bipole III line in recent weeks. Last week, Manitoba Hydro confirmed it discovered a tower had collapsed on the N4 section of the line near Overflowing River in late January.
It's also the second incident involving workers for Forbes Brothers in Manitoba in 2018. On Jan. 17, Todd Maytwayashing, 22, died after being hit by a falling piece of steel as he secured a load onto a semi-trailer. The incident happened at a marshalling yard near Gillam, Man., about 740 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.
Papp said the two incidents are unrelated.
Forbes Brothers workers are all qualified technicians and the company conducts weekly safety meetings, in addition to job safety analysis before the beginning of any task.
Workers on-site identify daily hazards and set control measures at the beginning of each work day, he said, and create plans on how to execute activities safely, readjusting if circumstances change.
"Those conversations happen every single day," he said.
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Papp said it doesn't appear human error played a role in the incident earlier this week.
A spokesperson for Manitoba Hydro told CBC News in an email the incident highlights the importance of checking all hardware to make sure it's in proper working order.
"It also highlights the importance of rider poles and dielectric netting," the spokesperson said, referring to the safety measures Forbes Brothers installed before moving forward.
"The rider poles and netting prevented any incident on the highway and prevented further damage to the live 66 kV line."
Union concerned about delay in notification
A spokesperson for the International Brotherhood Of Electrical Workers Local 2084, which represents some Manitoba workers, said the union has been made aware of the incident, but communications have been thin on detail.
Michael Espenell said he's concerned the union wasn't notified more quickly. Forbes Brothers contacted IBEW on Thursday, he said.
"Obviously, the quicker this information flows, the better everybody stands to benefit," he said. "The line contracting business is conducted throughout the globe, or throughout the continent, certainly. And anytime that lessons can be learned and shared amongst the community, it's an opportunity to prevent."
Espenell said he's confident Forbes Brothers will share the results of its investigation when it's complete.
The company notified all the proper authorities it was obligated to notify, and notified the province despite not being required to do so, said Papp.
"Our obligation to inform the appropriate parties was met and the investigation still continues."
"Once we have further information on why the failure occurred, then we'll be making sure that steps are taken to inform the industry … and make sure the manufacturer is also communicating with other users of their product."
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