Morrisons Supermarket - Dangerous Electricity?

[SteveP86]

Seen this in the warehouse of a Morrisons Supermarket. Beel like this for weeks. Started out as the sockets just being damaged but they have clearly been battered by pallets again as the socket is now hanging out, held in place by the L+N cables. Power is fed from another socket a short distance away. I particularly like how the CPC is ripped out, creating a situation where the metal surround of the sockets could become energized should they take another hit from a pile of pallets causing the phase conductor to be pulled out where by it could come to rest touching the outside of the sockets.

Sorry for poor quality. Had to be sneaky with camera phone.

Warehouse staff don't seem to bothered. They'll be less bothered once it's killed them I suppose. Would a circuit like that in a commercial enviroment be RCD protected?

 

[Iggifer]

You would very much hope it would be RCD protected but it depends how old the install is I suppose.

You would also hope the management would get it fixed asap

 

[Jackrae]

So what are you doing about it - who have you informed ?

 

[westie101]

So the first question surely is

is it live?

Or has it been spotted/reported already & disconnected for safety and the neccessary staff informed?

All I see above are assumptions.

And as suggested, as a legitimate visitor to the site, has the OP actually raised this with on-site staff, as I suggest the company safety rules would require?

 

[conny]

If he is on company premises legitimately then he has a duty, under the H&S at Work Act to inform a member of staff what he has found/seen. It is much better to approach someone who is in a position of authority than someone who is a shop floor worker.
Tell them what you have found, when you found it, why you were in that area etc and make sure you get their name and position. Also ask how soon they will be reporting it to those responsible for its rectification and what will be done in the meantime to prevent anyone getting hurt/killed.

You don't need to know how it is fed or what protection it has unless you are working on that circuit.
But you MUST report it as soon as possible.

If you are somewhere that you shouldn't be then you can report it anonymously to someone in authority. Phone up and ask for the H&S person and say you are aware of a dangerous situation in such and such an area and you wish to make them aware of it. Ask who you are speaking to before you report it. Then if anything happens you will have a contact name.

One other thing. If you are an employee no disciplinary action/sanctions can be taken against you for reporting this. They can if they find out you knew and didn't report it before someone got hurt.

 

[JohnD]

I was in a supermarket when I observed shopfitters working unacceptably to the detriment of the nearby till operators. I said I wanted to speak to the duty manager, and pointed it out.

Once it has been brought to the attention of the person in charge, he has little option but to rectify the problem, because the world would fall on his head if it was found out he did nothing and an accident occurred.

I did have the advantage of having come straight from working late and having an air of authority, rather than being in shorts and tee.

 

[ericmark]

Now SteveP86 has to report the problem in writing. It does not matter is text message, email, or written on back of fag packet, but heath and safety items must be reported in writing verbal is not good enough. Should now some one get injured it can be shown SteveP86 was aware of the fault. So he is responsible until passed on with a written report.

It could well be the case management is aware and the socket has been isolated at the supply and there could be nothing wrong.

 

[JohnW2]

Now SteveP86 has to report the problem in writing. ... verbal is not good enough

As has been said, we know nothing of the circumstances or of the OP's relationship (if any) with the store, so it is quite possible that he would not want to identify himself. If that were the case, to report the problem anonymously by telephone would certainly be better than nothing.

Kind Regards, John

 

[SteveP86]

Hi folks. I'm in this store maybe once a week where I visit the warehouse. I've notified the warehouse manager who works in there and sadly he's not really all that bothered. Basically shrugs his shoulders when I mention it to him. I notified the store manager this morning so he is aware and whilst on the phone I asked for an e-mail address so I could send copy of pic and a recap of my observations - staff attitude etc. First observation was sockets damaged - mentioned to warehouse. Second week, noticed how it is now - mentioned again and stressed importance. Third week same again, mentioned AGAIN, pic taken and reported to store manager along with pic.

Hopefully now something will get done about it. If I see it like that again then maybe I'll go down the lines of H&S Exec or something, providing names etc.

Steve

 

[Jackrae]

It could well be the case management is aware and the socket has been isolated at the supply and there could be nothing wrong.

IF that were the case then the equipment, as a minimum, should have a "flag" on it stating that it has been isolated and is now "safe". However, the person doing the isolation is obliged to test the socket to confirm it was isolated and he should have either attached a flag or better still, removed the socket, terminated the cables and fitted a blanking cover.

No excuses for shoddy working practices.