During the Written Scheme of Examination (WSE) Inspection and maintenance it is necessary to open manually and remove the inspection hatch in a controlled manner.

Historically AB Circuit Breakers (CB) and a few specific types of MAR were installed on the system in the 1950s which were designed without an internal hinge. The internal hinge was added on later models to facilitate the safe manual handling of the door. The method utilised by current workforce to open and remove the CB Local Air Receiver (LAR) hatch during maintenance never had any bespoke tools provided by the manufacture to reduce the effect of manual handling. The method employed over the years is to extend to an array of locally derived methods, some of which can be seen in the photographs. All these solutions have proved unsatisfactory solutions in the past as the practice has resulted in muscular skeletal injuries.

Objectives

The project will deliver a safe method of manual handling the elliptical door hatch which provides inspection access to both the CB LAR and substation air system Main Air Receivers (MAR). Both designs of air receiver have an elliptical inspection hatch that has to be manually handled to open and remove during routine Inspection and maintenance activities.

The key objective is to safeguard the current workforce. This will be delivered in an effort to reduce the manual handling requirements for Maintenance Delivery Electricity (MDE) Substation staff to complete WSE inspection & maintenance activities in a manner which will not place unnecessary stresses on their bodies and thus reduce occupational health issues.