SPECIALIST G4S security officers working at Hinkley Point C (HPC) have received a special accreditation that allows them to escort huge generators and other Abnormal Indivisible Loads (AILs) on the roads.

G4S is the first and only UK company and non-police service to gain accreditation to allow specialist security officers to stop and manage traffic as they escort moving Abnormal Indivisible Loads (AILs) on the roads.

G4S’s Enhanced Security Officers (ESOs) have put their new police accreditation into practice.

The new accreditation allows the ESOs to stop or direct other road users or pedestrians for an AIL on the road.

For example, if a tree or wires from a pylon are too low, the ESOs have the powers to stop the traffic whilst a tree surgeon or specialist electrician resolves the issue.

An AIL is defined by the UK government as a weight of more than 44 tonnes, an axle load of more than 10 tonnes for a single non-driving axle.

Alistair McBride, strategic account director for G4S UK’s Nuclear Power and Utilities Sector, said: “We are constantly looking to upskill, invest in, and develop our security employees and this is another example of how we support our staff.

“We’ve worked closely with EDF and Avon & Somerset Police in order to achieve this, and the Enhanced Security Officers who passed the course have put in over 80 hours of training and hard work.”

Somerset County Gazette: Two diesel generators followed by a G4S escort vehicle.Two diesel generators followed by a G4S escort vehicle. (Image: G4S)

Ian Downing, G4S’s Account Director at Hinkley Point C said: “We began speaking to EDF in March 2022 about taking on this additional work.

"The process of starting the CSAS programme to leading our first escort took around 8 months, with the additional vetting and modifying our vehicles so they were up to spec. In the end the hardwork has paid off and we’re now confident in what our ESOs need to do.

“We’ve built a wrap-around programme to overcome a number of obstacles that we noticed in our practice runs, allowing the first move to go without a hitch.”

Somerset County Gazette: G4S CSAS Accredited Uniform.G4S CSAS Accredited Uniform. (Image: G4S)

At Hinkley Point C, G4S Secure Solutions provides security, Facilities Management and now the AIL escort service. 

Ian also added: “Due to the nature of the work, our ESOs are always on site, so adding this string to their bow makes practical sense in terms of resourcing, and saves the customer having to bring in and pay for another party to assist.

“It also benefits the customer by introducing certainty of delivery timescales to the site by using resources already available, and there will always be a level of consistency of delivery in terms of standards, quality and safety with a specific pool of resources dedicated to the project."