More details have emerged after two serious workplace incidents in Canberra that saw a light rail worker thrown 2m by an electric shock and a young apprentice with partially severed fingers.
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The apprentice, who injured himself with a power saw, is believed to have undergone a second surgery on Friday morning.
Masters Builders' Association boss Kirk Coningham said he was unsure whether the first-year apprentice was supervised when he suffered "a very nasty injury that opened his hand right up".
"It sounds like the drop saw has come down on to the tip of his middle finger and cut into his index finger and into his thumb and broken the bone in the thumb," Mr Coningham said.
"They were talking about putting a pin into his thumb. He stayed in hospital after his first surgery at about 8pm last night and has gone back in this morning for another surgery. It's a very nasty injury and has opened his hand right up."
The incident, which occurred on a building site in Denman Prospect on Thursday, was one of two serious workplace incidents this week.
Mr Coningham said the WorkSafe investigation into the saw incident would determine whether there were lessons to be learned.
Meanwhile, he said work would continue as usual on the Denman Prospect site, and with the MBA training program, under which 168 apprentices are trained.
WorkSafe ACT is also involved in an incident from Wednesday, when a worker on Canberra's light rail project on Northbourne Avenue was lucky to survive being thrown two metres by an electric shock at a worksite.
ACT WorkSafe Commissioner Greg Jones said a contractor was using a hydrovac when he came into contact with a live electrical cable.
A hydrovac uses a high pressure hose to remove soil while a vacuum clears it, preventing damage that may occur during a mechanical excavation and allowing workers to locate telecommunications cables, gas pipe lines and electrical cables.
Mr Jones said hydrovac works in that section of Northbourne had temporarily ceased but would continue across the rest of the project.
The worker was released from hospital on Thursday and had suffered no long term effects or permanent damage.
Mr Jones said there was no timeline on when either of the workplace injuries would be completed.
"Any accident is a concern to WorkSafe ... while there's really strong legislation here, its only as good as those who implement it," Mr Jones said.
"Part of Work Safe's investigation on this [drop saw incident] is what level of supervision would be required and what that level of supervision was."
Mr Jones did not rule out taking disciplinary actions in either of the cases. The electric shock was the second recent injury to occur under an MBA program after a school-based apprentice fell seven metres at a construction site in October.
The CFMEU's ACT branch secretary Dean Hall, who said the union had raised more than $10,000 for the family, said there were doubts on whether the 16-year-old would make a full recovery.
But Mr Coningham had a more optimistic view.
"I think the prognosis is better than that," he said.
"They are expecting a full recovery."
ACT Health was contacted for an update on the young man with partially severed fingers.
