Excavation Supports – Safety Aspects

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 Aim of Safety in Excavations:

Highlight the hazards of working in an excavation.

How to protect employees from cave-ins.

Factors that pose a hazard to employees working in
excavations.

The role of a competent person at an excavation
site.

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 Key Issues at Excavations points:

Collapse of excavations.

Undermining of adjacent structures

Materials falling into excavations

People, plant & equipment falling into excavations

Buried services

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General Requirements:
OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration - Dept of Labor USA )
HSE (Health and Safety Executive – Dept of Work and Pensions - UK)
BS 5975 : 2008 Code of practice for temporary works procedures and the
permissible stress design of falsework
www.mlss.gov.zm

Before any excavation actually begins, the employer must

determine the estimated location of utility installations:

Sewer, telephone, fuel, electric, water lines

or any other under ground installations that may be

encountered during digging.

A competent person will inspect, on a daily basis,

excavations and adjacent areas for possible cave-ins, failure
of protective systems and equipment, hazardous
atmospheres, or other hazardous conditions.
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General Requirements:

Takes prompt corrective measures to eliminate hazards.

Adequate protective systems will be utilized to protect

employees. This can be accomplished through: Sloping,
Shoring, or Shielding.

Workers must be supplied with and wear any PPE deemed

necessary to assure their protection.

If a trench is 1.3m or deeper, stairways, ramps, or ladders

will be used.

The employees must not have to travel (within the

trench)any more than 8m to reach the stairways, ramps, or
ladders.

Toxic and hazardous atmosphere will be tested daily.
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Excavations - Hazards
Hazards include but no limited to;

Access/Egress (excavations)

Vehicle traffic

Falling loads

Mobile equipment

Water accumulation

Adjacent structures collapsing

Loose rock or soil

Cave-ins

Asphyxiation due to lack of oxygen in a confined space

Inhalation of toxic fumes, drowning

Electrocution or explosions can occur when workers
contact underground utilities.

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Excavations - Hazards
Cave-Ins:

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Excavations - Hazards
Cave-Ins:

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 Causes of Cave – Ins

When water is
present in an
excavation it is
extremely hazardous
to enter. Also no
head protection

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 Injury and Death

Excavating is one of
the most hazardous
construction
operations

Most accidents occur
in trenches 1.5- 4.5m
deep

There is usually no
warning before a cave-
in

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Hazardous Conditions - Examples

They should not

be working under
this crane.
The weight and
vibration of the
crane makes this
a very hazardous
condition.

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Hazardous Conditions - Examples

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Important Considerations:
HSE (Health, Safety and Environment)

PLANNING THE WORK

Company Standards for excavation works

Risk assessment procedures

Consider underground services

Check temporary work inputs(calculations and
drawings)

Production of method statements (safe system of
work)

Selection of right plant and equipment

Competent site management and supervision
(especially frontline supervisors and or foremen

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Important Considerations:
HSE (Health, Safety and Environment)

METHOD STATEMENT

Geotechnical information

Method of Construction and support of
excavations

Access / egress and edge protection

Plant / equipment to be used

Buried services

Adjacent structures

Supervision work

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Important Considerations:
HSE (Health, Safety and Environment)

GEOTECHNICAL REPORT – STARTING POINT!

Ground conditions need to be known to design
the permanent work

Information can be found from desk study and
previous local area experience

More complicated work will need a detailed site
investigation including a geotechnical report

Information can also be used by contractor
when devising construction method (including
support of excavation)

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 Thanks!

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