Introduction To Excavation Safety IOSH - Nebosh IGC: Federal Institute of Technology

FEDERAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Registered & Affiliated with NTB Ministry of Federal education &

Professional Training Govt of Pakistan
ISO Certified 9001: 2008 Certified & Registered with SDC Lahore G-Certi No: GPKI-0113-QC
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Introduction to Excavation Safety

IOSH –Nebosh IGC
Excavation Safety
Definitions
• Excavation – a man-made cut, cavity, trench, or depression formed

by earth removal.
• Trench – a narrow excavation. The depth is greater than the width,
but not wider than 15 feet.
• Shield - a structure able to withstand a cave-in and protect employees
• Shoring - a structure that supports the sides of an excavation and
protects against cave-ins
• Sloping - a technique that employs a specific angle of incline on the
sides of the excavation. The angle varies based on assessment of
impacting site factors.
Hazards
 Cave in are the greatest risk

 Suffocation due to lack of oxygen
 Inhalation of toxic materials
 Moving machinery near the edge of the excavation can cause a collapse
 Accidental severing of underground utility lines
 Falling hazards
 Explosion
 Electrical shock
 Fire hazards
 Slip and trip
 Flooding
 Insect bites
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Before working of Excavation
 Inspection of Soil
 Scanning of Excavated Area
 Loto
 Work in water
 Oxygen level
 Gas limit
 Record keeping
 Continuous Monitoring
 Use of PPE
 Emergency Plan
 Communication System
 Mechanical Ventilation
 Fitness of workers
 Trained PTW
END
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Inspection of Soil Must check the actual condition of soil what kind of soil is it and in
which condition it is more favorable to work weather it is moisturized soil if yes there are
chances of slip & trip so for that take safety measures not to put too weight on soils chases of
slipping and drowning were high in that kind of soil beside that another type is rocky soil if
after test it is found that soil is rocky that take precaution accordingly to work in it so initial
soil inspection really help to work safely.
Scanning of Excavated Area Scanning of excavated area must be done with scaning
machine or device to make sure and understand the actual reading of excavated area what
kind of area is deficiency of oxygen, gases, explosive and presence of any thing that result in
unsafe operation in future will identified
Loto It means lock out tag out if some area found inappropriate to work with any reason
deficiency of any thing or enrichment of highly flammable gases or some other reason after
testing and checking with devices so lock that area and tag it with the reason written on lock
to make thing safe for others.
Work in water make sure that no one is allowed to work if excavation area contain water in it
first need to fix the water problem so that during working it wont disturb worker doing job
inside and can perform the task safely.
Oxygen level Should check the level of oxygen in excavation area with monitoring device
reading should be taken from the top, middle & bottom area to better under stand the exact
situation inside minimum working oxygen level is 19.5% an maximum is 23.5% if oxygen
level is in between these ranges than it is favorable to work if it is less than that that
mechanical ventilation can be done to make excavated area favorable for work
Gas limit Gas limit should not be 10 ppm (parts per million) so before working in excavated
area it is mandatory to check the level of gas inside and after that if found favorable to work
then enter authorize worker to work.
Carry out gas test As mention earlier carry out should be taken from three areas of top.mid
and bottom area of site.
Record keeping It is must to keep the record of every thing scanning results monitoring
device reading depth of the excavated area tools list working capacity of worker trained
permit to work each record should be well organized to keep updated with current working
environment and its progress in safe manner.
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Continuous Monitoring For quality work and safety assurance continuous monitoring
should be done to keep the operation under proper check with safety some company had
policy of continuous check after two to three hours site can be monitored and working can
be assessed whether it is fulfilling the safety standards or not.
Hole Watch Presence of Hole watch is mandatory while performing the job inside excavated
area so that in case of any unsafe condition hole watched will be informed by worker and
with immediate signal he will pull out to keep his life safe
Communication System Another important thing is hole watch should have proper
communication system through which he intimate the other concerns in any kind of
emergency situation to help the worker who is doing job inside.
Emergency Plan In case of emergency you should be prepared as a hole watch about the
back up emergency plan what to do if some thing unexpected happen so for that prior to work
starting should prepare the emergency plan to implement it incase of emergency situation.
Mechanical Ventilation it should be done if deficiency of oxygen is found in site level of
oxygen is less than 19.5% to make area favorable for work mechanical ventilation process is
done by entering oxygen and fresh air in the excavated area and if it is found gases are more
an working possibility is less prior to work sucking of gases is done and release it outside via
mechanical ventilation process through pipe.
Use of PPE It is compulsory to use ppe (personal protective equipment) during working in
excavated area by worker which includes helmet, masks and gloves and worker should also
make list of tools and other working material to carry inside and after completion of work
tally the tools and material when coming out taking all out is important from safety point of
view for example if worker forgot some explosive material by chance it will result in ending
up with blast and that can cause injuries and casualties in future to keep it safe and avoid risk
keep the list and counter check it before leaving the site worker should be that trained to
follow that practice.
Fitness of Person It is vey important and mandatory to check the worker who is working
inside the excavated area were medically fit or not for example if worker has asthma
problem he is not fit to work inside space where oxygen level is low and presence of gases
were witnessed in initial test.
Trained PTW It should be taken into consideration that person working inside excavated area
were fully trained to perform job in it has proper permit to work (PTW) and have
authority to work in excavated area.
Falling Hazards
Barricade The Area To avoid the falling near or inside excavated area it should be properly
barricade with the area barricade tape so that everyone should understand the work is under
progress not to go unnecessary beyond than the barricade tape so this safety measure should
also be taken.
Display Signboards Another measure of safety is displaying signboard to keep the work safe
and people should be instructed by signboards that what kind of risk is associated if some one
exceed the determined limit beyond that work is under progress and possible risk is there to
avoided risk and danger and keep the operation safe signboards were used after certain
distance.
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Suitable means of Access It is impotent to keep suitable access with those mean that can help
to access the worker with his team these means includes the robe, ladder etc
Parking of vehicles Working in those area where falling possibility is high vehicles should
be park after 10 feet distance and another important thing is presence of ambulance should be
compulsory while performing task in those excavated areas.
Explosion
Verification It is most important to verify the excavated area to ensure safety that if presence
of any un identified thing or explosive material’s presence is there if yes first need to
evacuate the area and then call and clear the area after calling special task force who remove
the danger of blast after removing the explosive material.
Cave In
Protective Systems there are three type of protective system which should keep in mind
while working in excavated area sloping, shoring, benching/shielding etc sloping is the
method in which excavation is done in inclined way to avoid the risk of wall sliding and it
should start after certain meter or feet back from main site to make the incline path for
worker shoring is the way in which area is shore with cross obstacles and benching which
also called shielding in it steel wall is installed in excavated area and workers will work
inside that wall to work safely.
Excavated Material It is un safe to keep excavated material near to working site for safety
excavated material for example soil after digging should keep away from the site where
workers are doing the job it is mandatory for safe work.
Crossing Point Crossing point should be determined and clear to workers and people near to
working site and should provide appropriate crossing point near to working site.
Risk Assessment The practice of assessment of risk should be done by the supervisor prior to
start of work to avoided certain risk during operation.
Suitable lightening worker should be provided with suitable lightening while working in
excavated area obviously if worker had visibility then he will complete the job as directed.
Suitable Weather Working condition and weather should be favorable to work for example if
oxygen level heat level inside is high gases anything deficiency and enrichment of anything
will effect the work.
Electric Shock
Loto As mention earlier lock out tag out is mandatory if some thing suspected dangerous
immediately that area should be locked and tagged with reason of locking to keep other safe
in the site and in case of some welding proper earthen cable should be attached with ground
to avoid shock.
PPE Personal protective equipment (PPE) should be wear by the worker while performing
electric related task it will avoided the risk of shock during work.
Slip and Trip
Good house keeping To avoid the slip and trip proper house keeping should be maintain
while working in excavated area and suitable mature is taken to keep performing the work
safe and accurate with time.
Insect Bites
First Aid For safety keep the first aid kit in case of any insect bite or any other injury during
work worker should immediately be provided with first aid.
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Tool Meeting Worker should keep the list and meet the certain tools that help in any injuries
situation while doing job.
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FEDERAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Registered & Affiliated with NTB Ministry of Federal education &

Introduction to Excavation Safety

• Excavation – a man-made cut, cavity, trench, or depression formed

 Cave in are the greatest risk

Before working of Excavation

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