EXCAVATION SAFETY

INTRODUCTION

• Excavation is one of the most hazardous

types of work in the construction industry
• Accidents result from inadequate
planning
• Most accidents occur in trenches 5-15
feet deep
 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
WHY DO WE HAVE TO DO EXCAVATION

• To maximise the space on the service station site and have tanks
installed underground
• To allow for installation of cables, pipe, vapour recovery systems and
drainage as well as building foundations and footings
• Major excavations of our petroleum out let are
• Excavation for
• 1) for UST/water tank installations
• 2) Building foundations
• 3) Canopy foundations
• 4) Electric cabling, piping, OWS, yard lamp, ingress/egress, etc
 EXCAVATION HAZARDS

•Cave-ins are the greatest risk

•Other hazards include:
• Air quality-Presence of Asphyxiation, Toxic and Flammable
gases
• Edge failure due to vibration, plant, materials, water, spoil
location
• Accidental severing of underground utility lines
• Water Accumulation
• Objects falling over the people
CAVE INS
 FACTORS SUPPORTING CAVE INS

Insufficient slopes & supports

Operating equipment close to the excavation edge
Piling of excavated spoil close to the edge
 FACTORS SUPPORTING CAVE INS

Water Accumulation
 FACTORS SUPPORTING CAVE INS

Heavy machineries operating close to the excavation

Stacking excavated soil close to the excavation
 EXPOSURE TO HAZARDOUS ATMOSPHERE

“A Risk Evaluation shall be conducted prior to excavation works.

Minimum risks to be evaluated are hazardous atmospheres, for
each identified risk appropriate protection systems must be
enforced“
“ A Competent Person, must identify hazardous atmospheres
or situations of confined spaces, . . . “
 EXPOSURE TO HAZARDOUS ATMOSPHERE

Hazardous Atmosphere

•Explosive
•Flammable
•Poisonous
•Corrosive
•Oxidizing
•Irritating
•Oxygen deficient
•Toxic

Operations inside an excavation can introduce a hazardous

atmosphere.
Test the air of excavation sites.
 EXPOSURE TO HAZARDOUS ATMOSPHERE

Take extra precautions when the atmosphere has:

 less than 19.5 percent, or more than 21.5 percent oxygen

 a combustible gas concentration greater than 10 percent
of the lower flammable limit
 concentrations of hazardous substances that exceed
threshold limit values
UNDER GROUND UTILITIES

“Before excavations starts, all

underground installations must be
identified and utility companies are
notified. . . . .
 OBJECTS FALLING OVER WORKERS

“All excavated material shall be piled in such a way that it

can not find its way back to the excavation.

Excavated material shall be placed atleast 1.5 meter away

from excavation edge”
 EQUIPMENTS FALLING IN TO EXCAVATION

Tools, equipment and heavy machinery shall not be placed or used

adjacenct to excavations, since they might fall into the excavation
or cause excessive vibrations to cause collapse of the excavation
walls.
All excavation shall have appropriate measures to prevent public
and workers from falling into excavations,
Visible physical barriers and signs shall be provided around
COLLAPSE OF ADJACENT STRUCTURE

Provide protection design when excavation can

affect integrity of adjacent structure(s)”
 TYPE OFSOILS
OSHA classifies the soils into four categories: Solid Rock, Type A, Type B, and
Type C. Solid Rock is the most stable, and Type C soil is the least stable
•Solid Rock, The excavation of rock typically requires drilling and blasting, which fractures the
rock, making it less stable.
•Type A soil can be clay, silty clay, or sandy clay. A soil cannot be considered Type A if it is
fissured or other conditions exist that can adversely effect it, such as being subject to
vibration from heavy traffic, pile driving, or similar effects having been previously
disturbed/excavated & other factors which would make it unstable-such as the presence of
ground water.
•Type B soils include both cohesive and non-cohesive soils. They include silts, sandy loams,
medium clays, and unstable rock. Soils that might be classified as A, but have fissures, or are
subject to vibration, may also be classified as “B” soils
•Type C soils are the most unstable (and therefore most dangerous) of the four soil types.
They are easily recognized by the continual sloughing of the sides of the walls of excavation.
If soil is submerged, or water is seeping from the sides of an excavation, it’s very probably
“C” soil. Soil may be classified as Type C if an excavation is dug in “layered” soils, where
different soil types lay on top of each other. If an unstable soil type is underneath a stable soil
type, you should always consider the “weakest link”. Because of where we dig, it’s important
to understand that once soil has been excavated, it will never be returned to the composition
as it was naturally formed.
• If you are uncertain of the soil type, ALWAYS assume Type C soil! & follow the soil
investigation report
 SOIL MECHANICS

• A number of stresses and deformations can

occur in an open cut or trench.
• For example, increases or decreases in
moisture content can adversely affect the
stability of a trench or excavation.
• The following diagrams show some of the
more frequently identified causes of trench
failure.
 SOIL MECHANICS

Boiling
• BOILING is evidenced
by an upward water flow
into the bottom of the
cut. A high water table
is one of the causes of
boiling.
• Boiling produces a
"quick" condition in the
bottom of the cut, and
can occur even when
shoring or trench boxes
are used.
 SOIL MECHANICS

Heaving or Squeezing
• Bottom heaving or
squeezing is caused by
the downward pressure
created by the weight of
adjoining soil.
• This pressure causes a
bulge in the bottom of the
cut, as illustrated in the
drawing above.
• Heaving and squeezing
can occur even when
shoring or shielding has
been properly installed.
 SOIL MECHANICS

Subsidence and Bulging

• An unsupported
excavation can create an
unbalanced stress in the
soil, which, in turn, causes
subsidence at the surface
and bulging of the vertical
face of the trench.
• If uncorrected, this
condition can cause face
failure and entrapment of
workers in the trench.
 SOIL MECHANICS

Tension Cracks
• Tension cracks usually
form at a horizontal
distance of 0.5 to 0.75
times the depth of the
trench, measured from the
top of the vertical face of
the trench.
 SOIL MECHANICS

Toppling
• In addition to sliding,
tension cracks can cause
toppling.

• Toppling occurs when the

trench's vertical face
shears along the tension
crack line and topples into
the excavation.
 SOIL MECHANICS

Sloughing
• SLIDING or sloughing
may occur as a result of
tension cracks, as
illustrated below.
 SOIL MECHANICS

Sloughing
• SLIDING or sloughing
may occur as a result of
tension cracks, as
illustrated below.
 PROTECTIVE SYSTEMS

• Shoring
• Shielding
• Sloping
• Benching
 PROTECTIVE SYSTEMS

Shoring
Shoring is the provision of a support system for trench
faces used to prevent movement of soil, underground
utilities, roadways, and foundations
Shoring (or shielding) is used when the location or
depth of the cut makes sloping back to the maximum
allowable slope impractical.
 PROTECTIVE SYSTEMS

Shoring Types
•Shoring systems consist of posts, wales, struts, and
sheeting. Three basic types of shoring are:
– Timber
– Hydraulic
– Pneumatic
PROTECTIVE SYSTEMS

Timber Shoring
 PROTECTIVE SYSTEMS

Hydraulic Shoring
• The trend today is toward the use of hydraulic
shoring, a prefabricated strut and/or wale system
manufactured of aluminum or steel.
• Hydraulic shoring provides a critical safety
advantage over timber shoring because workers
do not have to enter the trench to install or
remove hydraulic shoring.
• Hydraulic shoring should be checked at least
once per shift for leaking hoses and/or cylinders,
broken connections, cracked nipples, bent bases,
and any other damaged or defective parts.
PROTECTIVE SYSTEMS

Hydraulic Shoring
 PROTECTIVE SYSTEMS

Pneumatic Shoring
• Pneumatic Shoring is similar to hydraulic shoring.
• The primary difference is that pneumatic shoring
uses air pressure in place of hydraulic pressure.
• A disadvantage to the use of pneumatic shoring is
that an air compressor must be on site.
PROTECTIVE SYSTEMS

Pneumatic Shoring
 PROTECTIVE SYSTEMS

Trench Boxes
• Trench Boxes are different from shoring.
• Instead of shoring up or otherwise supporting the trench face,
they are intended primarily to shield workers from cave-ins
and similar incidents.
• The excavated area between the outside of the trench box
and the face of the trench should be as small as possible.
• The space between the trench boxes and the excavation side
are backfilled to prevent lateral movement of the box.
• Shields may not be subjected to loads exceeding those which
the system was designed to withstand.
PROTECTIVE SYSTEMS

Trench Boxes
 PROTECTIVE SYSTEMS

Sloping

Soil Type Height/Depth Slope Angle

Ratio
Stable Rock Vertical 90º
Type A ¾:1 53º
Type B 1:1 45º
Type C 1 ½:1 34º
Type A ½:1 63º
(short-term)*
*For a maximum excavation depth of 12 feet for less than
24 hours
PROTECTIVE SYSTEMS

Sloping
 PROTECTIVE SYSTEMS

Benching
• There are two basic types of benching,
simple and multiple.

• The type of soil determines the

horizontal to vertical ratio of the
benched side.
PROTECTIVE SYSTEMS

Benching
 Protection from Falls, Falling Loads, and Mobile
Equipment
• Install barricades
• Use hand / mechanical signals
• Grade soil away from excavation
• Fence or barricade trenches left overnight
• Use a flagger when signs, signals and barricades are
not enough protection
 Inspections of Excavations
A competent person must make
daily inspections of excavations,
areas around them and protective
systems:
• Before work starts and as
needed,
• After rainstorms, high winds or
other occurrence which may
increase hazards, and
• When you can reasonably
anticipate an employee will be
exposed to hazards.
 Inspections of Excavations
If the competent person finds
evidence of a possible cave-in,
indications of failure of protective
systems, hazardous atmospheres,
or other hazardous conditions:
• Exposed employees must be
removed from the hazardous
area
• Employees may not return until
the necessary precautions have
been taken
 Site Evaluation Planning
Before beginning excavation:
 Evaluate soil conditions
 Construct protective systems
 Test for low oxygen,
hazardous fumes and toxic
gases
 Provide safe in and out access
 Contact utilities
 Determine the safety
equipment needed
 Site Evaluation Planning
•Required depth of excavation- shore if over 1.5 m
•Nature and condition of ground including contamination potential
•Nature of work & nearby activities
•Static & moving loads near the excavation (edge clearance > excavation
depth)
•Previous ground disturbances and adjoining buildings & structures
•Public safety and security of the excavation
•Placement of excavated soil
•Emergency and rescue procedures
•Fall protection, drowning prevention and backfilling procedures
 DO’s
• Ensure proper marking has been done before starting the
excavations
• Ensure all the U/G utilities are identified & isolated before
excavation
• Excavator must be checked for suitability & damages if any with the
help of check list.
• Prepare the excavation plan before execution of work
• Barricade the working area with the help of hard barricades
• Ensure machine is at least 1.5 mt away from the edge while
excavation
• Ensure sufficient slope/benching during an excavation or provide
sufficient shoring as designed by the competent person.
 DO’s
• Ensure bed & slopes are neatly levelled to desired depth, width &
length

• Check the bed depth with the help of levelling instrument to ensure
desired depth is achieved
 DO’s
• Ensure neatly designed & secured two numbers of
access for entry & exit from the excavation pit
 DO’s
• Ensure sufficient light(Minimum 330 lux) if you are
working during night time.