Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1 General
2 Excavation
3 Excavation Hazards
5 Example- lifting
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General 5
Fact - Up to seven people die each year working in and around excavations.
Fact - One cubic metre of soil can weigh over one tonne ( the same as a new mini car)
Excavation 6
No two excavations are the same, they can range from a small hole for a
fence post to a long pipe line project and yet size doesnt always matter
when you consider the hazards. Here are some typical examples.
planning 7
Do not store other materials close to the sides of the excavations. The spoil
may fall into the excavation and the extra loading will make the sides more
prone to collapse.
Make sure the edges of the excavation are protected against falling materials.
Provide toe-boards or similar
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3. People and vehicles falling into excavations.
Decide if the structure needs temporary support before digging starts. A survey of
the foundations and the advice of a structural engineer may be needed.
5. Contact with underground services 14
Look around for obvious signs of underground services, e.g. valve
covers or patching of footpath and road surfaces
Use cable locating devices to track any services and mark the ground
accordingly
Make sure that the person supervising the excavation work has service
plans and knows how to use them. Use the permit to dig procedure,
safe digging practices and make sure the emergency procedures are
known to every one in the team.
Correctly support any existing services that encroach the excavation
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6. Suffocating, Toxic and Explosive Gases.
Tests for gas must be carried out before work is started and
detectors positioned within the working space to provide
constant monitoring.
Hydrogen Sulfide (H2 S)
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Hydrogen
Sulfide
Toxicity table of H2S
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Concentration Symptoms/Effects
(ppm)
0.005-0.13 Minimal perceptible odour.
5 Easily detectable , moderate odour
10 Beginning eye irritation.
27 Strong unpleasant odour , but not intolerable
100 Coughing , eye irritation loss of sense of smell after 2-5
mins
200-300 Marked conjunctivitis and respiratory tract irritation
after 1-Hr of exposure .
500-700 Loss of consciousness and possible death in 30 minute.
700-1000 Rapid unconsciousness, cessation of respiration and
death.
1000-2000 Unconsciousness at once, with early cessation of
respiration and death in a few minutes.
AIARMS 19
Most alarms will consist of amber strobe light , a blue strobe light,
a red strobe light , and dual tone audible alarm
Types of Alarm :
Always follow company policies and procedures for escape and rescue. Before attempting
to rescue anyone else, always:
TBM:
Gas testing, Site preparation, lifting , Excavation and cold work permit .
Equipment and tools inspection (crane, JCB Excavator , dump trucks, power shovel,
hand tools)
JSA:
Materials fall (PPE)
Piling containers, caravans and pallets (guiding the objects)
Solution
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Always there should be a flag man and rigger for heavy equipment 50 ton crane
Use safety lifting equipment (slings and shackles) .
Working at height (harnesses) .
Heavy equipment JCB Excavator (warning lights, horns ) .
Use warning tabe, rope off and barricades to prevent falling in trenches.
Drives should wear seat belts while they are driving loaders and they should follow the
escort vehicle .
Fire Prevention .
House keeping
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