HEALTH & SAFETY

Health and Safety Controls in Excavations

Table of Contents

Introduction1

Risks Associated with Excavation1

Health and Safety Responsibility1

Future2

Aims and Objectives2

Literature Review3

Introduction3

Tunneling and Excavation4

Risks and Hazards5

Prevention and Management of Risks6

Engagement with Supervisor8

Program for Completion9

Conclusion10

References12

Appendix14

Introduction14

Aims and Objectives14

Literature Review15

Methodology15

Research Design15

Ethics16

Analysis16

Conclusion16

Health and Safety Controls in Excavations

Introduction

Excavation involves the movement of rock and soil from a location in order to form a pit, cavity or open face. In most cases machinery is used while explosives are also used in situations where machinery cannot be used or may be unfeasible.

The highest risks are associated with the construction of tunnels as most injuries and deaths are recorded in these situations. The issues with tunnels is that since the workers in tunnels work in a closed environment, escape and rescue is difficult which results in increases the chances of deaths and injuries.

Risks Associated with Excavation

Failures during excavations are common and very dangerous since they can occur at any time without any warning. Usually workers manage to escape with minor injuries or fractures. In some cases due to extensive damage, workers can be trapped. The risk of injuries increases with the speed of excavation. At times, falling debris can bury workers which can result in death or severe injuries.

Health and Safety Responsibility

The person who is in charge of the construction activity taking place on the site is responsible for all the health and safety issues that arise due to the work being carried out. He has the responsibility to provide each employee with the necessary safety gear and to ensure that they use it whenever they are working. If any injury or death occurs at the site, the construction company will be blamed. Therefore, the entire responsibility of the construction company lies on the supervisor of the project.

Future

The future of construction work and excavation seems to be the same without much improvement in safety features. The reason is that there are plenty of safety measures in place. The only issue is that they are not being properly implemented by the managers of the mines and the workers. Even if provided with the necessary equipment, they often avoid using them since they think that their skills are sufficient to handle the issues.

The use of tunnel boring machines (TBM's) has made it easier and safer to build tunnels in shorter periods of time. The risks in such types of techniques are also reduced considerably. Ne advances in technology and the production of higher strength concrete has made a big difference in excavating tunnels. Where digging trenches are concerned, they can be excavated with less human supervision due to the invention of machines that can do the work more effetely without having workers working in close proximity. Thus it can be concluded that the future of tunnelling and excavating trenches is bright with the development of technology.

Aims and Objectives

The aim of this report is to study the health and safety hazards relating to excavation and the measure by which they can be prevented. The implication of this research is that project managers will find it ...