CLP Major Projects Excavation and Trenching Procedure Notes

Document Purpose: Establishes comprehensive and minimum safety requirements for excavation, trenching, or ground penetration activities to significantly minimize potential incidents and injuries on-site. The guidelines aim to protect workers and ensure compliance with legal standards.
Scope: Primarily applicable to Greenfield sites, which are undeveloped or greenfield areas. For Brownfield sites, which may have historical contamination or other complexities, additional safety rules and assessments are mandated to address specific environmental and safety concerns.

Aim to minimize PSIF (Potential Serious Injuries and Fatalities) exposure during excavation activities through rigorous safety preparations and protocols.

Explicitly applies to Greenfield sites but emphasizes that Brownfield rules from CLPP/GBG apply where necessary, ensuring that all environmental hazards are assessed.

Strict compliance with HSSE (Health, Safety, Security, and Environment) standards is mandatory; any non-compliance will necessitate immediate cessation of work until issues are resolved.

Adherence to established procedures without deviation is crucial; all variations from the prescribed procedures should be immediately reported through proper channels to ensure accountability and safety.

5.1 Planning Stage: Conduct thorough desktop studies, collect extensive information on site constraints, environmental assessments, and assess risks thoroughly to inform safety measures.
5.2 Design Stage: Create detailed and comprehensive drawings and method statements that incorporate safety specifications, highlight potential hazards, and include mitigation strategies.
5.3 Construction Stage: Monitor all work to ensure alignment with design documents and safety requirements; obtaining necessary permits for excavations is a strict prerequisite.

PSIF Exposure: Potential situations that could lead to serious injuries or fatalities during excavation activities.
SIF: Serious incidents that require immediate life-saving action or may result in severe life-altering consequences for workers.
Competent Person: An individual qualified, based on experience and training, to ensure compliance with excavation safety measures and capable of identifying hazards.

Contractor: Responsible for implementing safety procedures; ensuring all site staff are informed of safety protocols and maintaining compliance at all times.
Site Supervisor: Plays a critical role in monitoring site activities to ensure strict adherence to safety requirements and permit conditions, and serves as the main point of contact for compliance issues.
Employees: Must rigorously follow all safety directives, participate in training as required, and report any identified hazards or unsafe conditions immediately to supervisors.

Permit Required: All excavation activities exceeding specific thresholds necessitate an Excavation Work Permit (EWP). This includes detailed approval processes and explicit conditions for safe execution to mitigate risks.
Safety Clearance: Maintain and adhere to adequate safety distances from underground utilities during excavation to prevent damage and protect worker safety through careful planning and mapping of utility lines.

Access and Egress: Excavation designs must ensure safe access and egress for employees, ideally ensuring safety exits are within 8 meters from working areas to facilitate quick evacuation in emergencies.
Water Management: Comprehensive strategies must be in place to address water infiltration, including proper drainage and preventive measures to maintain excavation stability, especially during adverse weather conditions.
Excavation Stability: Assess nearby structures and utilities to evaluate potential impacts during excavation activities, using engineering judgment to develop appropriate stability solutions such as bracing or shoring.

Design of Protective Systems: Systems should be specifically designed to accommodate expected loads, minimize risks of cave-ins, and be continually monitored and adjusted as necessary based on site observations.
Daily Inspections: Competent persons are required to perform daily inspections and document adherence to safety protocols, ensuring that potential hazards are identified and rectified, with records maintained on-site for accountability.

Appendix A: Detailed Process Flowchart for Excavation Permit, outlining steps from application to approval, ensuring clarity in processes.
Appendix B: Daily Excavation Trenching Ground Penetration Checklist for routine safety assessments, including specific metrics for evaluating site conditions.

Inspection Checklist: A comprehensive checklist includes evaluations of general site conditions, utility management practices, access safety protocols, and specific hazard assessments to ensure compliance and safety during excavation activities. Regular updates to this checklist are essential to adapt to operational changes and ensure utmost safety standards are maintained.