This toolbox is about working in and around trenches and pits. By going through this toolbox, you will know what the risks are. You will also know which control measures you need to take in order to prevent these risks:
Before you start digging, you know what the quality of the ground is like. When in doubt: Ask your line manager if the ground is contaminated. He can inform you if a ground investigation has been carried out and what the results were. The KLIC (Cables and Pipes Information Centre) report shows whether or not there are any cables or pipes in the ground. Once this has been established, you may start excavating the pit or trench. There are risks involved in excavation work. We will discuss what these risks entail.
There are two ways to excavate pits and trenches:
Which method is applied depends on various circumstances and situations. The method is selected during the preparation stage and is based on:
During (excavation) works around and inside of the pit/trench, there is a risk of:
You can imagine what will happen in situations like these. There is a strong possibility of permanent injury due to falling, entrapment, getting buried by soil or suffocation. The latter two might result in death.
The main causes are:
Driving direction Angle Excavation