When To Inspect An Excavation And The Legal Requirements

People get harmed, seriously injured, and killed every year working in unsafe excavations. But it doesn't have to happen to you.

When excavation collapses happen, prosecutions usually follow. Why? Because an excavation collapse isn't usually a freak and unexpected event. It's usually because the excavation was unsafe. And that means the law has been broken.

Because by law, employers have health and safety responsibilities to keep their employees safe. And more specifically, the CDM regulations (which apply to all construction work) require excavations to be safe.

Excavations of any depth can be dangerous, and a competent person should assess what support or safe angle is required to prevent collapse. But supporting your excavations isn't the end of the matter. Because conditions can change over time.

Excavations also need to be inspected.

When should an excavation be inspected?

There are three key points when an excavation should be inspected:

• at the start of the shift in which the work is to be carried out
• after any event likely to have affected the strength or stability of the excavation
• after any material unintentionally falls or is dislodged

You should inspect your excavations at the start of each shift. No person should be allowed to enter an excavation until it has been examined.

If something is wrong, it only takes a second for someone to be buried and crushed beneath the collapsing soil. Checking the excavation is safe before anyone enters it is essential.

If any events happen that might impact the stability of the excavation then you need to inspect it again, things like:

• Heavy rainfall
• A leak
• Flooding
• Plant or machinery moving too close
• Loss of load near the excavation

And if any material falls into the excavation, or is dislodged, evacuate workers and inspect again. You could be getting an early warning sign before a collapse.

How often should excavation inspections happen?

Excavations must be routinely inspected at the start of each shift. This needs to happen before work is carried out, and before anyone enters the excavation.

In practice, this usually means that excavation inspections happen once per working day (as a minimum).

But you may need additional inspections if any events happen that might impact the stability of the excavation (like flooding) or if there are any falls of materials in the excavation.

So excavations should happen at least once per shift, but sometimes more often.

Who should inspect an excavation?

the excavation and any work equipment and materials which may affect its safety have been inspected by a competent person

Excavation must be inspected by a competent person, this should be someone who:

• Understands the dangers
• Understands the precautions (e.g. the support system)
• Capable of identifying hazards

Usually, a person becomes competent through a mix of skills, experience, and training.

Examples of training courses available include those offered by EUSR (Category 3: Install, Inspect & Remove Timber Support Systems, Category 4: Install, Inspect & Remove Steel Support Systems, Category 5: Install, Inspect & Remove Proprietary Support Systems), and City and Guilds Level 2 Awards in Excavation Support Systems.

What should the excavation inspection check?

Your excavation safety inspection should check that the excavation is stable and:

• Has adequate support
• Nearby structures are supported
• Has safe access
• Has appropriate warning signs and barriers

And that any support system is:

• Correctly installed
• No damaged parts
• No signs of movement

In addition to checking the excavation you also need to inspect any work equipment or materials that may affect its safety. This will include conditions in and around the excavation, such as services, soil, risk of flooding, lighting and traffic routes.

the excavation and any work equipment and materials which may affect its safety have been inspected by a competent person

What happens if the excavation fails the inspection?

Your excavation will only pass the inspection if the person who carried out the inspection is satisfied that it is safe and construction work can be safely carried out there.

If it's not safe, you won't pass the inspection and the inspector will need to report to you what the problems are. Until you fix the problems, you can't carry out any work in the excavation.

(5) Where the person carrying out an inspection informs the person on whose behalf the inspection is carried out of any matter about which they are not satisfied (under regulation 24(1)), construction work must not be carried out in the excavation until the matter has been satisfactorily remedied.

If your excavation fails the inspection, the inspector will need to inform you and then prepare a report within 24 hours detailing the reasons for failing the inspection and the action required.

provide the report, or a copy of it, to the person on whose behalf the inspection was carried out, within 24 hours of completing the inspection to which the report relates.

This report is a legal document, and (in addition to fixing the problems) you must:

• Keep a copy of the report on site until the construction work is complete
• After that, for 3 months

If the HSE requires a copy of the report, you must make it available to them.

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Need to carry out an excavation inspection? Use the Excavation Safety Inspection template to check your access, stability, conditions, vehicles, personnel and documentation.