EXCAVATION HAZARDS- THEIR EFFECTS AND PREVENTION
Different types of hazards are associated with excavation of soil. These hazards should be identified and preventive measures should be taken to avoid any accident at construction sites. The following table highlights hazards associated with excavation of soil during construction, their types, effects and preventive measures.
TYPE OF EXCAVATION
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TYPE OF HAZARD
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EFFECT OF HAZARD
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PREVENTIVE MEASURES
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Pit excavation upto 3m
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Falling into pit
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Personal injury
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Provide guard rails / barricade with warning signal
Provide atleast two entries / exits
Provide escape ladders
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Earth collapse
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Suffocation /breathlessness
Buried
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Provide suitable size of shoring and strutting if required.
Keep soil heaps away from the edge equivalent to 1.5m or depth of pit whichever is more.
Don’t allow vehicles to operate too close to excavated areas. Maintain atleast 2m distance from the edge of cut.
Maintain sufficient angle of repose. Provide slope not less than 1:1 and suitable depth of excavation in all soils except hard rock.
Battering / benching the sides.
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Contact with buried electric cable
Gas / Oil Pipelines
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Electrocution
Explosion
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Obtain permission from competent authorities prior to excavation if required.
Locate the position of buried utilities by referring to plant drawings.
Start digging manually to locate the exact position of buried utilities and thereafter use mechanical means.
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Pit excavation beyond 3m
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Same as above plus flooding due to excessive rain / underground water
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Can cause drowning situation
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Prevent ingress of water
Provide ring buoys
Identify and provide suitable size dewatering pump or well point system
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Digging in the vicinity of existing building / structure
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Building / structure may collapse
Loss of health and wealth
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Obtain prior approval of excavation method from local authorities.
Use under-pinning method.
Construct retaining wall side by side.
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Movement of vehicles / equipments close to the edge of cut.
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May cause cave-in or slides.
Person may get buried.
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Barricade the excavated area with proper lighting arrangements.
Maintain atleast 2m distance from edge of cut and use stop blocks to prevent over-run.
Strengthen shoring and strutting.
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Narrow deep excavations for pipelines etc.
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Same as above plus frequent cave-in or slides
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May cause severe injuries or prove fatal.
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Battering / benching of sides.
Provide escape ladders.
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Flooding due to hydro-static testing
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May arise drowning situation
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Same as above.
Bail out accumulated water.
Maintain adequate ventilation.
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Rock excavation by blasting
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Improper handling of explosives
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May prove fatal
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Ensure proper storage, handling and carrying of explosives by trained personnel.
Comply with the applicable explosive acts and rules.
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Uncontrolled explosion
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May cause severe injuries or prove fatal.
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Allow only authorized persons to perform blasting operations.
Smoking and open flames are to be strictly prohibited.
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Scattering of stone pieces to atmosphere
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Can hurt people
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Use PPEs like goggles, face mask, helmets etc.
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Entrapping of persons / animals
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May cause severe injuries or prove fatal
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Barricade the area with red flags and blow siren before blasting.
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Misfire
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May explode suddenly
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Do not return to site for atleast 20min or unless announced safe by designated person.
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Piling work
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Failure of pile-driving equipment
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Can hurt people
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Inspect piling rigs and pulley blocks before the beginning of each shift/
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Noise pollution
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Can cause deafness and psychological imbalance.
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Use personal protective equipments like ear plugs, muffs etc.
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Extruding rods/casing
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Can hurt people
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Barricade the area and install sign boards
Provide first aid
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Working in the vicinity of live-electricity
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Can cause electrocution / asphyxiation
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Keep sufficient distance from live electricity as per relevant standard codes.
Shut off the supply if possible.
Provide artificial / rescue breathing to the injured.
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Design of reinforced concrete columns
Type of columns
Failure of reinforced concrete columns
Short column or Long column?
ACI definition
Determine the slenderness factor, k
1. For braced frame with no sway,
2. For unbraced frame with restrains at both ends,
2. For unbraced frame with restrain at one end, hinge at the other.
Example:
Design of reinforced concrete columns
Column ties and spiral
ACI code requirements for column ties
ACI code requirements for spiral
Design of short columns
Design of short concrete columns
Strength of column subjected to axial load only
Strength of column subjected to axial load and bending
Strain and stress distributions of short concrete column at failure and interactive diagram
Design of short concrete column
Design example:
Design of long column in non-sway frame (ACI 318-02,05)
Moment magnification for columns in braced frames (non-sway)
Example:
Design of long column in sway frame
Moment magnification for columns in unbraced frames (sway)
Determine if the frame is a sway frame
Calculating magnified moments
Limitations
Example: