Excavation & Control Measures
Excavation is the process of moving material with equipment, tools, or explosives.
Excavation is generally classified by the type of material that is being removed from the ground, and can also be classified by its purpose. A few types of excavation may include Top Soil, Rock, and Earth; whereas, the purpose can be for roadway, stripping, and bridge excavation. The type of material, and the purpose of excavation can decide on which piece of equipment you will need to use to start and complete the project.
Types of Equipment
Construction Equipment can vary per job and company, but a few options available are the Backhoe, Excavator, Earthmover, Mini Track Loader, and Skid Steer. The piece of equipment that we will discuss in more detail will be the Excavator.
Excavator
An Excavator is hydraulically operated, that consists of a boom, dipper, bucket and a cab on a rotating platform. The usage of the excavator is of course for excavating, but also for material handling, brush cutting with hydraulic saw and
mower attachments, mining, demolition, and much more. Depending on the type and size of the job, will distinguish which size of machine you will actually need. An excavator can come as small as a 6-ton machine that is used for the smallest jobs, and generally up to a 90-ton machine. Different excavator sizes may come with different training and licensing, but one thing that will always stay the same, is safety.
Safety
Individuals that aren’t experienced in the construction industry, tend to think that safety only refers to machines, workers, and traffic, as this is the only thing they really notice while passing through a construction site. What many people don’t realize, is that there is a huge safety issue underground. A big safety concern that construction workers face, would be the underground utilities. Gas, Hydro, and other underground services are major safety concerns, and without being prepared and experienced, a service can be hit while excavating. The reason why hitting an underground service may be an issue, would be because it will cause an outage to the area which will cost the contractor a fortune, may cause an injury, and could also result in death. Eco Groundworks holds a perfect record for not hitting any underground services, as we are well trained and prepared before entering any job site. The safety committee at Eco Groundworks takes all hazards into consideration, and will train and sign off all workers before any job is done year-round. Not all hazards can be avoided on a work site, but every hazard can be controlled.
Control Measures
As previously mentioned, sizes of jobs can vary drastically around the world, which means sizes of the excavation can vary as well. Control measure need to be set in place
depending on the size of excavation. It is important to protect yourself and the people around, so protective systems shall be made. Trench boxes are a common choice, as it shields the workers from the material, protecting them from any potential cave-ins. It is not always an easy task to design a protection system, as many factors need to be considered: depth of cut, soil classification, water content of soil, weather or climate changes, etc. It is important to be prepared before digging, and to have safety measures set in place if and when needed.
As you can see, excavation is not as simple as just digging a hole, many factors come into play. It is important to be educated and prepared for all tasks, and Eco Groundworks follows this, before entering any site. Eco Groundworks will carry this procedure forward, throughout the 2020 year on all projects, such as the Ardrossan Parking Lot Expansion. Eco Groundworks believes that all individuals involved in any project, no matter how big or small it is, should be comfortable and fully understand what the work is, and how it will be completed.
Contact Eco Groundworks for a free quote on your Civil Infrastructure and/or Commercial Landscaping needs at 780-757-0644.