Under my feet right now you'll find soil,
clay, minerals and even a few creepy
crawlies. But what else can be under there?
Just 30 centimeters below ground you
could also find cables, pipes and 132
thousand volts of electricity. That's
enough to power up to almost 10,000
homes and kill you in an instant. So
whether you're excavating to connect
services to a high-rise or just putting
in a letterbox every time you dig you
run the risk of being injured by an
electric shock from striking underground
electricity cables. You could also cut
the electricity supply to thousands of
homes schools and hospitals in your area
and cause damage to plant and equipment
which could add up to millions of
dollars and some pretty serious legal
liabilities. Whatever the job, there's just one
simple thing to remember before digging
up any surface: if you don't know what's
under the ground don't dig. So how do you
know? Well it's easy. Just follow the 4
P's of safe excavation: Planning,
Potholing, Protecting and Proceeding.
Before you even touch a crowbar or pick
up a shovel you have to plan your dig.
First thing getting contact with dial
before you dig. They are a free national
referral service designed to prevent
damage and disruption to the vast pipe
and cable networks. You can find them by
calling double one double zero (1100), downloading the
Dial Before You Dig app or
online at 1100.com.au
When you give your dig location
they'll pass your referral on to the
affected asset owners who will then send
the information directly to you
if there's anything you don't understand
contact your local electricity network
provider. They can help. Once you have
your plans it's time to do your risk
assessment and this includes planning
for any hazards that might pop up during
your job. This can include checking the
site conditions including depth of
excavation and any visual clues of
underground cables like markings on foot
paths and roads; looking for faults or
fractures in rocks; ensuring you have the
right tools to carry out the work safely
and looking out for physical hazards
like traffic environmental conditions
unauthorized site access and other
nearby utility including overhead power
lines.
working near underground assets
including energized electrical cables is
high-risk construction work and that
requires a safe work method statement.
You can find out more information about
high-risk construction work and safe
work method statements by visiting
safework.nsw.gov.au. Remember
planning your job could save your life.
Next up is potholing. No, not that one!
Pot holing or soft digging will help
establish the exact location of all
underground infrastructures. There are
two ways you can do this: non-destructive
digging and manual potholing.
Non-destructive digging involves
excavating using high-pressure water or
compressed air to break up the ground.
This can then be removed using a
high-powered vacuum just like this one
behind me. For smaller excavation jobs
manual potholing can be used. This means
you can use simple tools like shovels
hoes and picks. The third p is to protect
the work area. This can include cables,
holes as well as access to the site.
Protecting the work area is always the
responsibility of the excavator. You also
have a duty of care to ensure the
correct safety barriers are put in place.
So here are four key things to consider:
The first is to ensure the stability of
trenching. This involves shoring up the
hole and benching to reduce the depth
and provide safe access. For all open
trenches on work sites there must be
secure and safe access and egress to the
asset owners. This could be through
adequate walk boards or other solid
foundations. The excavation should also
be properly fenced with appropriate
safety signage to prevent unauthorized
access. You may also need to appoint a
safety observer; a worker whose role is
to ensure
all work is carried out in accordance
with the safe work method statement. That
doesn't mean that the rest of the crew
can slack off. It's everyone's
responsibility to ensure a safe site. The
safety observer will ensure safe
distances from underground assets are
maintained. When it comes to directional
boring you'll need to stop and get in
contact with your local electricity
network provider before the excavation
takes place. So now that you've planned,
potholed and protected the site it's
time to proceed and get on with the job
but before you dig in it's worth going
through what to do if something does go
wrong. If you strike a cable, don't
panic. Call your local electricity
network provider to switch off power or
report damage and keep at least eight
meters away from the incident site. If
the situation is not controllable, dial
triple zero (000) straight away. If someone has
suffered an electric shock do not touch
or attempt to rescue them or you could
end up seriously injured too. If the
machine you're using touches a cable
remain on or inside your machine until
the supply is disconnected. Excavation
safety is all about being in the know.
Knowing the environment, knowing your
tools and equipment, knowing the right
steps to getting the job done properly
without causing damage. Because knowing a
few simple steps could save your life. So
If you don't know don't dig.