Exolum Employees generally do not excavate, we do however issue permits and easement access agreements for the works to take place by 3rd parties.

• A suitable and sufficient Safe System of Workmustbeinplace. A Permit to Work and Dig, Easement Access Agreement, Risk Assessment and Method Statement are required before work can take place. A POWRA (Point of Work Risk Assessment) MUST be completed and the excavation inspected
• Ensure work area is fenced off, relevant signage and control measures are in place.
• Before digging commences, known and potentially unknownburiedservicesmustbeidentified.
• All contractors will be operating under their own SSoW Procedure (Safe System of Work), HSG47 Guidance: Avoiding danger from underground services should form part of the SSoW.
• A Confined Space Entry Permit must be issued if the excavation is a deemed to be a confined space.
• Suitable controls must be in place to control the risk of a collapse of the excavation. Battening the excavation sides to a safe angle improves stability.
• Prior to excavating, buried service locating equipment must be used. Hand digging MUST be considered a control for excavating near known buried services. Excavate at depths of 200mm – 300mm scanning at each interval. When using diggers a toothless bucket MUST be attached. Please review HSG47 Guidance: Avoiding danger from underground services.
• Excavated material must be stored at a safe distance from the excavation.
• Backfill should be of a suitable material meeting requirements, placed and compacted under controlled conditions depending on the service being backfilled.
• If at any time damage is found to any service it must be reported immediately to the operator and be investigated before any further backfilling takes place.

*This document describes the basic safety requirement within Exolum. If a higher standard is required by local work practice or legislation, then the higher standard must be adopted.