Activity
Excavation
Ground excavation and associated safety interfaces.
Documents
- 20221 Nov
Live sub-surface power cable inadvertently cut
An excavator cut an energised buried power cable during onshore pipeline trenching, without injuries or equipment damage. Incomplete as-built information and misleading drawings left the cable hazard unidentified in risk assessment. The flash highlights isolation, cable tracking during excavation planning and clear communication of stop-work authority.
- 202017 Mar
Trencher angle inadvertently altered
Accidental joystick activation during offshore trenching raised the cutting wheel and reduced cutting depth, unnoticed during a shift handover and computer reboot. No equipment or permanent material damage occurred. The flash examines interface design and alarm tolerances, describing revised alarm settings, cessation of trenching during handovers and joystick deactivation.
- 201829 Nov
Ground Disturbance Hazard Alert
This hazard alert addresses buried utility strikes during US onshore upstream oil and gas ground disturbance. It outlines responsibilities for operators, excavators and line locators, including 811 notification, crossing permits, contractor competence checks, locating techniques, excavation method selection and reporting suspected damage rather than concealing it.
- 20182 Mar
Fatality: worker crushed between two items of moving plant
This safety flash describes a fatal crushing between a reversing 21-tonne tracked excavator engaged in digging and a stationary dumper truck. It reports HSE advice on safeguarding and pedestrian segregation where separate activities cannot be avoided, and invites members to review traffic separation in quayside, dry dock and shipyard contexts.
- 2017
Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT) - Annual Report 2017
This annual report analyses 2017 underground utility damage submissions from the United States and Canada. It examines root causes, excavation patterns and reporting completeness, using consistent-reporter comparisons and Poisson regression to estimate damage totals. Voluntary reporting and unknown entries limit interpretation of trends.
- 2016
Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT) - Annual Report 2016
Annual analysis of underground utility damage reports from the United States and Canada examines excavation practices, notification, enforcement and reporting completeness. It consolidates duplicate submissions, estimates national damages using regression modelling, and discusses transmission-normalised rates and minimum societal costs. Interactive dashboards support comparisons, with explicit exclusions and limitations.
- 201219 Feb
Near Miss – Track Hoe Contacts 5 KV Power Cable
A near-miss alert describes a track hoe bucket contacting a 5 kV cable during mechanical excavation of two pipelines. Hydro excavation and survey drawings had identified the cable beside the pipeline. The cable subsequently shorted when the ground disturbance supervisor moved it manually.
- 201015 Jul
Risks associated with working on or near lamp columns with non-standard roots during excavation works
This safety alert addresses excavation near lamp columns with non-standard foundations following a fatal collapse caused by cutting a horizontal foundation connection. It describes offset root designs and calls for asset information sharing, enquiries and agreed planning with owners, alongside identification of unusual buried objects before disturbance.
- 2008Apr
Gasoline pipeline damaged by construction causes fire — Process Safety Beacon, April 2008
A construction excavation punctured a gasoline pipeline, releasing vapours that ignited in a fatal explosion and fire. Ground markings differed from engineering plans, and workers did not verify the pipe’s position with hand tools. The bulletin emphasises underground utility verification, excavation permits, safety reviews and training in emergency procedures.
- Undated
ASCE 38-02 - Standard Guideline for the Collection and Depiction of Existing Subsurface Utility Data
This abridged consensus standard classifies existing subsurface utility information into quality levels A–D. It sets out engineer and owner tasks, combining records research, surveyed surface features, geophysical tracing and minimally intrusive exposure. It also addresses mapping conventions, deliverable formats and the relative costs and benefits of improving data reliability.