Piling Health, Safety & Environment
How will operatives, the public and the environment be protected during piling works?
According to the Health and Safety Executive:
Managing risk is one part of health and safety management. You must also have arrangements in place to:
· make the right plans
· implement those plans
· check they are working
· act if they are not
A good starting point when it comes to Health and Safety (H&S) is to visualise what the piling process will look like and identify what the key risks may be in your head.
Our Piling Build Sequence post may help with this.
Piling is a high risk construction activity which should be undertaken by specialists.
Hydraulic piling rig drilling into the ground
Piling Subcontractors need to submit a Risk Assessment Method Statement (RAMS) prior to works commencing with enough time for review by the Main Contractor.
RAMS are to be read and signed by any operatives involved with piling to acknowledge understanding on how risks are to be mitigated and any site specific hazards.
Ensuring the operatives are competent carry out the works can significantly reduce the chance of an incident or accident occurring. The level of competence should be outlined for key roles in the RAMS and a check conducted at Site Induction.
When assessing whether works being carried out, there are a number of steps you can take. Below is an example of what questions to ask yourself and what actions you may take for the Piling Rig:
1. Go onto site and see piling operations:
2. Find a copy of the RAMS in the site office and find section on piling rig:
They may refer to barriers being placed around the work area, a banksman be with the rig at all times and only trained and competent operatives be allowed inside.
3. Go back on to site and check if this is the case:
If the answer is no, it's worth discussing this with your line manager of subcontract supervisor
4. Ask yourself if there's a way to avoid the risk altogether. In this example it's not as the piling rig is essential to operation.
Maybe there's a walkway for other operatives to navigate site close to the piling work area which can be relocated? Maybe any signage installed on barriers isn't visible from all sides?
5. Discuss suggestions with manager in charge of works or subcontract supervisor
Environment
There should be an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the project which does for environmental considerations what RAMS do for health and safety.
There are a number of ways piling could have an impact of the surrounding environment outlined below:
I recommended reading the EIA to see what measures have been put in place to reduce the impact of these.
1. Noise Pollution: piling can generate significant noise levels, this can disrupt neighbours or surrounding wildlife
2. Vibration: process of pile driving creates ground vibrations, these can be detrimental to nearby structures and sensitive ecosystems e.g. damaging trees roots and affecting their health.
3. Water Quality: piling has the potential to introduce pollutants and contaminants into water bodies. These substances may have adverse effects on water quality.
4. Climate Change Impacts: The production of construction materials used for piling, such as concrete and steel, can have a significant carbon footprint, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.
In aquatic environments there are more considerations:
1. Sediment Disturbance: piling can stir up sediment in aquatic environments, leading to clouded water. This can negatively impact aquatic plants and animals that depend on clear water for survival.
2. Disruption of Marine Life: Marine species may be displaced or harmed during piling activities, particularly those that are unable to move away quickly enough to avoid the disturbance.
Definitions
Risk - the likelihood that somebody could get harmed by a hazard
HSE - Health and Safety Executive. Britain's national regulator for workplace health and safety
RAMS - document outlining how works will be conducted. Should record hazards, assess the likelihood and severity of the risk and address how these will be reduced or mitigated
Site Induction - a presentation given to any new operatives attending a construction site explaining the site rules and giving site specific health and safety information
Banksman - an operative on site who supervises the use of vehicles and heavy machinery
EIA - Environmental Impact Assessment evaluates potential effects of the project to make informed, eco-friendly decisions.
Posts to Follow
We plan to go into more details about piling and add sections on:
· Quality
· Programme
· Commercial
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