SiteSorted
Excavation and earthworks · United Kingdom

Method statement for foundation excavation

By SiteSortedBuilt from HSE guidance and CDM 2015 · How we write and check theseUpdated

You must assess the risks of foundation excavation and record the significant findings if you employ 5 or more people. On CDM sites the principal contractor will ask for RAMS before you start.

RAMS cover the hazards, who could be harmed and how, the controls and the safe sequence of work, and the crew is briefed and signs. The main hazards are hitting underground services, being hit by mobile plant, trench or excavation collapse and falling through a floor opening or void.

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RAMS example: foundation excavation

This is a complete RAMS for foundation excavation, with 5 job steps. Open it in the builder to add your site, crew and signatures, change anything, and download a PDF. Or download the free Word template below and fill it in by hand.

Risk Assessment and Method Statement (RAMS)
Footing excavation · Excavation and earthworks · Example
Document RAMS-001 · Rev 1

Risk assessment

#ActivityHazardsWho might be harmedRisk beforeControlsRisk after
1Get utility plans and set out footings
  • Hitting underground services
Workers, PublicVery high (15)
  • Keep machine buckets well clear of marked services and use a spotter. Isolate
  • Do a CAT and Genny scan before digging and mark services on the ground. Control (engineering)
  • Hand dig trial holes to find services before machine digging (safe digging practice). Control (engineering)
  • Get utility plans before digging and check them against what you see on site. Control (procedures)
  • Keep plans or locate tickets on site and check them again if the work area grows. Control (procedures)
  • If you hit a service, stop, get everyone clear, and call the owner and emergency services. Control (procedures)
  • Wear safety boots, gloves and hi-vis when digging. PPE
Medium (5)
2Set up an exclusion zone around the machine
  • Being hit by mobile plant
Workers, Visitors, PublicVery high (15)
  • Separate people and plant with barriers, exclusion zones and marked walkways. Isolate
  • Use plant with working reversing alarms, cameras and lights. Control (engineering)
  • Have a traffic management plan showing plant routes, loading areas and pedestrian paths. Control (procedures)
  • Use a spotter when reversing or working near people. Control (procedures)
  • Make eye contact with the operator before going near. Stay out of the swing radius. Control (procedures)
  • Operators hold a CPCS, NPORS or equal card for the plant they use. Control (procedures)
  • Do a pre-start check on each machine every day and record it. Control (procedures)
  • Wear hi-vis clothing and a hard hat. PPE
Medium (5)
3Dig to the engineer depth, checking ground stability
  • Trench or excavation collapse
WorkersVery high (15)
  • Use methods that keep people out of the trench, such as directional boring or working from the surface. Eliminate
  • Barricade or cover the excavation so people and plant cannot fall in. Isolate
  • Support or batter back the sides of any excavation where collapse could happen. Use trench boxes or sheet piling for deeper trenches. Control (engineering)
  • Keep spoil, materials and plant at least 1 metre back from the edge. Control (engineering)
  • Provide a safe way in and out, such as a ladder near where people work. Control (engineering)
  • Inspect the excavation at the start of each shift and after rain or anything that could weaken it. Record it. Control (procedures)
  • Never work alone in a trench. Watch for water, cracks and bulging walls, and get out if you see them. Control (procedures)
  • Wear a hard hat, hi-vis and safety boots. PPE
Medium (5)
4Cover or barricade open footings at the end of each day
  • Falling through a floor opening or void
  • Public entering the work area
Workers, Visitors, Public, ChildrenVery high (15)
  • Cover every hole and penetration with a fixed, secured cover marked "HOLE" or "DANGER". Isolate
  • Put guardrails with toe boards around stairwells, lift shafts, voids and open edges. Isolate
  • Install stairs early and fit temporary handrails as soon as they go in. Control (engineering)
  • Never remove a cover or guardrail without approval. Put it back straight away. Control (procedures)
  • Inspect covers and barriers daily and after other trades have been through. Control (procedures)
  • Keep lighting good enough to see openings, especially on lower floors and in the evening. Control (procedures)
  • Use a harness clipped to a rated anchor when working right next to an open void. PPE
  • Fence off the site with secure temporary fencing and lock the gates when you leave. Isolate
  • Give pedestrians a safe, marked path around the work, with ramps for prams and wheelchairs. Isolate
  • Use hoarding, covered walkways or catch fans where work is above public areas. Control (engineering)
  • Put signs at each entry: site name, contact number and "No unauthorised entry". Control (procedures)
  • Make the site safe at the end of each day: cover holes, lower plant, remove ladders and lock tools away. Control (procedures)
  • Use a spotter when moving plant or materials across public paths. Control (procedures)
Medium (5)
5Remove water and loose soil before inspection
  • Drowning
  • Slips and trips
Workers, Visitors, PublicHigh (10)
  • Work from the bank or a platform instead of in or over the water where you can. Eliminate
  • Put up barriers or guardrails along water edges. Isolate
  • Pump out flooded pits and excavations before work. Control (engineering)
  • Never work near deep water alone. Keep a rescue person with a throw line or life ring ready. Control (procedures)
  • Check water levels and the weather, and stop work in floods or fast-flowing water. Control (procedures)
  • Wear a life jacket when working over or next to water deep enough to drown in. PPE
  • Plan walkways and keep them clear of materials, hoses and leads. Eliminate
  • Run leads and hoses overhead on hooks or stands, or along walls, not across walkways. Control (engineering)
  • Fill or cover holes, and lay boards or mats on muddy access paths. Control (engineering)
  • Clean up offcuts, packaging and spills as you go, not at the end of the day. Control (procedures)
  • Keep work areas, stairs and access paths well lit. Control (procedures)
  • Wear safety boots with good grip, laced up. PPE
Medium (5)

Method statement: sequence of work

  1. Get utility plans and set out footings
  2. Set up an exclusion zone around the machine
  3. Dig to the engineer depth, checking ground stability
  4. Cover or barricade open footings at the end of each day
  5. Remove water and loose soil before inspection

PPE

Safety bootsHi-vis vestSafety helmetEar defenders

Plant and equipment

Excavator (360): CPCS or NPORS excavator cardSkid steer loader: CPCS or NPORS skid steer cardHand tools

Permits and plans

Permit to dig

Emergency

Call 999. Add the nearest A&E, the assembly point and the first aider for your site.

Sign-off

Supervisor and every worker sign to confirm they have read and understood this RAMS.

Free RAMS template for foundation excavation

Word (.docx) and PDF, A4 landscape, no email needed. Fill in your site details, then print or send it.

Word template (.docx)PDF template

Make yours in 2 minutes

Same document, filled in for your job. Answer a few yes or no questions, the crew signs on the phone, and you send the PDF.

Start this RAMS

Pre-start checklist for foundation excavation

Tick these off before work starts. They come from the hazards, permits and equipment in this job.

The safe sequence of work

  1. Get utility plans and set out footings
  2. Set up an exclusion zone around the machine
  3. Dig to the engineer depth, checking ground stability
  4. Cover or barricade open footings at the end of each day
  5. Remove water and loose soil before inspection

Hazards to watch on foundation excavation

The hazards most specific to this job, and the step where each one comes up.

Step 5DrowningA worker falls into a river, dam, pool or flooded pit and drowns or is swept away.
Step 3Trench or excavation collapseThe trench walls cave in and bury or crush a worker. Any excavation can collapse, however shallow. Sides must be supported or battered back wherever a collapse could hurt someone.
Step 1Hitting underground servicesDigging, drilling or driving pegs hits a buried power cable, gas pipe or water main, causing electrocution, explosion or flooding.
Step 4Falling through a floor opening or voidA worker steps into an open hole, stairwell, lift shaft or penetration and falls to the level below.
Step 2Being hit by mobile plantExcavators, loaders, telehandlers and trucks run over or crush workers, especially when reversing or slewing.
Step 5Slips and tripsWorkers slip on wet or muddy ground or trip on leads, offcuts and uneven ground, causing sprains, broken bones or head injuries.
Very likelyLikelyPossibleUnlikelyVery unlikelyHow bad it could be: Negligible to FatalBA
Highest risk on foundation excavation: Very high before controls (B), down to Medium after controls (A), on the United Kingdom 5 by 5 risk matrix (possible and fatal becomes very unlikely and fatal).

What changes on your site

This example covers the job itself. Your site may add more. Add controls for any of these that apply (the builder asks you these as yes or no questions):

  • Will anyone work at height, anywhere a fall could hurt them?
  • Will anyone use a ladder or stepladder?
  • Will anyone work on a roof?
  • Is there a fragile roof, skylight or clear roof sheet?
  • Will you use a scaffold or mobile tower?

Licences and legal requirements in United Kingdom

Equipment on this job that needs a licence, ticket or training:

  • Excavator (360): CPCS or NPORS excavator card
  • Skid steer loader: CPCS or NPORS skid steer card

Employers must assess the risks of their work and record the significant findings (required where you employ 5 or more people). On CDM projects, contractors give their RAMS to the principal contractor before starting, and brief the workers on it.

Rules that apply: HSE HSG47 Avoiding danger from underground services; CDM Regulations 2015 and PUWER 1998; CDM Regulations 2015, regulation 22 (excavations); Work at Height Regulations 2005; CDM Regulations 2015.

Why RAMS get rejected

Principal contractors send documents back for these reasons. This example avoids them, but check yours too.

  • The method statement is only a list of headings that repeats the risk table and never says how the work is done.
  • The method sequence does not match the risk assessment, for example the method strips the roof before the scaffold is handed over.
  • Residual risk is still High after controls with no extra measures or explanation.
  • It reads as copied: another firm, another address, or wording that does not fit UK sites. HSE warns that copying an example and adding your name does not satisfy the law.
  • Work on an older building with no reference to an asbestos survey.
  • Plant and access equipment listed with no inspection, thorough examination or competence evidence.
  • No briefing record, no revision history, or no named supervisor.

Questions

Do I need RAMS for foundation excavation?

You must assess the risks of foundation excavation and record the significant findings if you employ 5 or more people. On CDM sites the principal contractor will ask for RAMS before you start.

Who signs the RAMS?

The person who wrote it and the person who approved it sign and date it. Every worker signs the briefing register after it is explained to them, and the principal contractor reviews and accepts it before you start.

How long do I keep it?

Keep this RAMS, every revision and the signed briefing register with the site file for the length of the job, and keep a copy in your records afterwards.

What PPE is needed for foundation excavation?

Usually Safety boots, Hi-vis vest, Safety helmet, Ear defenders. The site rules may add more, so check with the principal contractor.

More excavation and earthworks RAMS

RAMSTrench Excavation10 stepsRAMSSite Strip and Levelling6 stepsRAMSSwimming Pool Excavation8 stepsRAMSSurface Water Drainage Installation5 stepsRAMSPost Hole Digging5 stepsRAMSBackfill and Compaction5 steps

Related jobs in other trades

ScaffoldingScaffold ErectionAlso involves public entering the work areaRoofingRe-RoofingAlso involves public entering the work areaBricklayingBrickworkAlso involves being hit by mobile plant

Toolbox talks for this job

Toolbox talkSlips, Trips and FallsToolbox talkExcavation and Trench SafetyToolbox talkUnderground Services and CAT and GennyToolbox talkMobile Plant and Spotters

Blank RAMS template: free RAMS templates. Also for other countries: Australia (SWMS) · United States (JHA) · Canada (FLHA)

Sources