Excavation Inspection Requirements Under CDM 2015

Pro Site Docs · Guide

Ground does not fail politely. It gives very little warning, and a cubic metre of soil weighs around a tonne and a half. That is why the law sets out exactly when an excavation has to be looked at, and what has to be written down afterwards.

When an excavation must be inspected

Regulation 22 of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 says that where people are working in an excavation, a competent person must inspect it, and any supports or battering:

• at the start of every shift in which work is to be carried out
• after any event likely to have affected its strength or stability — heavy rain, a nearby vibration source, plant tracking close to the edge, a service being exposed
• after any accidental fall of rock, earth or other material

Work must not start, or continue, until the inspection confirms it is safe. If the competent person is not satisfied, the defect is put right before anyone goes back in.

Who counts as competent

CDM does not name a qualification. The person needs the training, knowledge and experience to recognise the risks of that excavation — the ground type, the depth, the water, the support system in use. On most sites that is the supervisor or a trained ganger. It is not a junior operative sent with a clipboard.

What has to be written down

Regulation 24 deals with reports. The person carrying out the inspection must prepare a report before the end of the shift containing:

• the name and address of the person for whom the inspection was done
• the location and description of the place of work inspected
• the date and time of the inspection
• details of anything found that could lead to a risk to anyone's health or safety
• details of any action taken as a result
• details of any further action considered necessary
• the name and position of the person making the report

For the routine start-of-shift inspection, a written report is only required for the first inspection in any seven-day period. Every inspection after an event or a fall of material needs its own report. Check the wording of regulation 24 for your own situation rather than relying on memory.

Where the report goes

The report, or a copy, must be given to the person for whom it was prepared within 24 hours of the inspection. It is kept on site until the work is finished, and then retained for three months. In practice this means a proper excavation inspection register in the site file, filled in on the day, not reconstructed on a Friday.

What the inspector is actually looking at

• Sides — cracking, bulging, loose material, undercutting
• Support — still tight, nothing moved overnight, nothing damaged by plant
• Water — ingress, pumps working, ground softening
• Spoil and plant — stored back from the edge; spoil too close is a surcharge load
• Edge protection and stop blocks for anything tipping or working near the edge
• Access and egress — a secured ladder within easy reach of everyone working
• Services — anything newly exposed since the last shift
• Atmosphere — in deep or confined excavations, gas testing where the assessment calls for it

Get the documents ready-made

Our Excavation & Trench Safety Pack includes an excavation inspection register built around regulations 22 and 24, or take individual inspection templates.

General guidance only. This article explains how the rules generally work in UK construction. It is not advice for your specific site, task or project, and it is not legal advice. Your own risk assessment, method statement and arrangements must be prepared and checked by a competent person for the actual work being done.