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Excavation Shoring, Benching and Shielding Risk Assessment

This risk assessment covers excavation work involving shoring, benching and shielding, including planning, set-up, support use and changing conditions.

Activities covered include

  • Review service information and plan the excavation
  • Provide access, egress and edge protection
  • Inspect conditions, communicate changes and prepare for emergencies

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Excavation Shoring, Benching and Shielding Risk Assessment
  • 100% Compliant with Australian WHS Acts & Regulations
  • Fully Editable MS Word & PDF Formats Included
  • Pre-filled Content - Ready to Deploy Immediately
  • Customisable - Easily Add Your Logo & Site Details
  • Includes 2 Years of Free Compliance Updates

Product Overview

This risk assessment covers excavation work involving shoring, benching and shielding, including planning, set-up, support use and changing conditions. It supports planning the work, identifying hazards and managing risks throughout the excavation activity.

Activities & Risks Covered

This assessment addresses activities and risks including:

  • Review service information and plan the excavation
  • Assess ground conditions and select suitable support
  • Set up excavation areas and exclusion zones
  • Manage plant, traffic and spoil near the excavation
  • Install, reposition and remove shoring or trench shields
  • Provide access, egress and edge protection
  • Monitor water ingress and changing ground conditions
  • Manage atmosphere, dust and contaminants in the excavation
  • Carry out manual tasks and tool work safely
  • Inspect conditions, communicate changes and prepare for emergencies

Who is this for?

Suitable for contractors, workers, supervisors and businesses carrying out excavation work involving shoring, benching or shielding.

Activities & Hazards Covered

Activity Potential Hazards
Planning and service location
  • Striking underground electricity, gas, water, sewer or communications services
  • Unplanned excavation method or support selection leading to collapse or service damage
  • Workers relying on outdated service information
Ground assessment and support selection
  • Ground collapse due to unstable soil, vibration, weather or nearby loads
  • Incorrect use of shoring, benching or shielding for actual site conditions
  • Engulfment of workers in trench walls or faces
Excavation set-up and exclusion zones
  • Unauthorised entry into the trench or excavation
  • People falling into the excavation
  • Falling objects entering the excavation from the edge
Plant, traffic and spoil management
  • Excavator, truck or mobile plant striking workers
  • Ground collapse from spoil, vehicles or plant loads in the zone of influence
  • Reversing incidents and poor separation between people and moving plant
Installing and using shoring or trench shields
  • Collapse during installation, repositioning or removal of supports
  • Workers entering areas before support is effective
  • Incorrect placement or damage to shields, braces or sheets
Access, egress and edge protection
  • Workers falling while entering or leaving the excavation
  • Delayed escape during collapse, water ingress or atmospheric event
  • Slips and trips on uneven or muddy access points
Water ingress and changing ground conditions
  • Water in-rush, flooding or softening of trench walls
  • Undermining of shoring, benching or battering
  • Slip, trip and engulfment hazards from mud and unstable footing
Atmosphere, dust and contaminants
  • Low oxygen, flammable gases or airborne contaminants in the excavation
  • Exposure to dust, fumes, buried contaminants or asbestos-containing material
  • Workers overcome due to poor ventilation or lack of monitoring
Manual work, tools and worker positioning
  • Musculoskeletal strain from hand digging, handling trench components or working in awkward postures
  • Workers struck by hand tools when working too close together
  • Vibration or minor tool injuries during trimming and finishing work
Inspection, communication and emergency response
  • Undetected deterioration in trench conditions during the shift
  • Workers not aware of changed conditions, exclusion zones or stop-work triggers
  • Delayed rescue or ineffective response to collapse, service strike or atmospheric incident

Need to tailor this risk assessment?

Use the BlueSafe Portal to add site-specific activities, hazards, controls, responsibilities and review details before the assessment is put into use.

Acceptance Guaranteed: If your client or principal requests changes during document review, BlueSafe will help revise the document at no extra cost and support resubmission until it is accepted.

Legislation & References

The template records model guidance used to inform the documented controls. Applicable WHS/OHS laws and adopted Codes vary by state or territory, so confirm the current local requirements when tailoring the assessment:

  • Model guidance: Model Code of Practice: Excavation work — 2.3. Controlling the risks; p. 17.
  • Model guidance: Model Code of Practice: Hazardous manual tasks — 4.1 The hierarchy of control measures; p. 31.
  • Model guidance: Model Code of Practice: Managing the work environment and facilities — 2. The work environment; p. 13.
  • Model guidance: Model Code of Practice: Managing risks of plant in the workplace — Plant hazard identification — Traffic movements in the workplace; p. 17.
  • Model guidance: Model Code of Practice: Managing the risk of falls at workplaces — 3.2 Identifying the hazards; p. 16.
  • Model guidance: Model Code of Practice: Construction work — 6.2 Workplace specific induction training; p. 41.
  • Model guidance: Model Code of Practice: First aid in the workplace — 3. First aid equipment, facilities and training; p. 12.
  • Model guidance: Model Code of Practice: How to manage and control asbestos in the workplace — 2.1. What is involved in managing risks?; p. 12.

Standard Risk Assessment Features (Click to Expand)
  • Activity-specific hazard identification and control measures
  • Initial and residual risk ratings
  • Assigned responsible persons for each activity
  • Risk matrix and assessment classification
  • Review, monitoring and sign-off fields
  • Site-specific customisation before use

Suitable for Industries

Building and ConstructionCivil Construction and EarthworksMining and Resources

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