Risk Assessment Software

Excavation risk assessment template: a blank site-specific form

Direct answer. An excavation risk assessment should identify the particular ground, depth, services, nearby structures, water, plant and people who could be harmed, then specify how the hazards will be controlled and checked. The blank worksheet below helps a competent team record that decision. It is not a trench-support design, permit to dig or authorisation for someone to enter an unsupported excavation. If information is missing or the ground behaves differently from the plan, stop and obtain the appropriate competent decision before continuing. HSE excavations; HSE HSG47.

This is an assessment form, not a full risk assessment and method statement (RAMS). The existing Complys groundworks RAMS guide owns the combined assessment-and-work-sequence question; its method-statement content need not be duplicated here. An excavation assessment can inform the project method, temporary-works design, construction phase plan and permit-to-dig process, but it does not replace any of them. Confirm the current repository has no equivalent blank excavation form before approving this separate template route.

Decide what is being excavated

“Dig a trench” is not enough detail. Record the length, width, depth and route; whether it is a trench, pit or shaft; how long it stays open; the proposed plant; access and egress; what is close to the edges; and who might enter it. The risk changes if the trench follows a gas main, runs beside a wall, is open to a busy footway, or floods after rain. HSE warns that no ground can be relied upon to stand unsupported in all circumstances. Temporary support and other precautions need planning before digging, with equipment available on site. HSE excavations.

The client should provide relevant pre-construction information, including ground conditions, underground structures or watercourses and existing services. The contractor uses this to plan its work and must seek missing information where it affects safety. The existence of a plan is not proof that every buried service has been found. HSG47 describes three connected steps: plan, locate and identify services, then excavate safely. HSE excavations; HSE HSG47.

Copyable excavation assessment worksheet

The fields are prompts to complete for the actual job. A blank line is not an assessed control. Attach referenced ground reports, utility information, support design and approved work method with version numbers. Remove irrelevant rows, add missing hazards and ask affected workers to review the practical controls.

A. Scope and ownership

Field	Enter site-specific answer
Project, exact location and drawing	`[site, grid, chainage or marked limits]`
Purpose and dimensions	`[pit/trench/shaft; length, width, depth, duration]`
Ground and water information	`[survey, investigation or observed conditions]`
Client/principal contractor	`[name and contact as applicable]`
Excavation contractor and supervisor	`[name, competence and shift coverage]`
Assessment author and competent reviewer	`[names, roles, date and revision]`
People affected	`[excavation crew, adjacent trades, vehicles, pedestrians, occupiers]`
Plant and equipment	`[excavator, vacuum plant, support, pumps, access equipment]`
Related documents	`[service plan, permit to dig, support design, traffic plan, method statement, inspection form]`

Initial boundary: Are people expected to enter the excavation? [yes/no]. If yes, record when, how safe access/egress is provided and the inspection or release required before entry. If a chamber, tunnel or other location may meet the definition of a confined space, assess that risk and use a separate competent entry and emergency plan. Do not use an excavation form as a confined-space permit. HSE confined-space legislation.

B. Evidence before the first cut

Information or approval	Reference and finding	Gap, owner and resolution
Ground conditions and groundwater	`[report/inspection]`	`[insert]`
Buried services and asset owners	`[plans, dates and limitations]`	`[insert]`
Site location/identification checks	`[method, operator and markings]`	`[insert]`
Adjacent foundations, retaining walls or structures	`[survey/engineer input]`	`[insert]`
Support, battering or stepping decision	`[competent assessment/design ID]`	`[insert]`
Spoil, materials and plant setback	`[layout and loading consideration]`	`[insert]`
Access, rescue and emergency arrangements	`[plan and resources]`	`[insert]`
Public/traffic protection	`[approved layout or permit]`	`[insert]`
Contamination, asbestos or hazardous atmosphere	`[known information and specialist assessment]`	`[insert]`

Hold point 1 — enough information? Identify who checks that the plans describe this part of the site, the service-search scope is adequate and the proposed ground/support approach is fit for the conditions. If a service position is uncertain or the nearby wall’s foundation is unknown, record the uncertainty and stop the affected step. HSE says underground service information must be used in a safe system, not treated as an automatic clearance certificate. HSE HSG47.

C. Assess each significant hazard

Hazard and who may be harmed	Existing evidence and control	Additional control needed, owner and check	Stop trigger
Collapse or falling earth onto entrants	`[support/battering design, installation and inspection]`	`[named person, evidence]`	`[movement, cracking, failed support]`
Underground electrical/gas/other service strike	`[plans, detection and safe-dig procedure]`	`[asset owner/permit and checks]`	`[unidentified service]`
Falls into the opening or falling material	`[barriers, edge protection, spoil position]`	`[inspection and repair owner]`	`[barrier fails/edge access changes]`
Plant loading or vehicle collision	`[route, ground capacity, segregation]`	`[traffic/plant control]`	`[plant must approach unsupported edge]`
Undermining an adjacent structure	`[foundation information and engineer/design decision]`	`[support/monitoring]`	`[new settlement or movement]`
Water inflow or flooding	`[groundwater, weather, pumps and escape]`	`[named monitoring person]`	`[inflow exceeds plan]`
Dust, contaminated soil or fumes	`[survey, containment, hygiene and air assessment]`	`[specialist controls if needed]`	`[unknown material/atmosphere]`
Public or other trades entering the area	`[barriers, diversion, supervision]`	`[communication with site lead]`	`[route conflict]`

Do not fill the “control” column with “wear PPE” for structural collapse or a live cable. Eliminate or avoid the hazard where possible, then apply engineered and organisational controls. Record observable evidence: a support design installed and inspected, marked service route, fixed barrier, or approved change to vehicle layout. A lower residual number in a risk matrix is not proof the trench is stable. HSE says precautions must be maintained and a competent person must inspect support or battering at the start of each shift and at other specified times; no work should take place until safe. HSE excavations.

D. Support and edge-protection decision

State the chosen approach and the competent basis: [engineered support / trench box / sheeting / battering or stepping / no entry with plant-only method / other]. Record the design reference, ground assumption, inspection point, installation/removal sequence and what prevents collapse during each intermediate phase. HSE warns against relying on apparently firm ground. The decision may need an engineer or temporary-works specialist. HSE excavations; HSE temporary works.

Record how loose materials are kept from falling in and why plant, vehicles and spoil are positioned where they are. Extra loads at the edge can increase collapse risk. Set out the edge barrier where a person could fall, including public or site visitors. Provide a suitable way in and out where entry is planned. The form does not prescribe a universal setback distance or trench depth at which support first becomes necessary; the competent design must fit ground, load and work. HSE excavations.

E. Service-location and safe-dig decision

List which asset owners supplied plans, when they were issued, and what remains uncertain. Specify the locating equipment and competent operator, how it is checked, how markings will survive the work, and the method of exposing or working near a service. HSE’s HSG47 connects planning, locating/identifying and safe excavation; an excavator bucket should not be the first test for an unknown cable. If unexpected apparatus is encountered, stop, secure the area, identify the owner and revise the method before continuing. HSE HSG47.

Do not assume a service is dead because a plan shows it abandoned. An isolation needs the right owner, proof and record. Consider overhead lines as well as buried services if plant or raised equipment can approach them. If the excavated area contains old pipes, tanks or other contamination hazards, obtain the task-specific assessment rather than calling everything “normal spoil”.

F. Inspection, briefing and changes

Event	Who records the decision and what must be checked?
Before work or entry each shift	`[competent inspector, support/battering, water, edges, spoil, plant and access]`
After rain, vibration, soil fall or other affecting event	`[what changed, inspection finding and release]`
After changing support or excavation dimensions	`[design review, new method, workforce briefing]`
When an unknown service or material is found	`[stop, asset/specialist response, revised permit]`
On completion or handover	`[backfill or protection, remaining opening, record and next trade]`

HSE requires competent inspection of excavations at the start of shifts and after events that may affect strength or stability; its guidance explains when written inspection reports are needed. Record the actual finding and corrective action. “Inspected daily” without a person, time and result is difficult to use. Do not allow an uninspected trench to become an ordinary route for repeated entry because it looked sound the previous afternoon. HSE excavations.

Brief workers on the actual service marks, support, edge restrictions, plant route and stop triggers. Ask the entrant to explain where they exit if water arrives or support moves. Inform other trades when barriers or routes change. Keep superseded versions with the job record so a reviewer can see which assessment governed a particular phase.

Example: why the same trench needs a different assessment

Imagine a 1.5-metre-deep drainage trench in an open plot with surveyed ground and no adjacent structure. The team still needs service location, a support or battering decision, access and inspection. Now move the same nominal trench beside an occupied building, with a narrow footway, delivery vehicles and a known gas main. The dimensions are unchanged, but the assessment is not. The adjoining foundation, public diversion, edge loading, utility owner and emergency access all need separate decisions. Copying the first job’s residual risk score into the second document would conceal those differences.

If a specialist decides a trench box is needed, the assessment should point to the design and how it is installed, moved and inspected. It should not claim that writing “use trench box” makes every phase safe, especially while the box is being lowered or repositioned. The supervisor should also decide whether the excavation can be eliminated or reduced through a different method. HSE says trenchless techniques should be considered at design stage because they can replace major excavation. HSE excavations.

Handover and related pages

Once the excavation is complete, record who confirms a safe condition for the next trade, how any opening remains protected, and what services or temporary works remain. This assessment should connect to the work sequence in a method statement if the operation requires one; it should not be filed away while the method changes. For broader guidance, use the existing groundworks RAMS guide. The proposed civil-engineering RAMS worksheet is a wider work-package form and may be linked only after N5-016 is integrated at a verified route. For drainage work, use the existing drainage RAMS guide; N5-027 was dispositioned MERGE there.

The Complys risk-assessment software page is a possible next step for organisations managing many assessments. Verify the current deployed workflow, canonical URL and commercial terms before promising any feature. Software can organise records, but it does not locate a gas main, inspect shoring or approve an engineering design.

Source and claim register — checked 5 October 2026

Material claim	Primary source	Scope
Excavation collapse, support, edge protection, access and competent inspection requirements	HSE excavations	GB guidance; project-specific design and inspection still required.
Safe work near underground services has planning, locating/identifying and safe-excavation stages	HSE HSG47	Apply to actual service owner and site information.
Temporary works may require engineered support and a controlled management approach	HSE temporary works	No generic support design supplied here.
Avoid regulated confined-space entry where possible, then safe system and emergency arrangements	HSE confined-space legislation	Only after assessing specified risk; excavation alone is not automatic confined-space classification.

Complys helps you keep this organised and current. See Risk Assessment Software; confirm current capabilities for your use before relying on any specific feature.