Groundworks method statement template: plan the excavation before the dig

A groundworks method statement should describe the actual site's sequence from surveys and buried-service checks through excavation, protection, inspection, work in the trench and safe backfill. The copyable form below records the decisions and hold points that a supervisor must complete. It is for Great Britain and does not authorise a specific excavation, select a trench-support system or replace a permit, temporary-works design or risk assessment.

HSE's HSG47 guidance frames a safe approach to underground services as planning the work, locating and identifying services, and safe excavation. HSE's excavation guidance warns that ground cannot be assumed to stand unsupported. Those principles must be translated into the real ground conditions, depth, adjacent structures, people, plant and utilities at the site. The existing Complys groundworks RAMS guide owns the explanatory intent. This proposed route is a reusable form for a defined job; merge it with a dedicated existing template if repository review finds one.

Decide the scope and controls first

Before work, obtain drawings and service information from the client and relevant asset owners; consult the project design, ground investigation, temporary-works arrangements and construction-phase plan. Plans are indicators, not guarantees of exact service position. HSE says competent people should use suitable locating devices, identify and mark services, and repeat locating during work. A signed “plans checked” box is not permission to machine dig over a possible live cable.

Decide how collapse will be prevented and how people will enter and leave safely. The competent person must assess whether support, battering or another method is appropriate; there is no universally safe unsupported depth. Consider adjacent foundations, roads, vehicles, spoil and materials near the edge, water, weather and vibration. Protect against people or plant falling in. Make the needed support and barriers available before excavation starts. If a service is struck, a side moves, water enters or a previously unknown structure appears, stop and reassess.

Copyable groundworks method statement

A. Document control and exact task

Stop-work authority: [role/name]. Change approval: [role/name]. State who can redesign support, revise a dig permit or approve a different excavation method. The excavator operator should not make a structural design decision because the crew has already arrived.

B. Pre-start hold points

Do not release digging if buried-service information is missing or inconsistent, the locating result conflicts with the plan, support is unavailable, or an adjacent foundation could be undermined without a competent solution. HSE notes that even a small trench can undermine a shallow boundary wall. Document how uncertainty is resolved; do not replace it with an arbitrary clearance distance copied from a generic form.

C. People, equipment and site controls

Where lifting equipment is used, plan the lift under the relevant lifting requirements; this form does not constitute a lift plan. Where excavation may be a confined space, obtain a competent assessment and the separate controls that apply. Do not automatically label every trench a confined space, or assume none can be one. Check ground contamination, dust and waste hazards against the actual site assessment.

D. Work sequence and control record

HSE's underground-service guidance says plans give only an indication, locating equipment has limits and careful excavation is essential. It describes trial holes using suitable hand tools as necessary and safe practices near cables. The exact method must be chosen for the service type and site. Do not turn the table into “mechanical excavation until a fixed distance” without competent and asset-owner support.

E. Inspection, change and emergency controls

HSE says excavations need inspection and appropriate precautions against collapse, falling material and falls. Record the inspection regime required by the project and law; do not invent a single calendar frequency that fits every changing condition. An excavation that was safe at the start of a shift may need reassessment after rain, support movement or an altered load. Train the team to report warning signs promptly.

F. Briefing, revision and handover

Replace superseded copies. Before each restart, compare actual ground, weather, services, plant and support against the method. The person approving a change should record what changed, why the revised control is adequate and how everyone was re-briefed. Signatures show communication, not that the excavation is automatically safe.

Worked example: drainage trench near a boundary wall

A contractor plans a drainage trench next to an older brick boundary wall. The drawing shows a sewer but service records are incomplete, and the wall's foundation depth is unknown. The template exposes two unresolved hold points: service location and structural support. The supervisor does not permit excavation while a locator is absent or assume the wall can stand beside an open trench. The project obtains service information, locates and confirms lines using a competent method, and seeks competent advice on excavation support and the wall. The work sequence, spoil position and plant route are revised to match those decisions. This scenario illustrates why the form is a gate, not a substitute for engineering judgement.

Common failures to remove from a generic form

• “Services checked” with no plan version, locator evidence or uncertainty.
• A fixed “safe depth” for unsupported sides despite changing ground and loads.
• Spoil, excavator or vehicles loaded close to an unassessed edge.
• “Banksman in place” while pedestrians can still enter the plant zone.
• No safe access/egress or rescue plan for workers in the excavation.
• Temporary support listed but not on site before digging.
• Backfilling without protecting and recording exposed services.
• Continuing after a new service, wall movement or water ingress without revision.

The Complys groundworks RAMS guide explains the hazard context. The generic method statement template covers other activities, while the RAMS product page is the commercial next step for project-specific document creation. Verify the current implementation and trial terms before making product claims. A generated document cannot locate a cable, design trench support or approve a dig permit. Complete this form with a competent team, obtain required authorisations and inspect the controls on site.

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