UK construction-safety guidance by the Riskora Editorial Team
Producing a proper rams for excavation is not optional — it is a legal and practical requirement for construction work in the UK. Whether you are a sole trader or managing a multi-phase project, documented risk management protects your workers, satisfies clients, and keeps you on the right side of HSE enforcement.
Example RAMS
RAMS for Excavation
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Under CDM 2015 and HSE guidance, a RAMS for excavation must be prepared before work begins on any construction site. The principal contractor is responsible for ensuring RAMS are in place, but duty holders at every level must contribute.
A construction contractor in UK needs to produce a rams for excavation before starting work next week. The client has requested professional documentation as a condition of site access. Using Riskora, they select the relevant trade preset, review pre-populated hazards, adjust controls for their specific site, and generate a professional rams in under 5 minutes — ready for review and sign-off.
Regulation 22 of CDM 2015 requires all practicable steps to prevent danger from collapse, from materials falling in, and from any person, plant or material falling into the excavation — and requires inspection by a competent person at the start of every shift, after any accidental fall of material, and after any event likely to affect its strength. HSG47 sets the expected standard for locating buried services: plans, detection equipment and safe digging practice, used together rather than as alternatives.
CDM Regulations 2015, Part 4 reg 22 (excavations) · SI 2015/51
HSE
Confined Spaces Regulations 1997 (deep or gassy excavations) · SI 1997/1713
HSE
Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 · SI 1998/2306
HSE
Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 (buried cables) · SI 1989/635
HSE
Excavation documentation is judged on two things almost exclusively: how the sides are being held up, and how you know what is buried. A trench that is 1.3 m deep and open for two hours has killed people; so has a 300 mm scrape that caught an unmarked LV cable. Documentation that says 'shore as necessary' and 'services will be located' answers neither question.
| Hazard | Control measure |
|---|---|
| Collapse of unsupported or under-supported sides | No entry into any excavation deeper than 1.2 m without a support system — trench box, drag box, sheet piling or battered sides to a designed angle. Support designed or selected by a competent person, installed from outside the excavation, and inspected at the start of every shift and after any event likely to affect stability. |
| Striking buried services — electricity, gas, water, fibre | Utility drawings obtained and on site, CAT and Genny scan by a trained operative immediately before and during dig, services marked on the ground, hand-dig trial holes within 500 mm of any marked service, and no mechanical excavation within the safe distance stated in HSG47. |
| People struck by excavator buckets, tracks or slewing counterweight | Segregation of plant and pedestrians with physical barriers, a banksman where the operator's view is obstructed, agreed signals, 360° camera or CCTV where fitted, and a marked slew exclusion zone that nobody enters while the machine is live. |
| Falls of people, plant or materials into the open excavation | Guardrails or substantial barriers to all open edges, stop blocks set back from the edge for tipping vehicles, spoil stored at least 1.5 m back, and the excavation covered or fenced when left unattended. |
| Oxygen deficiency, ground gas or fume accumulation in deep trenches | Gas monitoring before and during entry where the excavation exceeds 1.2 m or is in made ground or near a landfill, forced ventilation where required, and a written rescue plan with equipment on site before anyone enters. |
| Flooding and water ingress washing out the trench base | Dewatering pumps sized for the expected inflow, discharge consented and silt-managed, work suspended if the base becomes unstable, and re-inspection by the competent person before re-entry. |
There is no single legal depth trigger — CDM 2015 reg 22 requires support wherever there is a risk of collapse. In practice the industry works to 1.2 m as the point at which entry without a support system or battered sides is not defensible, and many principal contractors apply it as a hard rule.
By a competent person at the start of every shift in which work is to be carried out, after any accidental fall of rock, earth or other material, and after any event likely to have affected the strength or stability of the excavation. The inspection is recorded and the record kept on site until the work is complete.
No. HSG47 expects the combination of utility plans, cable-avoidance tools and safe digging practice. Detection equipment misses plastic gas and water pipes and can be defeated by depth or congestion, which is why trial holes and hand digging within 500 mm remain the confirming step.
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Final RAMS must be reviewed and approved by a competent person before use.
Riskora is an assistive document preparation tool. All documents generated must be reviewed, verified, and approved by a competent person before use on site. Riskora does not replace professional safety judgment, and no output should be treated as a legal compliance guarantee.