To get your SOE permit approval, you must pay heed to the excavation checklist that includes General Jobsite Inspection, Utilities, Access & Egress, Wet Conditions, Hazardous Atmosphere, and Support System.
General Jobsite Inspection for SOE Permit Approval:
- Excavations, adjacent areas, & protective systems inspected by a capable person every day before the onset of work
- A competent person who can decide to remove employees from excavation instantly
- Removal/Support of Surface Impediments
- Employees threatened by loose rock or soil, posing a menace by falling or rolling into the excavation
- Hard hats are worn by employees
- Materials & equipment set back within 2 feet from the verge of the excavation
- Obstacles provided at remotely located excavations, wells, shafts & pits
- Walkways & bridges over excavations, which are 4 feet or more in-depth are fortified with typical guardrails & toe boards
- Warning vests or highly visible clothing provided & worn by employees exposed to public vehicular traffic
- Employees need to maintain distance from vehicles being loaded or unloaded
- A warning system is established & utilized while mobile equipment is functioning close to the verge of the excavation
- Employees are proscribed from going under suspended loads & prohibited from working on the facets of inclined or benched excavations above other employees
Utilities for SOE Permit:
- Utility companies communicated and the location of utilities
- The specific location of the marked utilities
- Underground installations that are protected, supported, or removed while excavation is open
Access & Egress:
- Lateral travel to means of egress not more than 25 feet in excavations & 4 feet in depth
- Structural ramps used by employees designed by a competent person
- Structural ramps used for equipment designed by a registered professional engineer
- Employees shied from collapses while entering or departing the excavation
Site Location:
- Date, Time & the Persons Managing the Site
- Soil Classification with the Depth & Width of Excavation
- Kind of Protective System Used
Wet Conditions:
- Precautions for protecting employees from water accumulation
- Water removal equipment monitored by a competent person
- Surface water/runoff diverted or controlled to prevent accumulation in the excavation
- Inspections made after every rainstorm or other hazard-increasing occurrence
Checking the Hazardous Atmosphere for SOE Permit:
- Testing the Atmosphere within the excavation where there is a probability of an oxygen shortage, inflammable or other detrimental contaminant revealing employees to a hazard
- Adequate precautions for protecting employees from exposure to an atmosphere encompassing less than 19.5% oxygen and to other hazardous atmospheres
- Providing ventilation to prevent employees’ exposure to an atmosphere containing flammable gas over 10% of the lower explosive limit of the gas
- Testing conducted to ensure the safety of the atmosphere
- Emergency equipment, like breathing apparatus, safety harnesses & lifelines, and basket stretchers where hazardous atmospheres exist
- Training employees to use personal protective & other rescue equipment
- Using safety harness & lifeline while entering deep confined excavations
Support Systems for Acquiring SOE Permits
- Materials & equipment for support systems based on soil analysis, trench depth & expected loads
- Inspecting materials & equipment used for protective systems to see whether they are in good condition
- Removing materials & equipment if they are not in good condition
- Damaged materials & equipment used for protective systems are to be inspected by a registered professional engineer after repairs & before placing back into service
- Installation of protective systems without uncovering staff to the dangers of collapses, or risk of getting obstructed by materials/equipment
- Members of the support system securely attached to prevent failure
- Ensure that the support systems provide stability to the nearby structures, roads, & walls
- Checking the backfilling progress with the removal of the support system
- Material excavation to a level not more than 2 feet beneath the bottom of the support system and only if the system is intended to support the loads calculated for the full depth
- Placing the shield system to prevent lateral movement
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