CROSS Safety Report
Retaining wall excavation collapse
This report is over 2 years old
Overview
A 6m deep excavation formed for constructing a retaining wall on a domestic project collapsed due to insufficient propping.
The reporter raises the importance of carrying out a proper design for temporary works.
Key Learning Outcomes
For construction professionals:
- Having a competent temporary works designer/adviser in place to supply an engineered solution can ensure all temporary works are carefully considered and planned
- Verification of temporary works erection by a competent person who can oversee and coordinate the whole process can also ensure the works are installed correctly
- The Temporary Works forum (TWf) recently published Information Sheet 6: The safe management of temporary works. This advice provides a summary of the key components of BS5975:2019 for those managing temporary works in SMEs.
For civil and structural design engineers:
- Speak to the contractor about your proposed construction methodology, highlighting any particular areas of risk or uncertainty that they should be aware of
- If a contractor wants to change your proposed construction methodology, work with them to check how it impacts your design
- Ask clients and contractors to make you aware of any changes to the brief during construction so that you can consider the impact of the changes on your design
Full Report
Find out more about the Full Report
The Full Report below has been submitted to CROSS and describes the reporter’s experience. The text has been edited for clarity and to ensure anonymity and confidentiality by removing any identifiable details. If you would like to know more about our secure reporting process or submit a report yourself, please visit the reporting to CROSS-UK page.
On a domestic project in a major UK city, a deep excavation collapsed due to insufficient propping, says a correspondent.
The existing property formed part of a 1980s terrace and was constructed on reinforced concrete ground beams and piles. The project was to build a residential basement under the existing property. The basement size was approximately 12m long by 6m wide by 6m deep. The soil investigation showed made ground with decent gravel at around 5m deep.
Basement design
The design for the basement was a separate reinforced concrete box, isolated from the piled structure to prevent differential movement of the terrace. The basement walls were to be cast using the hit and miss underpinning methodology, with 1.2m wide pins as this fitted well with cutting steel mesh sheets in half. The pins were designed to be stable when propped at the base by the basement slab. In the temporary case, the design of the pins required cross propping.
Construction methodology
The designer had suggested that the pins were to be cast in two drives. The first drive to a depth of 3m forming a box around the site, with the pins cross propped. The second drive would then be to the full depth, with the pins again cross propped and the basement slab then cast. The designer had provided a temporary works design for this construction methodology.
From the beginning of construction, the contractor increased the width of the pins from 1.2m to up to 3m, according to the reporter. The designer told the contractor not to do this. The client then altered the brief during construction and asked for the basement length to be extended to the edge of the site. For this extension, the contractor did not excavate in 1.2m wide pins, but instead excavated across the whole 6m width of the site.
The client then altered the brief during construction and asked for the basement length to be extended to the edge of the site. For this extension, the contractor did not excavate in 1.2m wide pins, but instead excavated across the whole 6m width of the site.
The designer had not provided a temporary works design for the 6m wide excavation. The contractor did provide some temporary works in the form of steel trench sheets with walling beams and braces back to the concrete underpins already cast.
Ad hoc temporary works
The reporter goes on to say that the temporary works for the basement extension was an ad hoc on-site provision, which was not designed, drawn or checked, and that the structural elements used were undersized. The 152 Universal Columns (UCs) used for the temporary works buckled as the entire excavation collapsed (Figure 1). There was a manhole at the edge of the site where the basement was extended towards. The manhole had been leaking, so this might have contributed to the collapse, says the reporter. The reporter believes that it was most fortunate that no site staff were killed.
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CDM Regulations 2015 make clear the importance of ensuring that construction work is properly planned, managed and monitored. This applies to both temporary works as well as permanent works. When changes occur, which often happens, co-operation and communication between the various parties is equally important.
Guidance for temporary structures
BS 5975:2019 gives recommendations for temporary structures on building sites, with practical guidelines on design, specification, construction, and the use and dismantling of falsework. Whilst compliance with BS5975:2019 is not a legal requirement, it does provide an authoritative industry guide to the management of temporary works.
The Temporary Works forum (TWf) recently published Information Sheet 6: The safe management of temporary works: The basics for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This advice provides a summary of the key components of BS5975:2019 for those managing temporary works in SMEs.
Management of temporary works for smaller contractors
The Health and Safety Executives (HSE’s) Section Information Minutes (SIMs) on The management of temporary works in the construction industry suggests that for smaller contractors, the principles of BS5975 should be in place if not the formal and specific procedures, in particular: