Excavations and buried services online course

What gets asked for. CDM regulation 15(7) says a contractor must not put anyone to work on a construction site without the skills, knowledge, training and experience for the tasks they are given. A dated certificate for each person is part of the evidence you can show.

Who it is for

Groundworkers and labourers who dig, or work in or beside a trench
Drainage, cable and pipe-laying crews who open up the ground for services
Small builders and civils firms who dig footings, soakaways and drains
Anyone you put in or beside a trench, including new starters

What it covers

Why excavations collapse, and what regulation 22 of CDM 2015 asks
Holding the sides up: battering, stepping, shoring and trench boxes, with the support going in as the dig goes down
Spoil, plant, barriers and stop blocks at the edge, and digging near walls and scaffolds
Inspection by a competent person, the record, and ladders for the way out
Finding buried services with plans, a locator and marking, and digging safely near them
What to do if you hit a cable, a gas pipe or a water main
Bad air, water coming in, and when to get out

How it works

Buy places. Pay by card. Your order page is ready as soon as the payment goes through.
Send the join link to your staff. One link covers everyone. Each person types their name and starts.
They do the lessons on their own phone. It takes about 30 minutes in all, and they can stop and carry on later.
They sit the test. It is marked by the system. Anyone who misses is told which lessons to read again. After a miss there is a wait before the next try, and after six tries in a row the lessons are read again.
A pass gives a certificate. It has a QR code anyone can scan to check it, and your order page links to every one.
You sign off the practical. Each certificate comes with a sign-off sheet. You watch the person do the job on your own equipment, tick each check and sign. The online course teaches the knowledge. You decide who is authorised to do the work.

The law behind it

CDM 2015 regulation 22: all practicable steps must be taken to stop an excavation collapsing, material falling in, and anyone being buried or trapped. Source: legislation.gov.uk
CDM 2015 regulation 22(4): work in a supported or battered excavation must not be carried out unless a competent person has inspected it at the start of the shift, after any event likely to have affected its stability, and after any material falls or is dislodged. Source: legislation.gov.uk
CDM 2015 regulation 24: when a competent person finds an excavation is not safe to work in, a written report goes to the person the inspection was done for within 24 hours. It is kept available for an HSE inspector at the site until the work is completed, and for 3 months after. Source: legislation.gov.uk
CDM 2015 regulation 15(7): a contractor must not employ or appoint a person to work on a construction site unless that person has, or is getting, the necessary skills, knowledge, training and experience for the tasks they are given. Source: legislation.gov.uk
Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 2(2)(c): the employer must provide the information, instruction, training and supervision necessary to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, employees' health and safety at work. Source: legislation.gov.uk
HSE says excavation work should not start until steps have been taken to identify and prevent any risk of injury from underground services. Source: hse.gov.uk

What you get

Eight short lessons on the learner's own phone, about half an hour in all
A test marked automatically, with a different mix of questions each attempt
A certificate with a QR code that anyone can scan to check it is real
A page for you showing who has taken the course and who has passed
A practical sign-off and authorisation sheet for you to complete on your own site

£22.50 a place is the whole price. It costs the same for one place or fifty.

The lessons

Why a trench kills, and how this course works4 min
Holding the sides up3 min
The edge: spoil, plant and barriers4 min
Inspection, the record and the way out4 min
Buried services: find them before you dig4 min
Digging near services4 min
If you hit something4 min
Bad air, water and when to get out3 min

Read the first lesson free

Free preview

Why a trench kills, and how this course works

HSE says a cubic metre of soil can weigh more than 1.5 tonnes, depending on the ground. A cubic metre is not a big heap. But that is the weight that comes down on whoever is underneath.

Every year people are killed or seriously injured working in excavations. Many are caught by a collapse or by something falling in. HSE's construction guide says it is quite common for a cubic metre of soil to collapse into an unsupported excavation, and puts its weight at as much as a tonne. Either way, it is far too heavy to hold up or dig out.

No ground can be relied on to stand unsupported in all circumstances.

What the law asks of your employer

Do everything that can be done to stop the sides collapsing, stop material falling in, and stop anyone being buried or trapped (CDM 2015, regulation 22).
Have a competent person inspect the excavation at the start of each shift, and after anything that could have weakened the sides. Regulation 22 requires it where the sides are supported or battered, and HSE advises it for every excavation.
Only put you to work on a construction site if you have, or are getting, the training and experience for the tasks you are given (regulation 15).

How this course works

You do the lessons on your phone, a few minutes at a time. Then you take a test. It is marked automatically, not by you or by us. Pass, and you get a certificate with a QR code that anyone can scan to check it.

The certificate shows you completed the course and passed the test. Then your employer sees you work on a real job with the firm's own kit and writes down, on a sign-off sheet, which excavation work you are authorised to do. That part cannot be done on a phone.

Passing the test gets you the certificate. Your employer decides what excavation work you do, after watching you work.

Practice question

You have passed the online test. Who decides what excavation work you are authorised to do?

Questions

How long does it take?

About half an hour. Each lesson is a short read, so it can be done in bits on a break. The test is 15 questions.

What is the certificate?

It records that the holder completed the online course and passed the test, with the date and a QR code. It is evidence you can keep on file. It sits alongside the practical sign-off on your own site.

How does the practical part work?

You watch the person work on your own site and tick off the items on the sign-off sheet that comes with the certificate. You then authorise them, in writing, for the excavation work you list. PHW does not do this part, because only you know your site.

Can staff do it on a phone?

Yes. Each person gets their own link and does the lessons and the test on their own phone. Nothing needs installing.

How can anyone check a certificate?

Scan the QR code on it, or enter the certificate number on the PHW verify page. It shows the holder's name, the course and the date, and that the certificate is genuine.

What happens if someone fails the test?

They are told which lessons to read again, and they can take the test again. Each attempt draws a different mix of questions.

How often should it be repeated?

The certificate shows the date it was issued. You decide when to retrain, for example when the work or the equipment changes.

What if someone loses their link?

They can ask for it again by email on the "Lost my link" page, as long as they gave an email address when they started.

Ready?

£22.50 a place, the whole price

This is PHW training with a certificate of completion. It is not an accredited qualification, so it is for you to decide whether it is enough for your business.