Ground Works
Multi-Casualty Lower-Basement Medical Response, Evacuation & SIMOPS Enforcement
Project-adaptation procedure for a congested lower-basement workface where a collapse, crane incident, falling object, formwork failure, fire or flood produces multiple actual or potential casualties: readiness gate, alarm and zoning clock, triage and casualty movement, command roles, and an NC-1 to NC-5 enforcement matrix that separates authority sanction from contractual remedy. Not a substitute for emergency-service instruction, the approved emergency plan, fire/life-safety design or contract review.
v2.1Updated 9 Aug 2026ADOSH-SF v4.1 (February 2026)Learning Objectives
- Apply the operating sequence: raise alarm, stop and isolate, account for people, make the scene safe, establish incident command, triage and treat, extract through protected routes, hand over to emergency services, preserve the scene, revalidate before restart.
- Verify the lower-basement emergency readiness gate for every active level, including a secondary route that shares no crane, hoist, stair, ramp, power source or opening with the primary route.
- Run the 0–2, 0–5, 0–10, 0–15 and 0–20 minute action ladder with named accountable roles.
- Set Hot, Warm and Cold zones and locate triage clear of lift, fall, secondary-collapse, smoke and flood envelopes.
- Limit casualty movement to trained handlers, approved transfer methods and the protected casualty path.
- Classify a breach NC-1 to NC-5 and apply authority enforcement and contractual remedy as two separate tracks.
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1. Scope and Operating Rule
This procedure applies when a structural collapse, crane incident, falling-object event, formwork failure, uncontrolled load, excavation support movement, fire, flooding or related event produces multiple actual or potential casualties in a congested lower-basement workface. The first priority is to prevent a second casualty event. The sequence is: raise alarm → stop and isolate → account for people → make the scene safe → establish incident command → triage and treat → extract through protected routes → hand over to emergency services → preserve the scene → revalidate before restart. No person may enter a collapse, unstable formwork, suspended-load, damaged-crane or compromised-shoring area to attempt an improvised rescue. Entry is permitted only where the Incident Controller and a competent rescue lead have confirmed the route is safe, or under the direction of responding emergency services. Crane hooks, slings, formwork, rebar cages, temporary shoring and unapproved lifting equipment must never be used to move casualties.
2. Pre-Incident Readiness Gate
The Principal Contractor maintains a live Lower-Basement Emergency Readiness Plan for every active basement level. ADPHC CoP 46.0 requires safe underground access and egress, rapid first-aid provision, accessible stretchers, arrangements to remove injured workers, prompt ambulance access to access points, evacuation arrangements, rescue capability and local emergency-service communication; where normal access depends on mechanical plant, a readily available secondary means of egress is required. Gate elements: incident command roster (Incident Controller, Deputy, Rescue/Medical Lead, Lifting Isolation Lead, Access & Traffic Marshal, Headcount Lead, Communications Lead, Logistics/records lead) for every shift; route architecture with a primary protected egress route and a separately viable alternative that does not share the same crane, hoist, staircase, ramp, temporary power source or opening; a protected casualty path from each workface to a collection point and then to the ambulance transfer point, outside lift/fall zones, pump-hose zones, laydown and plant routes; medical capability sized by the emergency assessment; a pre-agreed emergency-service interface with bilingual address, grid/level plan and rendezvous point; staged rescue equipment matched to the approved plan; clearly marked emergency isolation for crane, pump, plant, temporary power and dewatering; a defined no-entry boundary and handover protocol for technical collapsed-structure rescue; and controlled information at the incident command point.
3. Alarm, Stabilisation and Scene Zoning
0–2 minutes: activate the alarm and emergency call; issue all stop for crane lifting, concrete pumping, earthmoving, deliveries and non-essential temporary power, including adjacent levels where debris, load travel, vibration or structural transfer can reach the incident zone. Do not allow self-deployed rescuers into an unstable, suspended-load or collapse zone. 0–5 minutes: call emergency services with project name, gate, basement level, grid/workface, number of known and missing people, collapse/crane hazards, access limitation and the safe rendezvous point; dispatch a gate guide and basement route marshal. Never wait for injury classification, authority notification or manager approval before calling. 0–10 minutes: establish the Hot Zone (collapse/fall/load risk — emergency service and rescue only), Warm Zone (triage, rescue staging) and Cold Zone (command, records, family/witness management, logistics). Triage must never sit inside a lift/fall envelope, secondary-collapse zone, smoke/flood route or evacuation route. 0–15 minutes: isolate crane and lifting equipment, concrete pumps, mobile plant, temporary power and dewatering only where isolation does not worsen flooding, ventilation, structural stability or rescue access; record every isolation and retain a resilient duty/standby water-control decision. 0–20 minutes: headcount by employer, workface and access log; identify missing, trapped, injured, evacuated and unaccounted people and map last-known locations — but do not dispatch search teams into unsafe zones or rely on one supervisor's verbal estimate.
4. Multi-Casualty Medical Response and Casualty Movement
The Medical Lead works only within the competence and equipment of the site first-aid team and hands clinical command to emergency medical services on arrival. The site does not diagnose beyond its training scope. Establish the primary triage/casualty collection point in the Warm Zone adjacent to but not obstructing the ambulance transfer route, and identify a secondary point in case the first is compromised by smoke, water, falling-object risk or blocked access. Use the project/EMS-approved mass-casualty triage tags and record identity, employer, location found, time, visible mechanism, initial actions and transfer destination — never a parallel improvised tag system. Address immediate lifesaving needs within trained scope and protect casualties from further impact, heat, dust, water, electrical hazards and plant movement, reassessing continuously. Casualty movement is limited to immediate life-safety need or to trained personnel using an approved stretcher/board method, adequate handlers and a route marshal, along the protected casualty path only; where a stair, ramp or hoist is planned for transfer, its suitability must be pre-verified in the emergency plan and confirmed safe at the time. The Access & Traffic Marshal keeps the ambulance route clear and escorts from the gate; the Medical Lead hands over each casualty with the record.
5. Incident Command Roles
Every shift names an Incident Controller (overall command until emergency services assume it) and a Deputy; a Rescue/Medical Lead for triage, treatment scope and transfer method; a Lifting Isolation Lead for crane, pump, plant and energy isolation decisions; an Access & Traffic Marshal for the ambulance route, gate escort and vehicle control; a Headcount Lead who accounts for direct and subcontract crews and holds the evacuated and unaccounted lists; a Communications/Records Lead who maintains the event log, calls, authority notifications and the incident record; and a Logistics lead. Alternates are recorded on the shift board with radio call signs.
6. Drills, Competency and Post-Event Release
A multi-casualty drill must test the real route, the maximum credible number of casualties, all relevant shifts and the interaction with lifting, concreting and dewatering. It must include alarm, all-stop, access control, headcount, gate guide, staged casualty transfer, a communications-failure contingency and a decision not to enter an unstable collapse zone. Record timing, barriers, communication gaps, vertical transfer constraints and corrective actions. After a structural collapse or crane incident the area stays under formal stop-work until emergency services and any competent authority release it, the scene is preserved as required, temporary-works/structural and lifting reviews are complete, permits are suspended and revalidated, the SIMOPS plan is revised and the workforce is re-briefed. No schedule pressure overrides these release gates.
7. Non-Conformance and Enforcement Matrix (NC-1 to NC-5)
ADPHC CoP 53.0 requires the Principal Contractor to plan, coordinate, supervise and enforce compliance, and to ensure any person or entity failing to comply with an OSH direction stops work until compliance is achieved; the Building and Construction SRA may enforce the CoP including penalties. Public sources reviewed do not set a universal monetary fine for crane-to-formwork exclusion-zone breaches or unauthorised SIMOPS, so the matrix keeps two tracks separate: (a) authority enforcement, determined by the competent authority and the applicable permit/development-zone rules, and (b) project contractual remedies, which apply only where the governing contract permits and after documented due process. Never present an internal contractual deduction as a 'municipal fine'. NC-1 minor procedural non-conformance — correct before the lift, record the observation. NC-2 material control weakness — stop the affected activity, restore barrier/route, formal NCR and corrective action. NC-3 serious exposure or unauthorised SIMOPS — immediate all-stop, clear the zone, suspend lift permit and PTWs, make safe, preserve evidence, remove the crew from the task pending competence review. NC-4 wilful or repeated high-potential breach — isolate and suspend the work scope, remove unauthorised persons, notify client/developer, regulatory escalation, senior management review before return. NC-5 incident, collapse or serious dangerous occurrence — emergency plan activation, statutory notification including Form G / Form G1 and federal/MOHRE/Police/SRA/municipal routes as applicable; no punitive deduction may interfere with emergency response or statutory investigation.
8. Mandatory Management Actions and Contract Fields
For any NC-3 or higher event: any worker may invoke stop-work and the Principal Contractor must support the stop until the non-compliant party is compliant; suspend the lift permit, excavation PTW, formwork release and linked SIMOPS release, with positive written revalidation; retain the lift plan, permit, barrier record, radio log, CCTV, drawings, crew list, monitoring/dewatering status and photographs; obtain review by the appointed person and the temporary-works/structural and geotechnical/dewatering authorities where crane bearing, formwork or floor capacity, shoring, ground or water condition may be affected; reassess crane operator, lifting supervisor, banksman, rigger, formwork supervisor and SIMOPS coordinator; and target the system failure — planning, zone design, access control, route management, supervision, permit interface or schedule conflict — not just retraining the individual. Before adoption, complete the contract schedule fields: authority/client hierarchy, NC-1 to NC-5 mapping onto the existing NCR procedure, cost-recovery clause and basis, liquidated or contractual deductions reviewed under the governing contract and UAE legal advice, personnel sanction process, and the appeal/close-out route. The editable workbook ships as a TEMPLATE — a RED item blocks the affected SIMOPS period and a PENDING item is not accepted evidence.
Knowledge Assessment
1. The first priority when a multi-casualty event occurs in a lower basement is:
2. The secondary means of egress from an active basement level must:
3. Within 0–5 minutes the Communications Lead must:
4. Triage and the casualty collection point must be located:
5. Dewatering should be shut down during an emergency:
6. Headcount accountability at 0–20 minutes must:
7. Casualty movement by site personnel is limited to:
8. An NC-3 serious exposure / unauthorised SIMOPS breach requires:
9. Regarding penalties, the correct position is:
10. After a structural collapse or crane incident, work may restart when:
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