Ground Works
Underground Services, Adjacent Structures & Monitoring
NOCs and utility protection, pre-condition surveys, inclinometers and settlement markers, vibration and noise monitoring, exclusion zones, public protection and traffic management.
v2.1Updated 9 Aug 2026ADOSH-SF v4.1 (February 2026)Learning Objectives
- Obtain and apply the utility NOCs and drawings required before ground works.
- Protect and support exposed services during excavation and piling.
- Run a pre-condition survey of adjacent structures and third-party property.
- Operate an instrumentation and monitoring regime with escalation triggers.
- Protect the public with exclusion zones, hoarding and traffic management.
Training Video
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1. NOCs & Utility Records
DEWA/ADDC/SEWA/FEWA, Etisalat and du, Empower, ADNOC fuel lines, sewerage and irrigation, plus the municipality and road authority. Drawings are cross-checked with GPR/CAT scanning and hand-dug trial pits before mechanical excavation.
2. Protecting Exposed Services
Exposed services are supported by designed slings or props — never left spanning unsupported. Protection sleeves, marker tape, barriers and signage applied; no plant tracking over an exposed service; the utility owner attends where the NOC requires supervision.
3. Pre-Condition Survey
Before piling or dewatering, survey adjacent buildings, boundary walls, roads and services: photograph and record existing cracks and levels with the owner or their representative. This defines the baseline for any later damage claim and sets the monitoring points.
4. Instrumentation
Inclinometers in the supported wall, settlement markers on adjacent structures and ground, piezometers for groundwater, strut-load cells, crack gauges, and vibration and noise monitors near sensitive receptors. Each instrument has an owner, a reading frequency and defined trigger/action/alarm levels.
5. Escalation
Trigger level = increase monitoring and inform the TWC. Action level = stop the causing activity and review the design. Alarm level = evacuate the affected zone, implement contingency measures and notify the client, consultant and authority. Escalation contacts are on the excavation permit.
6. Public & Third-Party Protection
Hoarding and hard barriers to boundaries, covered walkways where pedestrians pass, exclusion zones around piling and lifting, signage in the languages of the workforce, and lighting for night work.
7. Traffic Management
A traffic management plan approved by the road authority for lane closures, tanker and pile-delivery movements; banksmen for reversing; segregated pedestrian routes; delivery booking to avoid peak periods and community disturbance.
Knowledge Assessment
1. Utility drawings must be cross-checked with:
2. An exposed service across an excavation must be:
3. A pre-condition survey is carried out:
4. Inclinometers are used to measure:
5. At Action level, the correct response is:
6. At Alarm level you must:
7. Vibration monitoring is most needed during:
8. Site signage should be provided:
9. Tanker and pile-delivery movements on public roads require:
10. Escalation contacts for monitoring exceedances should be:
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