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CPT + FUNDEC TRAINING | INTRODUCTION TO PRACTICE IN UNDERGROUND WORKS Module 1 – Mechanized Methods in the Construction of Underground Works

Health and Safety Best Practices Guide for the Construction Phase of Underground Works

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Health and Safety Best Practices Guide for the Construction Phase of Underground Works

The Portuguese Commission of Tunnels and Underground Space, through its Working Group 3 – “Safety and Health” took the initiative to prepare and write a proposal for a Health and Safety Best Practices Guide to be adopted in the construction phase of underground works and complement the existing legislation on the subject.

The Guide can be downloaded free of charge via the following link:

https://cpt.spgeotecnia.pt/uploads/cpt-guia-de-sh-nas-obras-subterraneas-v-final.pdf

Framework

The International Tunneling and Underground Space Association (ITA-AITES), through its Working Group 5 – “Health and safety in works” has been publishing considerable information concerning health and safety in underground works. Several countries, such as England, Germany, and others, have already created their own documents (both legislative and guiding) to frame this theme.

Portugal, in turn, does not yet have a legislative or guidance document on the subject, being usually governed by Decree-Law 162/90, applicable only to mines and quarries. Decree-Law 41821 of 1958 (General Regulation of Civil Construction), on the other hand, does not deal with the specific preventive measures to be adopted in the event of underground works construction.

Given the specific nature of underground works where, added to the risks common to construction in general, there are also risks arising from working underground, namely the risks of exposure to dust, gases, run overs and falling materials from the excavation face, and in view of the need to establish which good practices it is advisable to adopt, it was considered urgent to create a Guide of Best Practices that would complement the aforementioned legislation.

In this context, the Portuguese Commission of Tunnels and Underground Space through its Working Group 3 – “Safety and Health” took the initiative to prepare and write a proposal for a Health and Safety Best Practices Guide to be adopted in the construction phase of underground works, particularly the ones which use Conventional / Sequential and TBM Excavation Methods.