Excavation FLHA template for Canadian worksites

An excavation field-level hazard assessment (FLHA) is the crew's check of the ground, buried services, protection and people at the exact dig location before work starts. Use the form below alongside the formal excavation plan, current utility locates, any required permit and the protective-system design. Stop if the conditions in the field differ from those documents. A signed FLHA does not make an unsupported trench safe or give permission to disturb ground.

This is a Canadian template, not a claim that every province uses the same excavation limits. CCOHS explains that soil classifications and protective requirements vary by jurisdiction. Alberta, for example, has a detailed OHS Code Part 32 on excavating and tunnelling covering soil classification, buried facilities, water, protective methods and access. Select the law and site rules that actually apply before using this form. Where the excavation crosses a utility easement, roadway, occupied site or another employer's work area, include the owner and coordination requirements too.

Excavation job identification

Mark a changed or unknown field HOLD, not “to be confirmed”. The crew should be able to point to the marked services and the controlled work boundary. A drawing alone is not proof that all facilities have been located at the workface. The locate record may have geographic, depth, validity or tolerance limits that need checking with the utility owner and the applicable ground-disturbance procedure.

Before-dig field checks

CCOHS identifies cave-ins, falling soil or equipment, falls, water, hazardous atmospheres, buried services and mobile equipment as excavation hazards. The CCOHS trenching and excavation guide also recommends checking conditions before excavation and during inspections. The table is a prompt to observe and verify, not a substitute for the jurisdiction's detailed technical requirements. Do not copy a numerical spoil setback, depth trigger or slope ratio from another province into a live plan without checking the applicable law and engineering advice.

Utility locate and exposure gate

Identify the owner of every possible buried facility, obtain the required locates, check marks and site information against the planned dig, and agree the method of exposure and clearance. Locate marks can be disturbed by traffic, weather or other work. If the crew finds an unidentified line, unexpected fill or a mismatch between drawings and the ground, stop mechanical digging, secure the area and escalate to the utility owner and site authority. Do not improvise a clearance distance from memory. Alberta Part 32 has specific rules for locating and exposing buried facilities; the actual site may be governed by different law and utility conditions.

Ground-stability and entry gate

Record whether workers will enter. Confirm the competent person's assessment of the ground and the protective method selected for the current depth, width, soil, water, vibration and adjacent loads. Check that the shoring, shield, sloping or other measure is installed and suitable for the conditions actually present. A trench box is a protective system with limits, not permission to ignore unsupported ground outside it. CCOHS distinguishes trench boxes from systems that support the trench wall. No one enters merely because the form is signed. Entry requires the applicable legal protections, safe access/egress and the site's release process.

Water can make a previously stable excavation unsafe. So can new vibration from a nearby road or compaction plant, a spoil pile moved towards the edge, or a changed excavation profile. Stop, withdraw people and have the protective plan reconsidered when these conditions change. A field card should document the change and the decision maker; it cannot redesign the protection.

Plant and people gate

Define where excavators, trucks and pedestrians travel. Keep workers clear of moving buckets and suspended loads; control reversing and blind spots with separation and the approved communication method. Check edge stability before placing plant near it. Protect the public and other trades from falls into the opening and from falling material. Identify the person coordinating interfaces between employers. High-visibility clothing may help detection but does not replace a suitable barrier or traffic plan.

Task-step hazard and control record

Use observable controls. “Utilities located under current ticket and potholes completed to the utility owner's method” is a more useful entry than “watch for services”. “Protective system installed to approved plan and inspected by named competent person” is more useful than “trench box on site”. If a step needs a specialist, utility owner, engineer or permit issuer to release it, name that person and capture the evidence. The employer's formal hazard assessment and protective design remain the controlling documents.

Hold and change log

The person who discovers the condition records when work stopped and whom they told. The authorised lead records the revised plan or permit reference, installed control, independent verification where required, crew briefing and time of release. “Supervisor informed” by itself is not a release. If the site's emergency plan calls for a specialist rescue response, do not send an unprotected coworker into a collapse or hazardous atmosphere.

Crew review and worked example

Example: A crew plans to open a service trench beside a delivery road. The utility locate and trench protection plan were completed the previous day. Overnight rain leaves standing water and a delivery contractor begins parking trucks near the excavation edge. The crew records those differences and marks the dig HOLD. The competent person reviews soil and water conditions, the site lead moves the delivery route and confirms edge loading, and the protective system is checked against the revised situation. The crew is rebriefed before any authorised entry. The FLHA documents that sequence; it does not decide the design by itself.

Review the FLHA before a new task stage, after a shift or crew change, and whenever ground, weather, utilities, plant, nearby work or protection changes. Update the formal assessment, permit or design when the change exceeds the field card's scope. Retain the completed record according to the site's and jurisdiction's rules.

Existing owner, internal links and Complys boundary

The live Canadian hazard-assessment guide owns the broad question of how hazard assessment works. The Canadian tools directory is the observed tools entry point. This proposed page serves the narrower blank excavation workface form with locate, protection, entry and hold/release fields. Link to the broad guide for method and to any verified excavation guidance owner. The manifest's /ca/hazard-assessment-software money route was not observed live during this review; verify the actual route and the current plan before inserting it. A safe CTA after that check is: Ask Complys to show how your current excavation hazard records and follow-up actions could be organised for your team. Do not claim that software finds buried services, selects trench protection, grants entry or verifies engineering.

Source, claim, owner, product and writer-side QA register — 5 October 2026

Terminal writer-side disposition: READY. No Complys website or repository content was modified.