"Tunneling Safe": Occupational Health & Safety in Tunneling
MUST READ BEFORE USEING THE WEBSITE
In Alberta, it is the law to follow and obey the latest “Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Code” and “Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Act” to ensure workplace safety. This website is only intended to provide a training package and disseminate good practices and practical knowledge based on BS 6164-2011; however, this shall not be used as legal references in any practical application context.
Throughout this document, text boxes in the middle of the text body are used to highlight the same topics as addressed in the “Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Code” (AOHS Code); the trainee is alerted to apply AOHS Code. Text boxes at the end of each chapter are used to highlight additional information relevant to the topics as found in AOHS Code for trainee's attention; though it is not exactly or explicitly addressed in the BS6164 code.
In Alberta, excavation and tunneling work require the involvement of a professional engineer because there are many variable factors that only professional engineers can suggest specifications and designs that are safe during excavation and tunnel construction.
Preface
The off-the-job training program (“TunnelingSafe”) is developed as a website consisting of training materials and evaluation tools that can be provided to an organization in Alberta (or other municipalities) and directed at an audience that includes project managers, professional engineers, and field workers of all levels that would be involved in the planning of, or working on, a tunneling project or site. The “TunnelingSafe” program incorporates and adopts the British experiences and systems so as to align with the Alberta OHS legislation, present practices, and industry needs. The training program focuses on sharing knowledge on the best safe work practices in a tunnel under construction or in service. For instance, it covers the general construction methods and maintenance operations for urban utility tunnels in Alberta, safety and occupational health hazards potentially present in the tunneling environment, Alberta legislation and standards related to tunneling, and procedures that need to adhere to in the tunneling environment (e.g., confined spaces, exclusion zones, emergency plans). It also describes the expectations of the workforce in terms of safe conduct and responsible behavior whilst working in a tunneling environment.
To lay the knowledge foundation for construction planning for safety and productivity, and to incorporate occupational health and safety in construction engineering and management, safety is addressed as an "Engineering Code" in a limited yet critical scope that accounts for sufficient technical and management details at the workface of tunnel construction. The “TunnelingSafe” website establishes a systematic and critical comparison between Alberta and British codes of practice for occupational health and safety in tunnel construction. It also includes an online training platform for professional training, EIT training, and engineering education at universities. In addition, “TunnelingSafe” will provide practical contexts for state-of-the-art research in VR, AR, and AI in areas, such as tunneling, CEM (Construction Engineering and Management), or safety science.
Disclaimer
Materials in the TunnelingSafe training program are provided for information purposes only. Users (including trainers and trainees) are expected to be aware of and comply with applicable legislative requirements at all times (including, but not limited to, OHS legislation). Users shall rely on these materials at their own risk. Where the best practices differ from the Alberta OHS legislation, the Alberta OHS legislation shall be the minimum threshold required to be met.
Cite this website:
Lu, M., & Hasan, M. (2019, December). "Tunneling Safe: Occupational Health & Safety in Tunneling (Web. Rep.)." OHST Team, University of Alberta, Canada. Retrieved from: https://sites.google.com/ualberta.ca/tunnelingsafe