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The Incident

An earthworks contractor was working at a building site in Perth preparing a block of land for infill residential work. While undertaking this task, a high voltage (HV) cable was severed. Luckily, no one was injured in the incident, however, it did cause a power outage that affected 2000 Western Power customers. As such, this incident put not only on-site workers at risk, it also came at a great financial cost and impacted a number of Western Australian businesses and homeowners.

How Could the Incident Have Been Avoided?

When undertaking any excavation work, workers should always undertake a Dial Before You Dig (DBYD) enquiry. In the above case, this enquiry would have confirmed the location of the cable, and prevented it from being severed. The worker in question claims he never received a DBYD form from the on-site administration staff and didn’t realise that he would have to do it himself.

At BWC Civil, we always endeavour to tick every administrative box before any work commences, and we equip all staff with the information they need. Some of the steps we follow, which are recommended by DBYD, include:

• Lodge a DBYD enquiry at least two days before any excavation work commences. Careful planning is the most straightforward way to prevent any accidents, both ones that put people’s safety at risk, as well as ones that slow down productivity.
• Follow any advice listed on the asset owner’s plan or information pack, to ensure all staff knows where any underground infrastructure is located.
• Any underground infrastructure should also be made visible by erecting barriers, marking the exposed infrastructure’s location, or, at the very least making sure everyone on site knows exactly where it is.

As well as the above steps, the actual excavator operator should also follow a set of prescribed steps to avoid any accidents or mistakes. These include:

• Checking to see if someone has already lodged a DBYD form, and if it hasn’t been done already, lodge it ASAP.
• Viewing the information contained in the DBYD, ensuring they’ve identified any underground services.
• Taken whatever measures are required to ensure any risks are managed.

Any mistakes made on an excavation site can be costly, slow down project works and put people’s safety at risk. When working with BWC Civil, you can rest assured the efficiency of your project will be in good hands. Need assistance with a civil construction project? Reach out to us today!

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We answer these questions and more, so you know exactly what to expect when you work with us to complete any earthmoving projects.

Bulk Earthworks

When we talk about bulk earthworks, we’re talking about removing, moving, or adding large quantities of soil and/or rock from one area to another. This is done to make a construction site a suitable level and height ready for project works to begin.

This process is usually performed in one of the following two ways:

• Excavating the applicable section of land by cutting into it.
• Constructing a new workable area, like an embankment. Earth-based materials will be added to the proposed construction site to make this possible.

Throughout this process, every care is taken to ensure we reuse as much of the excavated earth as possible. This not only prevents the costly collection of waste material, it also reduces the cost of purchasing and delivering extra earth materials when new construction areas need to be filled with extra dirt and rocks.

Luckily, there is computer software that can calculate how much earth will be removed/needed to fill a new site in advance, so we don’t need to hang onto or order any extra materials unnecessarily.

What Sort of Projects Require Bulk Earthworks?

Bulk earthworks are a necessary step in a number of civil construction projects, including:

• New roads
• Berms
• Mines
• Highways
• Railways
• Causeways
• Levees
• Dams
• Canals
• Trenches
• Residential and commercial building projects

Can More Than One Type of Excavation be Used to Complete a Bulk Earthworks Project?

Excavations can be classified in a few different ways. The first classification is dependent on the type of material that’s being excavated and the second depends on the purpose of the excavation.

When the excavation is classified by the material type, correctly identifying the material is essential for keeping costs down and preventing any technical problems from occurring further down the track. There are four basic categories that can be used to determine what type of material excavators will be dealing with:

• Loose, free-flowing soil or sand (Easy)
• Gravel with clay (Medium)
• Wet and heavy clay with broken rocks, gravel and even boulders (Medium to Hard)
• Materials that require breaking down/blasting (Hard)

Excavations can also be classified by the type of topsoil, rock, earth or muck that needs to be dug out, as well as unclassified excavations where there is a mixture of earth-based materials present.

However, when classifying an excavation by its purpose, projects would be defined based on the end goal of the project works. For example, roadways, bridges or drainage.

At BWC Civil, we have all of the equipment and know-how to successfully execute the bulk earthworks component of your construction project. To learn more about our services, call us on (08) 6323 3540 or request a quote, today!

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What is Civil Construction?

Broadly speaking, civil construction is the development of infrastructure, which can involve anything from water to earth and transport.

To get a little more specific, civil construction and civil engineering go hand-in-hand, as civil engineering is a branch of civil construction and involves the maintenance of man-made structures like roads. Some of the projects civil engineers deal with include:

• Roads
• Railways
• Buildings
• Water reservoirs
• Subdivisions
• Airports
• Bridges
• Sewer systems
• Tunnels and dams

Included in the industry, are any individuals or companies that are involved in the planning, creation and designing of infrastructure.

What Tasks are handled by Civil Construction Professionals?

The day-to-day tasks of professionals working within the civil construction field will vary depending on the exact area of specialities of that individual or of the business.

However, as a general guide, civil construction professionals are involved with:

• Liaising with clients, industry professionals and government representatives
• Investigating the land and proposed building sites and evaluating whether or not they’re suitable for the proposed works
• Following the guidelines put in place by government authorities, local bodies and clients when it comes to planning, building and maintaining the infrastructure.
• Developing plans and seeking the relevant approvals from governing bodies and local authorities
• Generating cost estimates, working to budgets and creating contracts
• Tendering contracts and hiring contractors
• Supervising and monitoring the project’s progress to ensure it meets the project requirements and original plans

Who Are Civil Contractors and What Qualifications Do They Need?

Civil contractors are the people responsible for the aforementioned points. To be suitable for one of these roles, individuals ideally need to hold the relevant qualifications, which usually include a certificate in construction supervision. Industry experience and on-the-job skills are also highly regarded.

This is why the team of civil contractors at BWC Civil are highly sought after, as they bring the necessary skills and qualifications to every project they work on, while also showcasing their broad knowledge base, which has accumulated through years of experience on the job.

If you have a civil construction project that needs completing, or to learn more about our role within the construction and infrastructure industries, contact BWC Civil today!

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Before any road or civil construction project can commence, the site will need to be prepared with bulk earthworks. From start to finish, this process is quite comprehensive and will pave the way for construction work to take place. This can involve clearing new sub divisions, preparing building sites and industrial bulk earthworks.

So, what exactly does this vital step in the construction process entail?

Site Clearing

The first step in any construction project, both civil and residential, is site clearing. Essentially, this involves removing any trees and vegetation and removing any old, unwanted structures (for instance an old house). After this has been completed, any rubbish will be cleared from the site and the excavators will get to work.

Building Site Excavation

A site preparation crew, also known as the excavators, will excavate the site. They will operate any heavy equipment to assist with the above site clearing process and then they will look at levelling the ground or excavating it.

Depending on how the foundations of the project are being built, excavators may need to dig deep into the ground. For instance, when building an apartment block with an underground car park, significant works would need to take place, which would involve digging a hole to the required depth and then making sure the hole is structurally sound with retainer walls and foundation footings. This is of course, a simplified version of the work that is undertaken by the team at BWC Civil & Earthmoving, but a more detailed project plan can be provided on a case-by-case basis.

Industrial Bulk Earthworks

Once site clearing and excavation work is completed, we will then look at the bulk earthworks stage of the pre-construction stage. This includes the removal, moving or adding of large quantities of soil or rock from a particular area to another.

This can be achieved by excavating the area (as detailed above), or by constructing a new area by adding earth-based materials to a certain site.

When bulk earthworks are taking place, we aim to reuse as much of the excavated materials as possible, to prevent the costly collection of waste material and the delivery of extra earth materials.

How much earth we need to add or remove can be calculated with specialised computer software. Bulk earthworks are often completed to pave way for new roads, highways, railways and residential and commercial buildings, among others.

What Equipment is Required for Industrial Bulk Earthworks’ Projects?

The exact equipment required to undergo this form of construction work can vary depending on the specific site conditions and what needs to be achieved. However, in general, BWC Civil and Earthmoving uses the following equipment to prepare a site for commercial or industrial construction projects:

• Front end loaders
• Excavators (five tonnes to 20 tonnes)
• Semi-trucks and tippers
• Positrak
• Bobcats
• Plate compactors and vertical rammers

It’s imperative that trained professionals operate this equipment, both for the safety of everyone involved, and to ensure all work is completed to the best possible standards.

For all of your civil earthmoving projects in Perth, contact BWC Civil & Earthmoving today!

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