Working Platforms In Geotechnical Jobs: Recommendations For Execution And Maintenance

Slippery and unstable working platforms spoiled not only by natural weather conditions but also by the effects of the construction process (drilling mud, grout slurry) are among the main sources of hazards. Due to this fact a set of recommendations for execution and maintenance of working platforms are presented in this paper, which is based on a study on this subject that is being carried out by AETESS, the Spanish Federation of Geotechnical Contractors. The main objective of this paper is to establish the basis for the right execution and maintenance of working platforms for geotechnical jobs with the idea of increasing safety and productivity. All the aspects involved in working platform safety are analyzed: ground and equipment characteristics, geometric conditions and working platform maintenance. From this analysis a set of general requirements is proposed together with the necessary specific controls before and after the equipment arrival to the job site. In order to facilitate this analysis some flow charts and tables and specific appendixes for each geotechnical technique are included.