Safety in tunnelling Standard revised

3 August 2011

The British Standards Institution last month published the revised British Standard 6164 ‘Code of practice for health and safety in tunnelling in the construction industry’ under code BS 6164:2011.

First drafted in 1982 as a 56-page document, BS 6164 was extensively revised in 1991 and again in 2001. The new version, now some 170 pages long, provides comprehensive guidance on health and safety issues arising from tunnel and shaft construction and tunnel maintenance, renovation and repair. In addition to a general update and a revised bibliography, the clauses dealing with excavation and support have been extensively rewritten as has the clause dealing with shafts.

Both the BTS/ABI (British Tunnelling Society & Association of British Insurers) joint code of practice on risk management in tunnel works and the internationally applicable version published by the International Tunnel Insurance Group make reference to BS 6164:2001. It is anticipated that these documents will be updated in due course to make reference to BS 6164:2011.

The revised Standard can be purchased via http://shop.bsigroup.com.