CSDA Core Drilling Standards
Table of Contents
1. Standards, Codes, and Definitions
1.1 Occupational Safety and Health Administration – Safety and Health Standards Digest
Construction Industry (OSHA) – 3149/1996)
1.2 Standards ANSI B-7.1 and B-7.5
1.3. The Coring Contractor must follow all necessary safety rules in accordance with Federal, State, and local laws.
Definitions (1.4)
1.4.1. Owner – The legal owner of the structure being cut, as well as the holes or apertures generated by the coring contractor.
1.4.2. Contracting agency – A contractor employed directly or indirectly by the owner who subcontracts coring requirements to a coring contractor.
1.4.3. Coring contractor – The person or company engaged to carry out the actual coring operation. 1.4.4. Slurry – A liquid material made up of water and cuttings that are produced when the owner’s structure is cored with a water coolant.
1.4.5. Embedments – Objects within the coring area that may be damaged during the core drilling process. Reinforcing rods and cables are examples of embedments, as are utilities such as electrical power and telephone lines.
1.4.6 Holes and openings – voids caused by the coring contractor’s core drilling or coring operations. The owner or contracting agency retains ownership of the holes or openings, not the coring contractor.
2. Requirements
2.1 Commonly utilized equipment for a core drill job includes:
Contractor supply: 2.1.1
If applicable, a power unit (such as a generator or hydraulic power unit)
Core drill base, column, carriage, and motor assembly (2.1.1.2)
2.1.1.3. A drill motor and rig that are appropriately sized for the hole diameters requested
Core drill bits are used to perform the allotted work.
2.1.1.5. Adequate tools and equipment (anchors, rotary hammer, vacuum pad with vacuum pump, and vacuum cleaner).
2.1.2. Owner or contracting agency provided:
2.1.2.1. Engineering controls for the protection of adjacent structures and facilities from water, slurry, and dust
Scaffolding 2.1.2.2
Water or slurry storage, 2.1.2.3
Shoring, rigging, and rigging equipment for handling or controlling the removed item.
Sump area and sump pump 2.1.2.5
2.1.2.6. All holes and openings generated by the coring contractor must have fall protection/covers in accordance with OSHA regulation 1926.501(b)(4).
Scanning (or equivalent) and marking the embedment positions in accordance with CSDA-BP-017 and CSDA-BP-026.
When a core is cut free on a suspended slab, provide labor to capture the core(s) and water.
2.2. It is the owner’s or contracting agency’s responsibility to have the area to be cored evaluated, approved, and all sites clearly marked prior to the start of any coring activities. Furthermore, it is the owner’s or contracting agency’s responsibility to properly designate the location and kind of all embedments, both on the target lines and near the coring area.
2.3. It is the owner’s or contracting agency’s responsibility to provide water and power to the coring contractor.
2.4. It is the responsibility of the owner or contracting agency to provide fall protection and coverings in accordance with OSHA regulation 1926.501(b)(4) for all holes or openings produced by the coring contractor.
2.5. A pre-job consultation with the owner or contracting agency is recommended to determine the following information about steel reinforcing or other embedments:
2.5.1 Is there any steel reinforcement or other embedments to be cut within the structure?
2.5.2 What are the dimensions and locations of the steel reinforcing or other embedments?
2.5.3 Is it permissible to cut the steel reinforcement or other embedments during the drilling process?
2.5.4. Is it possible to set out the holes in such a way that cutting of the steel reinforcement or other embedments is minimized or avoided?
2.5.5. Is it permissible to alter the hole once drilling begins to avoid damaging steel reinforcement or embedments?
2.6. Any scaffolding necessary must be developed, provided, and installed by qualified persons.
2.7. The owner or contracting agency must determine whether or not there are utility lines within, adjacent to, or secured to the structure being drilled. If utility lines are existing in the manner stated, the owner or contracting agency must take the required steps to cut off all services to these utilities. If the utilities are buried, the owner or contracting agent must contact the relevant agency for a precise utility location, as required by state or local law. The permit must include the name of the coring contractor.
2.7.1 If the owner or contracting agency instructs that an embedment be purposefully cut, whether or not service is turned off, the owner and contracting agency must protect the coring contractor from any and all claims for damages originating from the coring of the embedment.
2.7.2 If an embedment is mistakenly cut due to the layout provided by the owner or contracting agency, the owner and contracting agency must protect the coring contractor from any claims for damages originating from the coring of the embedment.
2.8 It is the responsibility of the owner or contracting agency to protect persons and property from potential water or slurry damage. The coring contractor shall not be considered an owner or generator of slurry, and the owner and contracting agency shall protect the coring contractor from all loss and expenditure incurred as a result of such claims.
2.9 The owner or contracting agency is responsible for ensuring proper, safe, and appropriate slurry disposal.
Before work begins, the owner of the structure or the contracting agency must agree on the collection and disposal of the slurry.
2.10 Adequate safety arrangements must be provided by the owner or contracting agency to protect the operator’s work area as well as the areas beneath, above, and adjacent to the area being drilled.
2.10.1 Safe access to and from the work area must also be provided by the owner or contracting agency.
Barricades, cones, “warning” tape, or other necessary devices to keep unauthorized people out of the work area must be provided by the owner or contracting agency.
2.11 It is the owner’s or contracting agency’s responsibility to tell the contractor whether the cores to be drilled are on a slab on grade. If the holes are above open space, it is the responsibility of the owners or contracting agency to provide damage control and protect human life.
2.12 The owner or the contracting agency shall be responsible for designing and installing any bracing or shoring required. The material being drilled free should be supported in a safe and effective manner so that when the opening is drilled free, it is held in position causing no damage to persons, equipment, or adjacent structures.
2.13 Prior to the start of the job, notification procedures for the completion of a hole or opening within the work area shall be determined and agreed upon. This is done so that the owner of the hole or a contracting agency can provide fall protection in accordance with OSHA regulation 1926.501(b)(4) as soon as possible.
3. Drilling Installations Procedures
Unless the coring contractor determines that any of the following steps do not apply to a specific work or that further steps are necessary:
3.1 All OSHA regulations and specifications for plugs, noise, wiring, and fume pollution must be met by drilling equipment.
3.2 Specifications for core hole clearance requirements are the sole responsibility of the owner or contracting agency and should be specified prior to starting work.
3.3 The owner or contracting agency should provide mechanical means to shift a bit(s) and cores for a big core bit or core bit with a core weighing more than 75 lb.
3.4 Examine diamond core drill bits for damage, paying special attention to the hub area.
3.5 Confirm that the drill bits are of the correct specification for the material being cut.
3.6 The owner or contracting agency shall limit access and clear apparatus or equipment directly beneath the area to be core drilled so that falling cores do not injure or damage any persons or property.
4. Considerations for Drilling Operations
4.1 Additional safety precautions may apply if any of the core drilling safe operations are performed without water as a coolant. For specification and usage information, contact the diamond tool or core drill manufacturer.
4.2 Additional safety measures may apply if any of the core drilling procedures are performed with handheld core drilling equipment. For specifications and usage information, contact the core drill manufacturer.
4.3 Never leave a core drill assembly unattended unless the equipment is specially designed for this purpose.
4.4 The core drilling equipment must be used in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.
4.5 If necessary, put walls, barricades, or caution tape around the work area to prevent unauthorized workers from entering.
Definition:
CSDA – Concrete Sawing & Drilling AssociationCore Drilling Standards