Auger Drilling Safety Guidelines

Auger drilling uses direct power to rotate flighted augers into the ground. Drill rigs must have kill switches in operable condition. Familiarize yourself with their location and operation. At least two people should be present when operating this equipment. Do not wear loose clothing, jewelery and have long hair tied back during all operations. The  rotating auger string must have a rotation guard or physical barrier that is fixed to the equipment during rotation, though, when rotation stops it can be easily opened to access the drill string when required.

The drill operator and drill helper should set a system of responsibility for the various tasks required for auger drilling, such as adding or removing augers or using the auger fork. The drilling equipment should have a clutch lock out system in place to ensure the safety of workers during these tasks, though the drilling operator is responsible that everyone is away from the drill string and the guard is in place before drilling rotation is continued.

The following points are hazards that are unique to this style of drilling that you must be aware of before drilling.

• When cleaning the augers male and female connecting ends or auger bolt holes, never use your fingers, always use a wire brush to clean them out.
• Allow the machine to hoist the the auger section on to the drill string, then connect.
• Use the manufacturers recommended method of securing augers and securing the drive head to the augers.
• Never place your hands or fingers at the bottom of the auger section while it is being hoisted onto the drill string or whenever hoisting augers,.Place your hands on the side of the augers if you must handle them.
• Never allow your feet to be under a auger section during hoisting.
• Only start to auger when the drill rig is stable and level, the clutch or hydraulic rotation control disengaged, the transmission in low gear, the engine running at low RPM, and rotation guard in place.
• Any connecting pins on the augers should be low profile.
• Use down pressure on the auger prior to rotation to bury the auger head as far down as possible into the ground.
• When rotating augers, always have your auger guard in place, and always be aware of the rotating parts, never reach behind a guard to access rotating augers for any reason whatsoever.
• Always look at the auger head when beginning rotation. Slowly engage clutch or rotation control to start rotation.
• Slowly rotate your augers while continuing to apply down pressure. One hand should always be on the clutch or rotation control and one hand on the up/down lever.
• If the drill string slides out of alignment during the beginning of the hole, disengage the drill string and repeat the borehole starting process.
• Never place your hands between the drill and an auger, even if attempting to free sampling equipment from the auger.
• Always use a long handled shovel when removing cuttings. All cuttings should be shoveled away when augers are inactive.
• Augers should only be cleaned when the drill string is in neutral and augers have stopped rotating. The clutch lock out should be in place during this step.
• When remoing augers, allow the drill to hoist the top auger from the drill string and on to the ground before uncoupling from the hoist.
• Always clean and properly store all augers securely for safe transport.

Consider the following when using screw-together augers.

• When coupling augers together, the clutch lock out should be in place, the drill should be at low idle, while screwing. Always remove auger fork before rotation.
• When uncoupling the augers, always clean the area for the pipe wrench to attach properly.
• With the clutch lock out in place, the helper can attach the pipe wrench in the proper postion and lightly hold onto a rope attached to the pipe wrench to maintain the tension.After breaking the auger the should stay clear until the clutch lock out is in place.

Consider the following when using bolt-together augers.

• Never use bolts with worn threads or rounded heads
• Don't use a worn out socket or breaker bar.
• Pull on breaker bar to tighten, never push.
• Clutch lock out should be in place and hands should be off of the controls when auger bolts are being fastened or loosened and when auger fork is being used.
• If the top auger does not disengage from the drill string, hammer on the thick part of the female coupling end to loosen. Do not hammer on the flights or body of the auger.
• If the auger bolts do not loosen with the appropriate wrench, tap the face of the bolt lightly with a hammer.
• If the top cap does not disengage from the drill string, strike the cap with your hammer.

Consider the following when using solid-stem flight augers.

• Place the J-pin so the movement of the soil cuttings up the flights, won't disengage the pin.
• The clutch lock out should be in place and hands off of the controls when adding/removing augers, adding/removing J-pins and using the auger fork.
• Use the proper hoist for lifting the augers.

This is a short list of safety guidelines to educate you on proper drilling procedures. This is not all of the possible hazards that are associated with this specific drilling procedure.