With construction projects, there are multiple risks on a construction site. Let’s take a look at two of the most dangerous jobs: trenching and excavation.
In 2022, another 39 people died while performing excavation or trenching work in the United States, according to the Department of Labor. This figure is more than double that of 2021.
Following growing concern over the number of deaths, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has begun a protection campaign around trenches and excavations. Working directly with employers and agencies, they have improved on-site inspections and, in some states, helped pass laws expanding fines for employers who fail to comply with protective protocols.
There are safety hazards at a trench and excavation job site, but collapses pose the most serious risk and have the highest likelihood of resulting in fatalities, according to OSHA. A cubic meter of soil can weigh as much as a car. If workers are placed in a trench when it collapses, it can be simply catastrophic.
Regardless of the security issue, reducing the number of incidents depends on your proactivity with safety measures. A forward-thinking technique not only protects your workers, but also minimizes the monetary and legal liabilities related to those incidents.
As an employer, it is your duty to ensure that you take the proper steps to keep your workers in the workplace. Here are 3 key tactics to lessen the threat of a collapse and lessen the threat of injury or death to workers.
Because of the excessive danger presented on those job sites, you should start taking precautions even before the job begins. An important component of this procedure is to check the condition of the floor at your job site. If the situations aren’t ideal, it would be possibly not sending their painters into a trench.
There are 4 classifications of soils that vary in stability: wrought rock, A, B, and C.
A competent user (someone who is capable and experienced in identifying hazards) evaluates the floor every day or two and when situations are replaced. Things on a job site can be replaced quickly, especially after rain, storms, vibrations, or other occasions that can affect construction. detect dangers. At a minimum, visual verification and manual verification are required. OSHA describes what the evaluator looks for in both checks.
Protection formulas are a key component in ensuring the defense of your excavation site and trenches. They are necessary for trenches that are more than five feet deep or that are not completely dug into the solid rock. However, a competent user will still have to inspect spaces that do not meet this requirement if a coverage formula is necessary. If your personnel are in a trench 20 feet deep or more, they will need to have a cover in position formula designed by a licensed professional engineer.
Here are the systems through OSHA:
The type of formula you use will likely depend on the type of soil.
In the event of a collapse, the staff has very little time to get to safety. That is why it is also essential to have adequate exits at the excavation site. Ladders will be placed each and every 25 feet of lateral movement. The available ladders not only allow for quick exit, but also reduce the threat of personnel jumping into trenches or excavations and getting injured.
As with floor situations, a competent user inspects those coverage systems daily and whenever situations change.
While it is your duty as an employer to ensure that proper precautions are taken at an excavation and trench site, it is imperative that workers are trained in precautionary protocols and signs. They will have to be attentive to the warning signs. and you will only need to enter a trench if:
If a worker is unsure whether a trench is safe, check with their manager to see if required testing has been performed.
You can reduce the threat of collapse by implementing physically powerful protective measures, conducting a thorough soil analysis, following proper training, and maintaining attentive inspection routines. But those are just a few of the key protective measures you need to take. I inspire you to talk to your local experts and check out OSHA’s excavation and trenching resources for additional consideration.