The United States Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is focusing on reducing trenching and excavation hazards. Trench collapses, or cave-ins, pose the greatest risk to workers’ lives.
To prevent cave-ins employers must (at a minimum) conduct the following:
1) SLOPE or bench trench walls;
2) SHORE trench walls with supports; or
3) SHIELD trench walls with trench boxes.
Employers must also ensure (but are not limited to) the following:
- That there is a safe way for personnel to enter and exit the trench/excavation.
- Materials must be kept away from the edge of the trench/excavation.
- The trench/excavation must be properly inspected for standing water and properly monitored for atmospheric hazards.
- Personnel must NEVER enter a trench unless it has been properly inspected.
Skyline is able to assist employers with their site-specific Trenching/Excavation Programs, Procedures and Employee Training.