When 1 cubic yard of dirt can weigh as much as 3,000 pounds, or as much as a small pickup truck, and it’s caving in on a worker, it often leads to fatal crushing and suffocation.
There is no time for a worker to react to these sudden collapses. The rescues – which often turn into body recovery missions – are difficult, painstaking and can take hours. Meanwhile, family, friends and coworkers face the heartbreaking frustration of helplessly watching and waiting.
Here’s a guide to preventing that from happening on your jobsites:
The leading reason for OSHA trench violations is failure by the employer to provide adequate cave-in protection.
Other violations include:
Under OSHA regulations, all trenches and excavations 5 feet or deeper must have some form of cave-in protection. OSHA-approved protection systems follow the "Three S's" and consist of one of the following methods:
Trenches 20 feet or deeper must have protective systems designed by a registered professional engineer.
