Inspections
Inspections should be made by a competent person and should be documented.
The following guide specifies the frequency and conditions requiring inspections:
- daily and before the start of each shift
- as dictated by the work being done in the trench
- after every rainstorm
- after other events that could increase hazards, e.g. snowstorm, windstorm, thaw, earthquake, etc.
- when fissures, tension cracks, sloughing, undercutting, water seepage, bulging at the bottom, or other similar conditions occur
- when there is a change in the size, location, or placement of the spoil pile
- when there is any indication of change or movement in adjacent structures
Real World Accident
A 24-year-old worker died when he was buried under a wall of the trench he was working in. The excavation wall and part of the sidewalk next to the concrete garage floor collapsed onto him while he was attempting to attach the new PVC pipe he had installed to the main sewer. One of the decedent's co-workers was also caught in the collapse. Firefighters who arrived on the scene were able to extricate the decedent's coworker from the excavation. He was transported to a hospital and recovered. The decedent's body was recovered from the excavation approximately 8 hours after the wall collapsed.
For more information on excavation safety be sure to take OSHAcademy Course 802, Trench and Excavation Safety, and refer to DHHS (NIOSH) Publication 2011-208, Preventing Worker Deaths from Trench Cave-ins, and the OSHA Technical Manual (OTM).
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
5-4. Your company is performing trench work on a large project. During the middle of a shift, a heavy rainstorm rolls through, dropping a lot of rain. What action should be taken before trench work is continued?
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