Scenario
Two construction laborers died when the trench they were working in experienced a cave-in. The victims were members of a crew installing conduit in an eight-foot-deep by two-foot-wide trench.
When work started, the jobsite foreman instructed the crew leader to operate a backhoe to dig the trench. The foreman then left the site to check on another job. After approximately an hour, the crew leader grounded the bucket, turned the machine off and walked to the company trailer to check blueprints.
As he was looking at the blueprints, he heard loud voices outside the trailer from the direction of the ditch. As he exited the trailer, he was informed that the trench had collapsed and the two employees were buried.
The crew leader summoned the emergency medical services (EMS) who responded within minutes.
Coworkers uncovered the victims and removed them from the trench as the EMS arrived. However, the victims could not be revived.
NIOSH investigators concluded that, to help prevent similar occurrences, employers should:
- Ensure that a competent person conducts daily inspection of excavations, adjacent areas, and protective systems and takes appropriate measures necessary to protect workers.
- Ensure that workers are protected from cave-ins by an adequate protective system.
- Develop, implement, and enforce a comprehensive written safety program for all workers which includes training in hazard recognition and the avoidance of unsafe conditions.
- Ensure that workers who are part of a multilingual workforce comprehend instructions in safe work procedures for the tasks to which they are assigned.
- Ensure that only qualified rescue personnel who have assumed responsibility for rescue operations and site safety should attempt rescue operations.