Employer Requirements
Materials and Equipment
The employer is responsible for maintaining materials and equipment used for protective equipment. Defective and damaged materials and equipment can cause failure of a protective system and other excavation hazards.
Example of a shield that has not been maintained
To avoid possible failure of a protective system, you must make sure that:
- Connect members of the support systems securely
- Install support systems safely
- Avoid overloading members of support systems
- Install other structural members to carry loads imposed on the support system when you need to remove individual members temporarily
Additional Requirements - 1926.652(d)
- Materials and equipment used for protective systems shall be free from damage or defects that might impair their proper function.
- Manufactured materials and equipment used for protective systems shall be used and maintained in a manner that is consistent with the recommendations of the manufacturer, and in a manner that will prevent employee exposure to hazards.
- When material or equipment that is used for protective systems is damaged, a competent person shall examine the material or equipment and evaluate its suitability for continued use. If the competent person cannot assure the material or equipment is able to support the intended loads or is otherwise unsuitable for safe use, then such material or equipment shall be removed from service, and shall be evaluated and approved by a registered professional engineer before being returned to service.
See Appendix B for detailed slope configurations.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
5-1. Who must examine all damaged excavation materials and equipment?
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