Roadway Safety: Excavation
|
|
Laborers' Health and Safety Fund of North America
This document is one in a program produced under an OSHA grant by a consortium of the Laborers' Health and Safety Fund N.A, the International Union of Operating Engineers, the American Road and Transportation Builders Assn, and the National Asphalt Pavement Assn. All of the documents from this set that are on eLCOSH can be found by clicking on Job Site, Heavy construction, and scrolling to the Street & highway heading. Or to download a complete version of the computerized program, go to http://wzsafety.tamu.edu. |
A trench is an excavation deeper than it is wide.
Trenches can kill
- Workers can be buried alive
-
Cave-ins can result from stresses in walls, nearby moving vehicles and equipment, or spoil piles
-
Water can collect in bottom
-
Flammable/toxic gases can build up
-
Gas from nearby sewer or gas lines can seep into trench
Before digging
- Call electrical, gas, and communications utilities
-
Use extreme caution with equipment
Trenches > 4' deep may be confined spaces.
An excavation with formwork 15' or less from a sidewall is also a trench.
Trenches 5 feet or deeper require support.*
Sloping-
Soil angled to increase stability
Benching
Shielding-
Support system made of posts, wales, struts, and sheeting or hydraulic shoring
Shoring -
Protective frame or box, to protect workers after a cave-in
Employer should designate 'competent person.
'Competent person' must inspect-
At least daily and beginning of each shift
-
After precipitation, a thaw, and other
events that could increase hazard
-
For disturbed ground, water, toxics, and
other hazards
-
If walls sag or crack or the bottom bulges
-
To keep spoil at least two feet from trench edge
-
If there are nearby vibration sources
such as railroads or piledriving
-
That no worker is more than 25 feet
from an exit.
'Competent person' should stop the work if a hazard exists.
|
This paper appears in the eLCOSH website with the permission of the author and/or copyright holder and may not be reproduced without their consent. eLCOSH is an information clearinghouse. eLCOSH and its sponsors are not responsible for the accuracy of information provided on this web site, nor for its use or misuse.
eLCOSH
| CDC | NIOSH
| Site Map | Search
| Links | Help
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy
|