Trenching Fatality in Pennsylvania

Here's another very preventable accident that ended in tragedy. This guy was stripping forms from a foundation wall when the wall of the trench collapsed. This is a good story to use when training because the worker was "buried up to his waist." His fellow workers immediately tried to free him, but could not prevent his death.

This is a graphic example for your training to illustrate that tragedy occurs even in relatively shallow trenches. Saving a few dollars or a few minutes by not properly shoring a trench is just plain stupid. Here's another Focus 4 fatality.

Click here to view the entire story. There is even a short news video with this one.

Another Trenching Citation?

I don't get it. OSHA put Excavation & Trenching into a National Emphasis Program years ago but contractors don't seem to understand that they are serious about the hazards of working below grade. "It ain't rocket science" but it takes some thought.

OSHA reported again this week that a contractor (this one in Georgia) was cited for trenching violations to the tune of $124,250! According to OSHA, they are "citing McLendon Enterprises Inc. of Vidalia with six workplace safety violations and proposing $124,250 in penalties.

The citations come after an OSHA compliance officer observed company employees working in a trench without cave-in protection at a jobsite in Hinesville, Ga., last September.

OSHA is proposing three willful violations against the company, carrying proposed penalties of $38,500 each, for allowing workers inside an and 11-foot-deep trench without safe egresswithout cave-in protection. While in the trench, workers were exposed to being struck or engulfed by soil placed too close to the trench and by an excavator that was operating too close to the edge of the trench. The agency defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health.

Three serious safety violations with combined proposed fines of $8,750 are for the company's failure to train a non-English speaking employee in trenching hazards, allowing employees to work in a trench without head protection and allowing an employee to use a cutoff saw without wearing eye protection. A serious citation is issued when there is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

"Excavation is recognized as one of the most hazardous construction operations," said John J. Deifer, OSHA's area director in Savannah, Ga. "The significant fines proposed here reflect the fact that this company knew the OSHA rules yet chose not to follow them. It is fortunate in this case that no one was injured."

And I'll bet that there was no "competent person" on site either! And let's not forget that we as employees have the right to refuse to put ourselves in harm's way. I know it's tough to put your job at risk by refusing to work in an unsafe trench. Even though it is your right by law to refuse, you think "I need this job." But, you need your life more!

Come on contractors, get with the program! There is no excuse for ignoring excavation/trenching safety. Train your workers - make sure you have a competent person and let that competent person do what's right!

Here's another one! In Niagara Falls, NY last week, "proposed $43,050 in fines against Custom Crews Inc., a Lockport, N.Y., contractor, for allegedly failing to provide cave-in protection for employees working in an unprotected 5 foot, 8-inch-deep trench located at 1925 Main St. in Niagara Falls, N.Y."

"OSHA issued the company one willful citation with a $42,000 fine for not guarding the trench against a possible collapse of its sidewalls and one serious citation with a $1,050 fine for not having a ladder or other safe means for workers to exit the trench. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health, while a serious citation is issued when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from hazards about which the employer knew or should have known.

"Warmer weather and the thawing of the soil means an increase in excavation work," said Dube. "Before that happens, I'm calling upon the region's employers to review their excavation safety procedures to ensure that no employee enters an excavation unless and until it is properly guarded against collapse."

That's good advice! Review your excavation / trenching safety procedures or get one if you don't have one! Make sure you train a competent person and that he/she trains you workers in hazard recognition and make sure that you tell them that it's okay to report hazards!

Want to know more about construction excavation and trenching? Need a good handout for your training program?

This booklet is designed as a desk reference for safety professionals and jobsite superintendents/foremen when dealing with Trenching & Excavation issues on their jobsites. It also serves well as a hand-out companion for trenching and excavation training sessions or for the trenching and excavation portion of an OSHA 10 or 30 hour course. Click Here for details.

I'm Back

Okay, Okay - so I took a couple of days off. I went back to Florida for a few days to spend some quality time with my beloved wife! It was great, but now I'm back to work.

Oh, and since yesterday was St. Patrick's day, I enjoyed a Guinness too!

So, what's been happening since I've been away? Well, according to the Niagara Gazette, another contractor has been fined by OSHA for violating the Excavation & Trenching rules. According to the Gazette, "A Lockport contractor doing work involving the new Niagara Falls public safety building has been cited and fined for providing unsafe working conditions.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed $43,050 in fines against Custom Crews Inc. for allegedly failing to provide cave-in protection for employees working in an unprotected 5-foot, 8-inch-deep trench located near the courthouse in the 1900 block of Main Street."

And guess what? $42k of that was because it was a willful violation! Yep, another contractor ignored the safety of the workers on his job. Since it was "willful," they must have been cited for this one before. Why don't we learn? Anyway, if you want to read the whole article, click here.

OSHA Cites Florida Contractor for Trenching Violation

Although Florida trenches aren't usually very deep, trenching is still very hazardous. And since Florida "soil" is not usually very cohesive, the hazards are even more severe. Construction workers often believe that they are safe because they are only 5 or 6 feet below the surface - how wrong they are. Why do they believe it? Well, it's because they are often untrained! They don't know the hazard!

I have regularly warned workers to slope, use a trench box, get a ladder, get the spoil back from the edge, barricade, etc. Normally, they don't have a problem complying, they just didn't know. Shame on their employers for not taking the time to educate them.

One Florida contractor learned a hard lesson recently when an 8' trench collapsed killing one of his employees. OSHA investigated and added to his problems by citing him for a willful violation of the excavation and trenching standard. I say "shame on the contractor" because another serious citation was for "failing to adequately train... ."

According to OSHA, "the Havana, Fla., company is being cited for one willful violation with a proposed penalty of $49,000 for allowing two employees to continue working in an 8-foot-deep trench after removing a protective trench box. After the box was removed, one worker was crushed when a sidewall of the trench collapsed."

Want to know more about construction excavation and trenching? Need a good handout for your training program?

This booklet is designed as a desk reference for safety professionals and jobsite superintendents/foremen when dealing with Trenching & Excavation issues on their jobsites. It also serves well as a hand-out companion for trenching and excavation training sessions or for the trenching and excavation portion of an OSHA 10 or 30 hour course. Click Here for details.

Miami Construction Worker Rescued from Hole

The Miami Herald reported today that "A construction worker was pulled out of an eight-foot-deep hole Monday near Griffin Road in Southwest Ranches.

The man, 36, who was not immediately identified, was helping lay pipes as part of a street-widening project near Southwest 170th Avenue. Just before 11 a.m., Broward Fire-Rescue received a call that the man was stuck in the hole.

When firefighters arrived, they saw the man leaning over a 42-inch pipe. He said the concrete pipe struck him in the midsection, according to spokesman Mike Jachles.

He was airlifted to Memorial Regional Hospital."

That's all I know so far. I'll report more if I can.

Manhattan Man Dies in Trench Collapse

Not that Manhattan! Manhattan, Kansas. On Monday, according to WIBW TV in Kansas, "a man in his twenties was working at a new house construction site setting a plumbing line in a trench when the trench collapsed. It's not clear what went wrong at this time. Authorities say he was alone in the trench at the time. "

OSHA personnel were on the site yesterday to perform their investigation. However, the seasoned safety professional can guess - the trench probably wasn't shored or sloped, who know where the spoil was piled, and on top of all that - he was working alone! To read more, click here.

Tampa Contractor Fined $119,000 by OSHA

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is proposing $119,000 in penalties against WDG Construction Inc. for seven safety violations that exposed their employees to possible injury or death at two of its construction sites.

OSHA is proposing two willful citations with $99,000 in penalties after inspections conducted in July and August 2008 revealed that the Wesley Chapel, Fla., company violated OSHA standards by failing to provide employees with protection from cave-ins while they worked in trenches. The agency defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health.

The agency is proposing a repeat violation with an $8,000 penalty after it found that material excavated from a trench was placed too close to the edge of the excavation, making it possible for the soil to fall back into the trench where employees were working. The company had been cited for a similar violation following a 2007 inspection.

Four serious violations with penalties totaling $12,000 are being proposed for the company's failure to control water from seeping and accumulating in trenches, not providing proper ladders for employees working in trenches, not training employees to recognize unsafe conditions and failing to instruct employees in ladder safety.

"These proposed penalties reflect the seriousness of the dangers faced by employees and management's indifference to their employees' safety," said Les Grove, OSHA's area director in Tampa.

Unfortunately, this type of thing doesn't surprise me. My experience in Florida has been that we don't do very many trenches/excavations (except shallow) and we don't very often do them correctly. I have seen everyone of the citations noted above violated on Florida construction projects frequently. I'm surprised that they weren't cited for the lack of a "competent person" on the site. I believe that, if contractors made sure of compliance with the "competent person" requirement, the rest would fall in line.

Construction Worker Falls 15 feet into a Trench

The Bakersfield Californian reported that on January 6th, a construction worker fell 15 feet into an open trench. Apparently, he slipped while walking along the edge of the trench.

As safety people, we are usually very concerned about the dangers of trench collapses and injury to people working in the trench or excavation. This incident highlights another significant trenching hazard. I have spent a lot of time trying to get site personnel to understand the importance of barricades, stop logs, etc. to protect people and vehicles (like forklifts) from accidentally entering the open excavation. Well, I guess it's not so rare that a pedestrian worker accidentally falls into the trench.