Trench collapses, or cave-ins, pose the greatest risk to workers' lives. To prevent cave-ins: Employers should also ensure there is a safe way to enter and exit the trench. Keep materials away from the edge of the trench. Look for standing water or atmospheric hazards. Never enter a trench unless it has been properly inspected.

2024年2月23日 · Workers should never work in an unprotected trench. A trench can collapse or cave-in at any moment. Without a protective system in place, a trench collapse can crush and suffocate workers. Working in an unprotected trench is dangerous. The walls can collapse suddenly and without warning.

Workers are at risk of death from cave-ins during trenching and ex-cavation activities. NIOSH recom-mends engineering controls, pro-tective equipment, and safe work practices to minimize hazards for workers. Workers who dig or excavate trench-es are at risk of death if they enter an unprotected trench and the walls col-lapse.

Trench collapses, or cave-ins, pose the greatest risk to workers’ lives. When done safely, trenching operations can reduce worker exposure to other potential hazards include falls, falling loads, hazardous atmospheres, and incidents involving mobile equipment. OSHA standards require that employers provide workplaces free of recognized hazards.

OSHA defines an excavation as any man-made cut, cavity, trench, or depression in the Earth’s surface formed by earth removal. A trench is defined as a narrow excavation (in relation to its length) made below the surface of the ground.

2019年7月10日 · Trench cave-ins can trap victims within seconds and kill them within minutes. A cave-in that contains three to five cubic yards of soil weighs 8,000 to 14,000 pounds – a victim can suffocate in less than three minutes.

2022年6月9日 · A trench collapse or a cave-in occurs when the walls of the trench or excavation site collapse inwards due to instability or improper use of safety techniques such as sloping or benching the sides of the trench, shoring or supporting the sides of the excavation, or placing a shield between the sides of the excavation/trench and the work area.

2015年5月13日 · How much force can a trench cave-in impart on the human body? And what are the health effects? When we think about the damage that a cave-in can do, we tend to think exclusively in terms of how much soil weighs and how hard it will press on the worker.

To minimize the potential for a collapse, OSHA identifies several methods for promoting workplace safety in trenches. The easiest, if there is space and the soil allows it, is to slope the embankment at a maximum of 1:1 slope, a 2:1 slope is preferred. Additional methods require materials to support the excavation.

Types of Trench Cave-Ins. When looking at different forms of soil, knowing where the softer ground sits and what to look out for is another part of designing a solution. Hard soil (Type A) is less likely to give way to the pressure of traffic while soft soil (Type B, Type C) is provides a point in which cave-ins could occur.