Designing an Engineered Shoring Solution
Some excavations are relatively straightforward and simply require choosing the right excavation protective system for the job. Others — deep or complex trenches — require a custom...
The 4 Key Roles in Permit-Required Confined Spaces
Every time your workers enter a permit-required confined space (PRCS), they’re trusting that your company and its managers and field supervisors have taken the necessary steps to...
Trench Safety By the Numbers
Trench work can be complicated. It’s also potentially dangerous, as evidenced by troubling fatality rates. In April 2019, the industry saw more trench fatalities than in any...
How to Maximize the Pre-Job Briefing
What’s the first thing your workers do on the jobsite each day? A pre-job briefing, held before anyone picks up a hammer or begins laying pipe, will prepare them for the tasks...
What Is a ‘Competent Person’?
Many OSHA standards, such as 1926 subpart P for trenching and excavation, require a competent person to be onsite and perform certain activities. For example, during trench...
When Is a Trench a Confined Space?
OSHA requires employers to follow set procedures whenever their employees are working inside a confined space. But what exactly is a confined space, and does a trench qualify? A...
When Do You Need an Engineer for Your Trench Shoring Design?
Deeper trenches and large surcharges require professional input. Contractors can often develop their own shoring designs for trench excavations. But there are times when they need...
Trench Safety Tips for Spring and Summer
Wet weather can change what’s safe and what’s not. Spring and summer rains can create additional challenges when it comes to building a trench and maintaining trench safety...
Taking Trench Safety Seriously
Earlier this year the Kentucky Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program issued a hazard alert after a spate of deaths from trench collapses in that state. As an...
Buried Alive: Lessons from a Trench Collapse Survivor
Eric Giguere remained conscious for only 90 seconds after a trench cave-in left him trapped 6 ½ feet underground. It was plenty of time to experience the terror of being buried...
