Advice for those working in trenches
Dear Editor,
The collapse of trenches is a very real danger faced by construction workers when doing excavations, as revealed by recent fatalities.
Trench collapses are entirely avoidable. Without suitable support, any face of an excavation will collapse. It’s just a matter of time. The steeper and deeper the face (that is, the sides of the trench), the wetter the soil, especially with moisture from recent rainfall, prepare for a collapse. Practical advice on working on excavation includes:
(1) Avoid going inside trenches deeper than the height of your knee. And certainly do not kneel down or bend in shallow trenches. Once your head and chest are below the top of the trench, collapse can lead to fatalities.
(2) If a trench must be used, prevent the sides and the ends of the trenches from collapsing by battering them to a safe angle (having a benched sidewall/endwall) or supporting them with support systems.
(3) Provide suitable edge protection to prevent people and materials from falling into the open excavation, and from entering unsupported excavations.
(4) Avoid loading the ground adjacent to the excavation with heavy equipment, spoils from the excavation, stored material or foundation loads from existing structures.
(5) Ensure that a ladder — after shoring the sides — is available for access and egress.
(6) Never work ahead of any sidewall support. I do hope these simple steps will make us all more aware of the very real dangers of working in trenches deeper than your knees.
B Richardson
St Andrew
guyedison@yahoo.com