OSHA Updates National Emphasis Program on Trenching & Excavation Safety
By: Kenny Young, CSP, ARM, AINS, CEAS
On October 2, 2018 OSHA updated the National Emphasis Program (NEP) on preventing trenching and excavation collapses. They state that this is “in response to a recent spike in trenching fatalities.” Working in trenches continues to be a fatalistic hazard despite there being proper procedures that can be easily followed to prevent such occurrences.
The President of our company was scrolling through Facebook a few weeks ago and a friend of his posted a picture of himself in a trench that seemed to be about 10’ deep and 6’ wide. He was showing off his dedication to working a Habitat for Humanity project. While I appreciate his efforts supporting the community, I’m appalled at the lack of safety measures put in place by the overseeing contractor that put the volunteer in the position he was in. The trench was dug vertically with no box and no ladder. It was a fatality waiting to happen.
This is an example of why OSHA is stepping up enforcement and educational outreach regarding trenching hazards. Starting October 1, 2018, OSHA’s emphasis program will start with a three-month education and prevention outreach program. However, they can’t get to everyone. It’s up to us as safety professionals to help spread the word on how to provide protections for workers working in excavations and trenches. After the three-month period, enforcement activities will begin and be in effect until cancelled.
Take some time out to learn more about the National Emphasis Program on Trenching and Excavation with this link. For more information on safety in trenching and excavation, you can go to OSHA’s webpage dedicated to the topic here. The webpage has OSHA’s downloadable OSHA QuickCard, public service announcement, and a poster to put on your jobsite. We all need to do our part to help our construction community identify these types of hazards and protect against them. I’ve also included a link to the OSHA 2226 document with answers to questions regarding trenching and excavation about the standard that are broken up into a digestible format if you are overwhelmed by the format of the written regulations.
We have safety professionals at Trinity Safety Group capable of training your team to identify trenching and excavation hazards. We provide competent person training for trenching and excavation, as well training for entrant employees. Please go to our website and fill out the contact form or give us a call at (877) 325-2580 to discuss your needs.