Excavation Safety in Review 2015

Draft 3 6 2016

The Age Old Problem• In 2013, which is the latest

national data available, 22 workers nationwide died in trenching cave-ins or excavation accidents, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

• The number of fatalities nationally was 15 in 2012 and 19 in 2011.

• No cave-in fatalities in IL in 2014.

Planning• Three things that should be

done to ensure a successful outcome.

• Worker Protection, • Protection of existing buried

and aboveground facilities, and • proper construction of the final

product. (CHST)

Criminal 2015• Prosecutors said on Wednesday that

the two managers — Wilmer Cueva, of Sky Materials, and Alfonso Prestia, of Harco Construction — had ignored repeated warnings for months from private inspectors that treacherous conditions existed at the site on Ninth Avenue

• Manslaughter and other charges were being brought against two construction managers and the companies they worked for in the April death of a worker at a Lower Manhattan building site.

Neri Update February 2015Mike Neri agreed to be permanently enjoined from engaging in trenching, excavation, construction or related activities and permanently prohibited from possessing or leasing any construction excavation equipment. • The judges also found that

Neri, based on a review of his tax returns and other financial records, was unable to pay the $110,440 fine.

• Mike Neri was released from Federal Prison December 24, 2014

OSHA Litigation 2015

• OSHA cited Pan Oceanic Engineering of Chicago $147,000

• $70,000 Willful cave in Protection 651(a)(1) Affirmed• $70,000 Repeat Sidewalk under-mined 651(i)(3) Vacated• $7,000 Competent Person 651(k) Vacated• Trial held in Spring.

How Many Issues?

Trench 5.5 feet deep

Criminal 2015• U.S. Sino Investment, its owner and

a project manager were convicted on involuntary manslaughter charges in the cave-in death of a construction worker at a Milpitas building site.

• Raul Zapata Mercado, 38, was killed January 28, 2012, after a 12-ft. wall of dirt collapsed on top of him

• Sentencing later July 2015• Cal-OSHA fined the company

$168,175 for an array of safety violations 

2015 Problems

• These are the common issues that I ran into in 2015 for underground

• Swing Radius needs to be guarded for excavators.

2015 Problems

• Trench 5-6 feet deep. • Spoil at edge. • No access.

2015 Problems

• People do not know how to shore a narrow trench less than 24 inches wide.

2015 Problem

• Workers do not know how to hand dig or deal with tree roots.

• One company in 2015 6 at fault hits. 21 not at fault,

• Cost per hit est $10,000-14,000

2015 Problems

• Locates not done for IDOT or Tollway areas (non JULIE)

2015 Problems

• Holes not secured and covered with steel plate and fenced off.

2015 Problems

• Rigging is used when damaged

2015 Problems

• Not keeping the 10 feet safe clearance from powerlines

• 240 volts temp lights may not be ok to encroach on the 10 foot.

• Weatherproofing is not insulation.

2015 Problems

• Workers have ZERO documented training in the MUCTD so set up cones and flags haphazardly

2015 Problem

• Workers use trench boxes with only three struts

• They are not sure where the tabulated data is anymore

Dec 2015• Milton NY• Two people were taken to the

hospital after a trench they were working in collapsed Monday in Saratoga County.

• The sheriff's office says Mark Vadnais and Barbara Reed were working on a water line at the Northern Pines Mobile Home Park on Lewis Road in Milton around 12:45 p.m.

• They were in a trench about six feet deep when it started to collapse.

Dec 2015• Houston TX• Officials said the 58 year old

employee was not wearing a seat belt when the machine went into a retention pond. 

• Investigators said the excavator partially sank in the pond.

Nov 2015

• Coon Rapids MN• A construction worker

in Coon Rapids was rescued by fire crews after he was buried up to his face in a trench collapse.

Coon River practicing trench rescue

Nov 2015• Kaukana WI• The Kaukauna Fire Department

says the man trapped in the trench died as a result of the collapse.

• They say the man is in his 40s and is believed to be from the Valley area, but they are not releasing his name or what company he worked for.

Oct 2015• Columbia MD• A man is recovering after he

was trapped in a collapsed trench for about an hour Saturday evening in Columbia, Maryland, police said.

• The man was digging a trench for a water pipe in the 6400 block of Barchink Place when the trench collapsed, burying him up to his chest, just before 7:45 p.m.

Sep 2015

• West Fargo ND• 15 feet deep• Construction worker

rescued out of a trench where he had been buried up to his waist after a wall of clay collapsed on him in West Fargo.

Sep 2015

• Chicago IL• Carlos F. Soto, 40, had

been fatally engulfed by dirt from the truck.

Sep 2015

• Wilmington NC• Hines says the men were

helping unload concrete vaults off a flatbed truck when the arm of a track hoe hit a powerline.

• He says it energized the track hoe and then the wet ground where the men were standing electrocuting them.

• Both died

Sep 2015

• Bellevue WA• The co-workers said they had

found him face-down in a 10-foot Trench that had two feet of water in the bottom.

Sep 2015

• Las Vegas• Worker struck and killed by

trench plate.• "He was assisting in putting a

4-thousand pound plate of steel in place and it was not secured and it fell over and crushed him," he said.

How would you lift this plate?

June 2015

• Jefferson Co, KY• 8-10 feet. • Sewer line• 19 year old killed

June 2015

• Plymouth MA• A construction worker

has died after a 150ft wall of sand fell onto his front-end loader and crushed him.

June 2015• Maryville IL• A teen was trapped in the

mud. • It appears the teen was

working in a ditch or trench adjacent to a home.  

• He hit a water main while digging the hole.  

• Mud formed in the hole where the person was working.

June 2015• Omaha NE• "Jeff Glup, 42, was fatally

injured Wednesday afternoon about 2:30 p.m. on the Papillion Public Works construction site. Glup, who was a laborer, received a fatal electrical shock when he came in contact with a live electrical conductor while working in a trench installing a storm sewer drain.

May 2015

• St. Louis• 16 foot deep• Buried up to

neck• Rescued

May 2015• CTA Yellow Line• The embankment gave way late

Sunday as the Water reclamation district was digging a new deep trench for a box culvert to handle the delivery and exit of wastewater at the treatment plant next door.

• Interlocked pilings were driven deep into the embankment wall and cross bars were in place to prevent the collapse.

• Those didn't work, and no one is certain why.

May 2015• Covington LA• One dead, one buried to

chest• "All he kept asking was,

or requesting, was please get me out of here, please get me out of here. I want to see my baby born,"

April 2015• New York City• Carlos Moncayo, a 22-

year-old laborer from Queens, was trying to make a living as he worked on the construction of a Restoration Hardware store at 19 Ninth Ave. in Manhattan on April 6, 2015.

• Instead, his life ended that day when the 14-foot-deep trench in which he was working collapsed and buried him beneath tons of soil and debris.

$70,000 for sidewalk undermined$70,000 for no cave-in protection

March 2015• Bakerfield CA• He was conscious when

firefighters arrived at the scene, northwest of Highway 119 and Ashe Road, but he complained of pain in his hips and legs and remained trapped from his chest down

March 2015• FL• $64 million• Robert Matthews, 25, had been

working underneath the building when a train went by the construction site, causing the ground to vibrate, and the entire building to shift and slide toward him. 

• The Phospate company closed in 2014

March 2015

• $7000• OSHA

must give copies of photos to opposition

March 2015• FL• $64 million• Robert Matthews, 25, had been

working underneath the building when a train went by the construction site, causing the ground to vibrate, and the entire building to shift and slide toward him. 

• The Phospate company closed in 2014

March 2015• Water jet cutting at 2000 psi

to cut tree roots blocking the sewer.

• The cutting head by the green flag.

• No need to enter the confined space or dig it out.

• Everything is lowered in the manhole.

February 2015

• Columbia SC• 6 foot deep• City worker

died in collapse

February 2015• Riley County KS• RCPD Officer Matt Droge says

a city crew was digging a ditch with steep walls.

• When emergency crews arrived, the first unit found the victim was buried up to his waist in dirt and mud

• He died the next day.

February 2015

• Houston TX• Worker

seriously hurt when falling 20 ft into excavation

January 2015

• NYC• 10 foot deep• Buried up to the chest• Coned provided

vacuum trucks to suck up dirt.

Pot Holing

• Hand dig until find the lines

• Some companies do 75 locates a week or more

JULIE Markings

• The gas meter is a good indicator

Before and After Safe?

Soil Testing• Appendix A• Pocket Penetrometer• Thumb penetration• Ribbon Test• others

Soil Classification

• Appendix A, section (c)(2): The classification of deposits shall be made on the results of least one manual and one visual analysis.

Soil Classification

• Soil is cracking due to vibration from traffic. Soil type was classified as a Type C.

• Note: Vibration must be able to be felt.

Power lines

• Equipment must stay at least 10’ away from power lines

• Violation• This equipment got

within 5 feet of lower power lines.

The Future

651(k)(2)

651(j)(2)

651(k)(1)

651(c)(2)

652(a)(1)

55

159

173

242

512

Excavations[1926.650 – .652]

COMPETENT PERSON - INSPECTION AND EMPLOYEE REMOVAL

COMPETENT PERSON - INSPECTIONS

PROTECTION FROM FALLING/ROLLING MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT

SAFE EGRESS

CAVE-IN PROTECTION

SUB

PAR

T P

#1 1926.652(a)(1)

• Protection from Cave-in

• Many use double stacked boxes when over 10 feet.

#2 1926.651 (c)(2)• Means of egress from

trench excavations. A stairway, ladder, ramp or other safe means of egress shall be located in trench excavations that are 4 feet (1.22 m) or more in depth so as to require no more than 25 feet (7.62 m) of lateral travel for employees.

#3 1926.651(k)(1)

• Daily inspections of excavations, the adjacent areas, and protective systems shall be made by a competent person

#4 1926.651(j)(2)• Protection shall be provided by

placing and keeping such materials or equipment at least 2 feet (.61 m) from the edge of excavations, or by the use of retaining devices that are sufficient to prevent materials or equipment from falling or rolling into excavations, or by a combination of both if necessary.

#5 1926.651(k)(2)• Where the competent person

finds evidence of a situation that could result in a possible cave-in, indications of failure of protective systems, hazardous atmospheres, or other hazardous conditions, exposed employees shall be removed from the hazardous area until the necessary precautions have been taken to ensure their safety.

#6 1926.651 (h)(1)

• Employees shall not work in excavations in which there is accumulated water, or in excavations in which water is accumulating,

#7 1926.651 (d)• Exposure to vehicular

traffic. Employees exposed to public vehicular traffic shall be provided with, and shall wear, warning vests or other suitable garments marked with or made of reflectorized or high-visibility material.

#8 1926.651 (i)(3)• Sidewalks, pavements and

structure shall not be undermined unless a support system or another method of protection is provided to protect employees from the possible collapse of such structures.

#9 1926.651(j)(1)

• Adequate protection shall be provided to protect employees from loose rock or soil that could pose a hazard by falling or rolling from an excavation face.

#10 1926.651(e)

• No employee shall be permitted underneath loads handled by lifting or digging equipment. 

New Confined Space Rule

• ‘‘competent person’’ conduct the initial job site evaluation,

• continuous air monitoring of confined spaces is performed,

• continuous ventilation is used• information to be shared among

employers is specified by the rule and

• coordination with rescue teams must be done in advance of a confined space entry, although teams don’t have to be present at the site.

Examples • Bins; • Boilers and vessels; • pits (such as elevator, escalator,

pump, valve or other equipment); • manholes (such as sewer, storm

drain, electrical, communication, or other utility);

• tanks (such as fuel, chemical, water, or other liquid, solid or gas);

• Incinerators and scrubbers; • concrete pier columns;• Sewers and storm drains; • transformer vaults; • step up transformers; • turbines;

• heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) ducts

• water mains; • precast concrete and other pre-

formed manhole units; • drilled shafts; • enclosed beams; • Digesters and lift stations; • cesspools; • silos; • air receivers; • sludge gates; • air preheaters; • chillers; • bag houses; and/or• mixers/reactors

1926.1201(a)

Hazardous Atmospheres• Testing and controls

– To prevent harmful levels of atmospheric contaminants– Less than 19.5% or more than 23.5% oxygen– Less than 10% LEL– No Carbon Monoxide, Hydrogen Sulfide and other

Toxics

Confined Space

A space that: Is large enough and so

configured that an employee can bodily enter and perform assigned work

Has limited or restricted entry/exit means

Is not designed for continuous Employee occupancy

Ventilate or Ventilation

• means controlling a hazardous atmosphere using continuous forced-air mechanical systems that meet the requirements of §1926.57

• the employer who identifies, or who receives notice of, a permit space must:

• Inform exposed employees by posting danger signs or by any other equally effective means, of the existence and location of, and the danger posed by, each permit space; and

• Note to paragraph (b)(1). A sign reading “DANGER -- PERMIT-REQUIRED CONFINED SPACE, DO NOT ENTER” or using other similar language would satisfy the requirement for a sign.

• (2) Inform, in a timely manner and in a manner other than posting, its employees’ authorized representatives and the controlling contractor of the existence and location of, and the danger posed by, each permit space.

1926.1203(b)(1)

• the employer who identifies, or who receives notice of, a permit space must:

• Inform, in a timely manner and in a manner other than posting, its employees’ authorized representatives and the controlling contractor of the existence and location of, and the danger posed by, each permit space.

1926.1203(b)(2)

• Continuous forced air ventilation must be used…..

1926.1203(b)(2)(v)

• The atmosphere within the space must be continuously monitored

1926.1203(b)(2)(vi)

• If any employer decides that employees it directs will enter a permit space, that employer must have a written permit space program that complies with §1926.1204 implemented at the construction site.

• The written program must be made available prior to and during entry operations for inspection by employees and their authorized representatives.

1926.1203(d)(1)

Who Will Rescue?

• July 2015• Fairfax County VA

Timber Shoring

Questions?