For the first time in the state’s history, a Washington employer will go to jail for the death of one of his employees due to trench safety violations.

The incident occurred back in 2016 when a worker was crushed to death under more than 6,000 pounds of dirt when an 8- to 10-foot-deep trench caved in on top of him at a West Seattle home. Washington state OSHA regulations require trenches over 4-feet deep to be shored (the federal OSHA requirement is 5 feet.)

The Labor and Industries (L&I) Department, which houses Washington OSHA, cited the construction company in September 2016 and fined the company $51,500, including two willful violations stating that the company “knowingly ignored basic, common-sense safety rules”.

The trench in question had been dug for over a week prior. During the time it was open, there were several days of heavy rain. The trench was only shored on two sides and only part way up. It was dug right next to the house and a sidewalk, weakening the support for both of them. The dirt taken out of the trench was piled right next to it. The trench dirt had been previously loosened from earlier digging. The worker was given a reciprocating saw to use in the trench which vibrated it and further loosened the dirt. Each one of these things made the trench more likely to collapse. There was also no ladder or other safe way to get out quickly.

Violations included: not protecting workers from cave-in; failure to have an accident-prevention program for excavation work; no ladder or other safe way to enter and exit the trench; sidewalks and structures were not supported to protect employees; dirt and other materials were less than 2 feet from the edge of the excavation; and there were no daily inspections of the changing soil conditions.

Trench collapses are well known hazards and easy to prevent if federal or state OSHA standards are followed. Yet every month, workers die (or in a few cases are rescued) from unsafe trenches in this country. Federal OSHA requires every trench over 5-feet deep to be protected with a trench box or some other form of shoring or sloping. The problem is that trench walls can collapse in seconds and you generally can’t dig someone out of a deep collapsed trench. One cubic meter of soil weighs around 3,000 pounds — the size of a small automobile. When an automobile falls on your chest, you are unlikely to survive. Even the attempt to dig someone out is fraught with peril: collapsed trenches can continue to collapse, endangering the rescuers.

Criminal Charges

Two years after the worker’s death, King County Prosecutor’s Office charged the company owner with felony second-degree manslaughter and violation of labor safety regulation for alleged negligence that caused the death. It was the first time a Washington employer had faced felony manslaughter charges for a workplace death. According to L&I Director Joel Sacks, “There are times when a monetary penalty isn’t enough.”

However, instead of the manslaughter charge, the prosecutor’s office later backed down and reached a settlement with the owner, where he pleaded guilty to the crime of Attempted Reckless Endangerment, a simple misdemeanor and agreed to serve 45 days in jail. The company must also pay a fine of $100,000 (in addition to the original L&I fine) and serve probation for 18 months.

The owner is the first Washington state employer to serve time in jail for a workplace death, but he may not be the last. Five people were charged with manslaughter after the January 2020 trench collapse at a wind farm facility in Lewis County that killed a 24-year-old worker. A Lewis County Superior Court judge later dismissed all charges against four of the five codefendants. Only one of the individuals will face one count of first-degree manslaughter.

A Powerful Deterrent

According to officials, the prospect of jail time can be a powerful deterrent for employers who routinely cut corners on workplace safety. However, only 110 worker death cases have been criminally prosecuted under the Occupational Safety and Health Act since 1970, with defendants serving a total of at least 112 months in jail.

Local prosecutors have been more active, to include:

• In Philadelphia, the district attorney successfully prosecuted the general contractor and crane operator for the deaths of six individuals in the 2013 Salvation Army building collapse, winning convictions for involuntary manslaughter and jail time.
• In New York City, the Manhattan district attorney won a manslaughter conviction against a general contractor for the 2015 trenching death of a young undocumented immigrant construction worker. The foreman for the excavation company was convicted of criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment, and sentenced to one to three years in jail.

This article was originally written by Jordan Barab of Confined Space.
https://jordanbarab.com/confinedspace/2022/03/15/trench-jail-time/

Additional Resources

If you’re concerned that your rescue service may not be adequately prepared, give us a call or check out these resources for more information on how to keep you and your personnel safe around trenches.

• Trench Safety & Rescue Articles: Read More
• Trench Training: Competent Person | Trench Rescue Technician
• Recorded Webinar: Staying Safe in the Trenches

You’ll spot them everywhere – from a local utility company working in your neighborhood to your workplace at an industrial or manufacturing facility during construction. It’s way too common to see an open trench unattended and unprotected. And, as we know, it’s only a matter of time until it collapses.

More and more of our customers are asking questions to address safety-related concerns. For example, who’s signing off on the trench project? Is the person you have signing off that a trench is constructed properly and safe for entry trained to know what to look for? Do they have the authority to act (competent person), or are they assuming that the contractor is “doing the right thing”? It is all too common that supervisors are signing off on trench permits without having any trench safety training or experience. Therefore, they cannot be considered competent persons.

Of course, this is troubling. It’s troubling due to the hazards involved and the personnel who will be entering the trench. A trench collapse happens in seconds, making an escape very unlikely once the soil starts moving. Due to the weight of the soil and the speed of the collapse, most do not survive.

Trench safety starts with the Competent Person. If none are available, who is watching out for the safety of the entrants? Not just anybody will do. According to 1926.650(b), the Competent Person is “one who is capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards in the surroundings, or working conditions which are unsanitary, hazardous, or dangerous to employees, and who has authorization to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate them.” Who on your site is responsible for this? Do they have the authority to correct hazards immediately?

Hopefully, we’ve convinced you of the importance of a trained and experienced Competent Person. Now, what about rescue in case the worst does happen? You’ve got an extremely hazardous situation – is your rescue service prepared for this? Your emergency response team may be trained for most emergencies, but what about this one?

Trench is one of the most dangerous rescue disciplines. It requires special knowledge, such as soil classification, hazard analysis and mitigation, understanding tabulated data, and the proper installation of shoring and shielding systems, just to name a few. It also requires specialized equipment that many response organizations simply don’t possess. This seems to be true for most municipal and industrial teams. With specialized training and equipment required for safe operations, it’s a commitment that most rescue teams just can’t make.

With trench rescue, timeliness is everything. Although it is often a slow and tedious process, proper training and equipment can be the difference between a rescue and a body recovery. Don’t ignore this hazard that may be located on your street or worksite. Take a careful look around, we think you’ll be surprised with the number of trenches and excavations that are occurring on a daily basis.

Did You Know?

After researching many of the questions we have received concerning trench operations, we came across this OSHA Letter of Interpretation that was reviewed most recently on November 8, 2018.
Note: It is always important to review all standards and regulations in their entirety.

Here are some excerpts:

1. Can workers enter a trench with water accumulation if the workers are protected from cave-in by shoring, shields or sloping, and the water level is controlled?

Paragraph .651(h) of 29 CFR 1926 allows workers to work in a trench with water accumulation, provided adequate precautions have been taken to protect employees against the hazards posed by water accumulation. The precautions necessary to comply with the standard vary with each situation, and the precautions you listed, such as additional shoring and control of the water level may not, in all cases, provide the required employee protection. 

2. The Stairways and Ladders Standard requires that a stairway or ladder shall be provided at points of access where there is a break in elevation of 19 inches or more. The Excavation Standard requires a ladder or other means of access and egress when the trench is 4 feet or more. Which of these requirements is applicable to trenching operations?

Be advised that since the specific excavation standard also addresses means of access and egress, the more general requirement in the stairways and ladders subpart is not applicable. A ladder, stairway, ramp or other safe means of access is required only when the trench is four feet or more in depth. Paragraph 651(c)(2) also states…as to require no more than 25 feet (7.62 m) of lateral travel for employees.

3. Must rescue equipment be available at every trenching jobsite that is located near or passes by a gas station, refinery, gas line, sewer main, etc.? Can a contractor rely on the local rescue squad since they are probably better equipped to handle a rescue?

Emergency rescue equipment is required to be readily available where a competent person determines, based on the conditions at each jobsite, that hazardous atmospheric conditions exist or may reasonably be expected to develop during work in an excavation.

In regard to whether a contractor can rely on a local rescue squad instead of providing the rescue equipment, please be advised that many emergency situations associated with the hazards involved with hazardous atmospheres in trenches would normally require an immediate response within a few minutes or even seconds.

A rescue squad would be unable to provide the necessary response and therefore could not be used to comply with 1926.651(g)(2).

4. If a contractor has several of the same make and model trench shields at a jobsite, does he have to have separate manufacturer's tabulated data on hand for each specific shield? We have been told that the shields and the data sheets must have the same serial number in order to be in compliance.

Be advised that only one set of tabulated data is required for each different shield design. If a contractor uses several shields of the identical make and model, only one set of tabulated data would be required for them.

5. Do excavations greater than 20 feet have to be designed by an RPE (Registered Professional Engineer) or can manufacturer's tabulated data be used in lieu of an RPE? For example, a contractor may have boxes rated for depths greater than 20 feet.

Protective systems that are designed using a manufacturer's tabulated data can be used in trenches deeper than 20 feet provided the use is within the limits of the data, including depth limitations and soil type. It should be noted that all tabulated data, by definition (1926.650), must be approved by an RPE.

6. We clearly understand that a ladder has to be secured, but we are not sure how. Contractors have informed us that compliance officers have told them that they cannot secure a ladder to the shoring system or in some cases the trench shield. These same contractors have been told to secure the ladder by driving a stake into the ground and to tie the ladder off to the stake. This alternate method presents three different problems: 1) It is not always possible to drive a stake through concrete or asphalt sidewalks or pavement; 2) This method creates a tripping hazard next to the trench; 3) Some contractors believe that driving a stake could create a stress crack. Please clarify these requirements for us?

Paragraphs 1926.1053(b)(6) and (7) address ladder footing displacement which is not normally a problem in trenches. If a ladder needs to be secured against tipping, it may be secured to a shield or member of a protective structure provided the ladder does not alter the effectiveness of the protective system.

7. Does the competent person have to be standing by the trench at all times during the work shift or can he/she go off site for short periods of time, such as lunch, meeting, or maybe to pick up supplies at the local builder’s supply store? Can the competent person move around the jobsite away from the trench? Often the foreman is the competent person and he may have other responsibilities at the jobsite.

It is not normally necessary for a competent person to be at a jobsite at all times. However, it is the responsibility of a competent person to ensure compliance with applicable regulations and to make those inspections necessary to identify situations that could result in possible cave-ins, indications of failure of protective systems, hazardous atmospheres, or other hazardous conditions, and then to ensure that corrective measures are taken. Consistent with these goals, the competent person may perform other duties.

8. Must an RPE approve all work when digging below a footing, foundation, retaining wall, sidewalk or pavement? We recognize the need for an RPE to design a system to support buildings and structures. However, we don't agree that an RPE is needed to layout a system to support sidewalks, pavement, and in some cases small structures like a small retaining wall. It is often very difficult to find an RPE who is willing to take on small incidental projects.

An RPE approval is not required when the excavation is not "reasonably expected to pose a hazard to employees." In situations where it is reasonably expected to pose a hazard, an RPE approval is not required when a support system, such as underpinning, is provided to ensure the safety of employees and the stability of the structure, or the excavation is in stable rock.

9. At what point and under what conditions would OSHA consider a trench a confined space?

Under normal circumstances, a trench would not be considered a confined space. The excavation standards address the hazards associated with employees entering potentially harmful atmospheres by requiring atmospheric testing and controls where hazardous atmospheres exist or could reasonably be expected to exist.

10. Some compliance officers are telling contractors that they must use a penetrometer or shearvane to estimate the compressive strength of soil and that the thumb test is unacceptable. Keeping in mind that these are field tests. We realize that the thumb test is not accurate, but neither is the penetrometer that many compliance officers swear by. What is OSHA's interpretation for using a thumb test versus an instrument?

Be advised that the thumb penetration test is one of the acceptable methods of estimating soil compressive strength. The compressive strength can be determined by laboratory testing, or estimated in the field using a penetrometer, shearvane, thumb penetration tests, as well as by other methods.

Source: OSHA Letter of Interpretation: Construction standards addressing excavations (reviewed November 8, 2018)

Additional Resources

If you’re concerned that your rescue service may not be adequately prepared, give us a call or check out these resources for more information on how to keep you and your personnel safe around trenches.

Trench Safety & Rescue Articles: Read More

Trench Training: Competent Person | Trench Rescue Technician

In a grim reminder about the dangers of trench and excavation work, this article from Safety+Health Magazine also serves as a warning to employers. “The court’s decision sends a message to business owners that they can be held criminally accountable and face felony charges if they knowingly fail to protect their workers.”

The owner of Alki Construction LLC has been charged with second-degree manslaughter after an employee was buried while replacing a residential sewer pipe in a trench that had inadequate shoring and was missing a ladder.

Remember to ensure that you have a properly trained Trench Competent Person on site, and check out OSHA's Trenching and Excavation Safety Fact Sheet as a reminder when scheduling trench work.

June is Trench Safety Month and June 15-19 is Trench Safety Stand Down week. We are partnering with NUCA (National Utility Contractors Association) to encourage everyone who does trenching or excavation as part of their work to participate in the Stand Down by holding a toolbox talk on trench safety. Here's how you can prepare for your stand down. (Remember, participating in the stand down by talking about safety is more important than when you do it.) 

We're also making available a number of informational resources you can use as part of a safety talk or presentation (see below). Our webinar with NUCA about the trench competent person, as well as how you can help the rescue team should you need to call them had lots of great questions. We didn't have time to address all of them within the hour.

Below are the questions that we didn't get to discuss live, and the answers.

What is the maximum gap allowed between the dirt and backside of a trench box or sheet piling?

OSHA speaks to this issue in the standard and a Letter of Interpretation. From OSHA Standard 1926.652(g)(ii) requires that trench shields be installed “to restrict lateral or other hazardous movement.”

 This Letter of Interpretation states " although our standard does not set a maximum distance between a shield box and a trench face, an employer would be required to ensure that, in the event of a collapse of the face, the shield would not move laterally. "

If you are sitting in an excavator inside the excavation, does it still need to be sloped in accordance with the standard?

Yes, OSHA requires that all employees that are exposed to soil collapse shall be protected from potential cave-in. In a Letter of Interpretation, OSHA does speak directly to pile-driving equipment and operations and states that the excavation must be sloped/protected.

We recently had a vendor come out selling inflatable trench panels.  Anybody have experience with them, or an opinion on them?

We circulated this question among our trench rescue instructors, who are also active rescuers in municipal departments from New York to Idaho. We have not had first-hand experience with inflatable trench panels, either by demonstration or in actual use. Thank you for making us aware of this alternative equipment.

Is a Daily Excavation Safety Checklist required to be completed prior to work starting for the day?

The OSHA standard requires a daily inspection be completed prior to the start of work, after any rainstorm, dewatering activities, and after any hazard causing event.

If a trench box is installed, is it best to back fill around the box to prevent sudden failures of soil outside of the box from crashing into the box?  In other words, fill the void spaces / eliminate soil momentum?

OSHA speaks to this issue in the standard and a Letter of Interpretation. From OSHA Standard 652(g)(ii) requires that trench shields be installed “to restrict lateral or other hazardous movement.”

 The Letter of Interpretation states "although our standard does not set a maximum distance between a shield box and a trench face, an employer would be required to ensure that, in the event of a collapse of the face, the shield would not move laterally. "

Should excavations beyond 4 - 5 feet in depth be permit required confined spaces?

No. The OSHA Construction Industry Confined Space Standard Subpart AA 1926.1201(b)(1) states that the standard does not apply to construction work regulated by 1926 Subpart P—Excavations. However, an entity may choose to exceed OSHA’s minimum requirements and classify excavations/trenches as confined spaces. If an entity does apply the definition to a trench, then they are now required to follow all of the confined space requirements as stipulated in 1926.1200 Subpart AA.

More Resources

Here's a great 1-pager designed for a toolbox talk:

And here's the same 1-pager in Spanish:

This is a checklist you can use for planning and continuous monitoring of an open trench, and also a good topic of conversation to share with your team:

Questions? Reach out to us. We're here to help.

Stay Safe,

The Roco Rescue Team

IMPORTANT: The information at RocoRescue.com is provided as a complimentary service. It is a general information resource and is not intended as legal advice. Because standards and regulations relating to this topic are typically performance based, and compliance with those standards and regulation is often dependent on the specific circumstances and conditions at hand, it is always important to carefully review all relevant standards and regulations, and to follow the proper protocols specific to your company or agency.

A rash of trench incidents has left behind multiple fatalities and untold devastation to families. The following incidents occurred in only a matter of weeks. We log these incidents as a reminder of how deadly trenches can be. Proper training and the right equipment are needed before attempting a rescue; or, as in most cases, a recovery.

These events came to our attention over recent weeks including one incident in which the victim was not even in the trench until the ground collapsed beneath him. Another incident happened adjacent to the department where one of our Roco Chief Instructors (Brad Warr) works in Idaho. His department also responded.

As you read these accounts, pay careful attention to how tragic and deadly these incidents can be.

We’ve also included two successful trench rescues at the end of these stories.

REMEMBER: OSHA advises to “Protect Yourself…” Do not enter an unprotected trench! Trenches 5-feet deep or greater require a protective system unless the excavation is made entirely in stable rock. Trenches 20-foot deep or greater require protective systems designed by a registered professional engineer. OSHA also requires safe access and egress to all excavations, including ladders, steps, ramps or other safe means in trenches 4-feet or deeper. The devices must be located within 25-feet of all workers.

Worker Killed After Being Trapped in 16-Foot-Deep Trench

(4/26/19) DEKALB COUNTY, GEORGIA 

Fire-Rescue crews were called out to a subdivision construction site Friday afternoon in DeKalb County after crews reported that a 16-foot trench had collapsed on top of a worker.

Firefighters said that the man was helping to guide a backhoe as it dug the trench and the ground gave way, trapping the construction worker inside.

"The ground below him caved in and he fell into the hole. The hole was about 16 feet deep and about two feet of dirt on each side of the hole fell on top of the victim and covered him up," said Capt. Dion Bentley with DeKalb Fire Rescue.

Firefighters reported that two other construction workers at the site tried to rescue the victim when it first happened.

Investigators said there was no trench box inside the hole when the collapse happened. Crews said that was because no one was working inside the trench when the collapse happened. It is unclear if that violates OSHA rules. OSHA officials will now be responsible for investigating the incident.

Man Dies Before Being Rescued from Trench

(4/25/19) ALPINE, UTAH

A man working to install a pool in the backyard of a home died in a trench collapse Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.

The victim, a 53-year-old man, was pronounced dead at the scene from injuries suffered in the collapse, Lone Peak Fire Chief Reed Thompson said.

Lone Peak Fire Department crews responded to the collapse shortly after 1 p.m. When crews arrived, they found a man with dirt up to his waist.

"We were told by others on scene that prior to our arrival, he had been encapsulated up to his neck," Thompson said.

The man died before crews could rescue him from the fallen trench, Thompson added. The Lone Peak Fire Department was helped in the recovery effort by the Utah County Technical Rescue Team, which includes crews from American Fork, Lehi, Pleasant Grove and Orem.

"In this particular incident, the victim was in a trench that did not have any security measure in place — such as shoring — and was deeper than what OSHA requires at 4 feet," Thompson said. "As a result of that, you've got heavy dirt and other materials that can potentially fall or collapse into the open hole, which is what occurred."

Man Dies When Trench Collapses

(4/21/19) LYCOMING COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

One man was killed in a rural area when a trench dug to fix a water line problem collapsed around him. The man was pronounced dead in the trench but it took nearly three hours to remove the body. Rescuers first had to shore the sides of the eight-foot deep ditch. The coroner listed asphyxiation as the cause of death.

While there were no witnesses to the collapse, family members believe he was buried about 15 minutes in the 15-foot long x 6-foot wide trench. Family members had cleared the clay-based soil from around the victim’s head before emergency responders arrived at the scene.

Although no pulse was detected, rescuers continued to remove dirt down to his waist in a rescue effort. Those efforts were discontinued once a paramedic with a heart monitor determined he was dead.

Two Workers Die in Colorado Trench Collapse

(4/17/19) WELD COUNTY, COLORADO

Two construction workers died after having been trapped in a 15-foot-deep trench that collapsed on top of them at a Colorado residential property.

The Fire Chief of Windsor Severance Fire Rescue said that the two men were working in the trench when it collapsed, completely burying them in dirt and compact soil.

Despite an hours-long rescue operation, both men died from injuries sustained in the incident. It was early the next morning when the fire department announced that the operation had switched from a rescue to a recovery effort, which was expected to take several more hours.

When Windsor Fire Rescue arrived on the scene, workers had been able to insert a PVC pipe to one of the trapped men, allowing him to communicate with the rescue crews above ground. No contact with the second worker was made, the release said.

The soil condition of where the workers were trapped made the excavation process more difficult as only small hand shovels and buckets could be used since the ground was both unstable and compacted.

Extreme caution was used to prevent further injury to the two men, the release said.

When rescue workers reached the trapped men, they had already succumbed to their injuries.

(Photo used above is courtesy of Windsor Severance Fire Rescue.)

Two Dead After Trench Collapse

(4/10/2019) NEW PLYMOUTH, IDAHO

Two men, working for a private company installing irrigation pipes in a rural area, were killed when the trench they were working in collapsed. Emergency responders were able to extricate the two men from the trench, but were unable to resuscitate them.

Payette County dispatchers sent three different fire departments, paramedics, law enforcement, two separate highway departments and a private construction company to the scene to extricate the men.

TRENCH RESCUES:

Man Rescued after being Buried Up to His Waist

(April 2019) FREMONT, CALIFORNIA

A man was rescued when he was trapped up to the waist in a trench incident. The Fremont Fire Department was able to remove the individual from the trench. The victim was hospitalized with moderate injuries.

Construction Worker Rescued from Trench

(April 2019) CALDWELL, IDAHO

A construction worker was taken by air ambulance to a local hospital after getting hit by a bucket that fell off a tractor into a trench, according to the Caldwell Fire Department.

Either water or sewer lines were being installed when a bucket detached from a tractor and injured a construction worker in the approximately 20-foot-deep trench, said Caldwell Fire Chief Mark Wendelsdorf.

The bucket had to be removed from the trench before the man was rescued, though Wendelsdorf did not know if that meant the man was pinned by the bucket, or if it was only preventing him from getting out.

The Nampa Fire Department’s ladder truck was used and acted as a rigging system to get the injured man out.

The trench did have a trench box and shoring in place. OSHA is investigating the incident, according to a Department of Labor spokesperson.

The rescue took about an hour, as crews made sure that the trench would not collapse while the technical rescue took place.

NOTICE:
At some time, every emergency responder may be called to a trench incident – whether a rural area or industrial construction site. Know, at minimum, how to protect yourself. Roco Trench Rescue courses offer safe, practical techniques for dealing with trench rescue incidents. Sign up now or call to observe one of our hands-on trench classes.