I was just wondering if anyone read the front page article in the Sunday (12/21) New York times about the plumber's apprentice that was killed when a trench caved in.

I know electricians don't usually work in the deep trenches that plumbers do, but has anyone here had any close calls with trenches? Has anyone been asked to work in an unsafe trench? If so, what did you do?

Yes, I read some of the article online and watched part of the video. We have training on trench safety in our company and take it very seriously.

This just grabs at your heart, this young man was scared but didn't know where or who to turn to, and now he's gone due to a company obviously not caring about safety.

I'm curious to see where OSHA finally goes with this.

Roger

I read it and was appalled that it happend BEFORE! This is not the first death for this company. And they have been cited several times before.
Unbelievable.

A high-school classmate of my daughter's was killed this past week in a trench cave in in Buford Ga. They were installing storm drains,and were 'behind" and decided to work all night. The ditch was about 14-16 ft. deep. No shoring.

It took the FD 6 hrs. to get his body out.

I remember him playing football in HS,good boy,always had a smile on his face.

He was only 20 yrs old.


Russell

I remember one of my old Customers having a drywell dug at his house. He brought one of the busboys home from his Catering Hall and gave him a shovel. After the guy got down about 10 feet he started to get worried so the 'boss' tossed him down one end of a garden hose to breathe with if the hole collapsed and told him to keep going.

Some people have little regard for safety. I have never asked anyone to do anything that I wouldn't do myself.

Bill

I just don't think OSHA could go far enough at this point. The fact that someone has died and this company has been cited for something like this before speaks volumes for what is wrong with worker safety.

I simply fail to see why something like this had to happen because the job was not getting done fast enough. Roughly translated-the company was loosing money and they needed to rush the job so they could make a profit.

What is a life worth nowadays?

Bill,
That's a shocker of a story!.
Over here, trenching below a certain depth,
(6ft, from memory), is a Notifiable Hazard, where OSH has to be notified as to the extent of the trenching.
Our soils over here are way too unpredictable to just start digging and see what happens.
Oddly enough, trench rescue is a skill that that every Fire-fighter here has to learn.
But here is another skill that we are also taught, never let anything come between you and your escape route.
Such a shame to see a guy die, so needlessly.

Check this link to OSHA standards: http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=10775

Russell, it is especially hard when you have a personal connection. I feel for the family and the whole community.

For those interested, the NY times article is here. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/21/national/21OSHA.html?fta=y

Roger


[This message has been edited by Roger (edited 12-23-2003).]

I just got some more information regarding my previous post.

The trench was indeed 16ft deep. There was shoring,but only in the bottom 8ft. The trench itself did not collapse. It was a huge pile of excavated dirt that was piled too close to the trench,and it fell into the ditch.

Russell

George was kind enough to send in some pictures of trench boxes being used.

There's a thread in the Photos area:
https://www.electrical-contractor.net/ubb/Forum5/HTML/000430.html

Bill

I've worked in many holes(hundreds anyway ) installing gas tanks and back in the old days(70s) no thought was really put into caveins although we knew they happened. At least it was hole and not a straight sided trench. But once a tank is bolted down and your between it and the bank, whats the difference??. I can remember one site that was in a triangular shaped lot in the middle of an interesection, roads on all sides, too small to 45 the hole(1 foot down 1 foot out). OSHA came by, luckily no one was in the hole. He said, we don't work noghts and we don't work weekends. Which means do it when I am not working . Funny the older I get the more I think about safety

To open the link I posted, you will have to go to http://www.nytimes.com and register.

Roger

Reading this thread reminded me of this sad report. This happened in Toronto just a few weeks ago. The wife and kid watched it all happen before their eyes.
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/TorontoSun/News/2003/12/03/275363.html
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/TorontoSun/News/2003/12/05/277449.html

Sandro.

[This message has been edited by Sandro (edited 12-24-2003).]

[This message has been edited by Sandro (edited 12-24-2003).]