Write a toolbox talk on Soft ground

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# ELECTRICAL GROUND SAFETY Date Posted: 09/17/2016 It is critical to understand where electricity is located on a jobsite in order to avoid electrocutions of electrical workers. ## IN THE GROUND • Before any digging takes place, even with a shovel, utility locates are required. Some lines are barely beneath the surface. • Locates include sewer, telephone, fuel, electric and water lines. • Outline / mark your planned dig site in white. • Two business days before you dig, CALL 811. Remember, the day you call does not count. • Do not dig until all known utilities are marked. • Maintain all marks. • Determine the precise location of the marked utilities by hand digging. • Dig safely using proven excavating methods. • Use handheld digging tools when digging within 24 inches of the outside edge of any underground lines. • Emergency excavation is not exempt from calling for locate. • Locate marks expire 45 days from the date the excavator provides notice. • Use pot-holing, vacuum excavation, or hand tools when digging close to lines. ## BEST PRACTICES FOR MAINTAINING LOCATE MARKS • Preserve or protect as much of the original marks as possible. • Use off-set staking, in areas where original locate marks will be continuously destroyed by excavation or weather. • The off-set staking must be uniformly aligned and must be accurately indicated at the location of the original locate - markings. • Digital scaled photo, or other permanent scaled imaging or drawings, may be used in areas where original locate - marks will be destroyed by excavation or weather. • Use white paint to maintain the original markings. • Bookend the original locate marks with solid white squares or brackets. ## QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION • What lines are you likely to hit when digging at the surface? • What does red concrete indicate? ## PRESENTER TIPS • Pre-read - the Toolbox Talk. Your comfort level and confidence will be higher if you know your topic. Discuss related ta…

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TENSIN MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF LABOR STANDARDS # Trench Hazard Alert MASSsafety Works! Workplace Safety is No Accident Every year, workers are killed or seriously injured conducting work in trenches, including utility repair, utility inspections, and construction. Trenches are recognized by OSHA as one of the most hazardous construction work conditions, with a fatality rate more than double that for construction work overall. ## Requirements for Trench Work • Protect workers from soil cave-ins in all trenches 5' or deeper, and in shallower trenches where a cave-in hazard exists. Do this by supporting the walls with shoring, shielding workers with trench boxes, or sloping the walls back wide enough, in accordance with the OSHA Excavation Standard. • Provide ladders to workers in trenches 4' or deeper. • Underground utilities must be identified and supported. Call Dig Safe at 1-(888) 344-7233. • Ensure that workers wear high visibility clothing when exposed to vehicle traffic, and use appropriate work zone signage and traffic channeling set-ups. . Spoils must be kept back a minimum of 2' from the trench edge. Keep equipment and heavy material as far back from the trench edge as possible. • Stabilize undermined adjacent structures. • Protect employees from water accumulation by pumping out ground or utility water, and preventing drainage or other water from entering the trench. • Do not allow employees to work under suspended or raised loads or materials. • Conduct pre-job planning and inspections of trench worksites. A competent person must inspect each trench worksite, including the soil protective system, prior to the start of work, and again if there is a hazard-increasing change in conditions such as a rainstorm. Unsafe trenches are dangerous! Trenches more than 20 feet in depth must be designed by a registered professional engineer. ## Workers in trenches face other significant hazards in addition to cave-in of the soil walls, including: . …

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# CONSIDERATIONS BEFORE EXCAVATING Date Posted: 05/30/2024 WAC [redacted identifier] defines an excavation as "Any person-made cut, cavity, trench, or depression in the earth's surface, formed by earth removal." A trench is "A narrow excavation in relation to its length made below the surface of the ground. In general, the depth is greater than the width, but the width of a trench (measured at the bottom) is not greater than 15 feet. If forms or other structures are installed or constructed in an excavation so as to reduce the dimension measured from the forms or structure to the side of the excavation to 15 feet (4.6 m) or less (measured at the bottom of the excavation), the excavation is also considered to be a trench." One cubic yard of soil can weigh up to 3000 pounds, approximately the weight of a small car. According to data from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the fatality rate for excavation work is 112% higher than the rate for general construction. The agency lists "employee injury from collapse" as the primary hazard of excavation work and includes "no protective system" among the leading causes of worker injuries. ## COMPETENT PERSON Each trench and excavation must have a "competent" person to evaluate the project site for potential hazards. A competent person is someone who: • Can identify existing and predictable hazards. • Has authority by nature of their position to stop a project and take prompt corrective action to eliminate hazards. • Is knowledgeable in the requirements specified in WAC [redacted identifier]. The competent person is required to inspect trench and excavation project sites: • Before the project begins. • Each day before work begins. • As necessary throughout the shift. • After each rainstorm. ## TESTING THE SOIL A competent person must perform both a visual and manual test (plasticity, thumb penetration, or pocket penetrometer) upon breaking ground to help determine factors that could comp…

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# Toolbox Talks Preventing Excavation/Trench Cave-ins - Ask the following questions and give time for answers. ## What are the hazards? Bodily or equipment entrapment in soil. ## What are the results? Broken or crushed limbs and bones, entrapment, suffocation, head injury, internal damage, and death. ## What should we look for? Stable rock and soil type (A, B, C), depth of excavation, cave-ins, water in trench, weather conditions (rain, frost), water table, protective systems, competent person, operation of heavy equipment near excavation, barricades, and falling loads. ## How do we prevent these results? • A competent person must evaluate excavations daily. Excavations should be re-evaluated after events such as rain. • Use shoring equipment, shielding, and/or sloping or benching systems for excavations greater than 5 feet in depth or less when deemed necessary by the competent person. • Examine protective systems in accordance with manufacturers recommendations and remove damaged systems from service. • Excavated material/other objects must be kept at least 2 feet from edge. ## Understanding Soil Types • Type "A" - most stable (clay, hardpan) • Type "B" - next most stable (slit, loam, unstable dry rock) • Type "C" - least stable (gravel, loamy sand) ## Let's talk about this site now How can you prevent cave-ins? Shoring, shielding, sloping, and/or benching. At what depth is cave-in protection required? 5 feet or less depending on the assessment by a competent person. Name some conditions that can increase cave-ins. Rain, heavy equipment, vibration, spoil piles, etc. The unfortunate reality - From 2011 to 2021 there were at least 220 trenching fatalities across the United States. These fatality incidents were preventable with the use of a protective system, proper employee training, and implementation of a safety and health management system. ## AN UNPROTECTED TRENCH IS AN EARLY GRAVE DOLI VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRY in li…

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# 19-Year-Old Construction Laborer Crushed in Trench Collapse While Laying Sewage Pipe (cont.) ## CONTRIBUTING FACTORS The investigation identified the following factors that may have contributed to the fatality: • No soil test was performed Spoil pile was too close to the edge of the trench and soil retaining system was not used • Failure to perform scaling the spoil pile to remove unstable rock • The trench box was not high enough for the excavation site • Vibrations from heavy equipment use and a nearby active railway may have destabilized the soil • Previous excavation projects where the trench work was taking place may have destabilized surrounding concrete and soil • No competent person was on the jobsite • No daily inspection of the jobsite was performed • Employer did not provide hazard recognition training ## RECOMMENDATIONS AND DISCUSSIONS Recommendation No. 1: Trench boxes used in excavation projects should have a wall height greater than or equal to the wall height of the surrounding trench.³ A trench box protects employees from exposure to soil collapsing into the trench where work is being performed. The trench box wall measured only 8 feet high, while the trench itself measured 12 feet and 2 inches high. This left 4 feet and 2 inches of ground and concrete exposed, placing the workers below at danger of a partial trench collapse. A properly sized trench box could have helped protect the workers from the hazard. Recommendation No. 2: Pre-job site hazard analysis should be performed before work commences. The spoil pile was placed too close to the edge of the trench, preventing scaling to remove unstable rock. In order to provide sufficient space between the location of the spoil pile and the edge of the trench, it is recommended the spoil pile should have been placed on the parking lot side rather than by the building. The height of the spoil pile may have been too high by the side of the building. Pre-job soil testing and classificati…

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# Excavation Safety (cont.) ## Access/Egress • [Describe means of access/egress, including use of ramps/steps in excavations and ramps/ladders every 25 ft. in trenches more than 4 ft. deep.] ## Inspection • [Provide the name of the competent person] will inspect the trench and protective systems daily, before the start of work and throughout the day as conditions change. These daily inspections include: - 0 Soil conditions and accumulation of water or anything else that would be indicative of a cave-in. - 0 Protective system integrity. ○ Hazardous atmospheres. - 0 [Describe other site-specific hazards and how they are abated.] • Employees are not allowed to enter the excavation unless cleared safe to do so by the competent person. ## Vehicular Traffic and Warning System • [Describe the warning vests/garments used by exposed employees.] • [Describe the warning system (e.g., barricades, hand or mechanical signals, stop logs) for mobile equipment operating adjacent to an excavation.] ## Hazardous Atmospheres [Describe how oxygen deficiency or other hazardous atmospheres will be tested and controlled in excavations greater than 4 ft. in depth.] • [Describe the emergency equipment (e.g., breathing apparatus, safety harness/line, basket stretcher, etc.) to be readily available.] ## Water Accumulation • Employees will not work in excavations where there is accumulated water unless the following precautions have been taken: [Describe precautions (for example, special support or shield systems, water removal pumps, the means of diverting water from entering excavations, use of harness and safety line, etc.).] ## Loose Rock/Soil • [Describe how employees are protected from loose rock/soil that could pose a hazard by falling from an excavation face (for example, scaling, protective barricades, etc.).] • Excavated materials or equipment that could fall into an excavation are kept at least 2 feet from the edge of the excavation unless the following retai…

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# Hazard assessment worksheet: Head protection (cont.) ## Potential hazards (cont.) OSHA Oregon OSHA Department of Consumer and Business Services # Hazard assessment worksheet: Foot protection Salem Central Office [redacted street address]. NE Salem, OR [redacted postal code] Phone: [redacted phone] Toll-free: [redacted phone] osha.oregon.gov Work task: Date ## Potential hazards - No hazards requiring foot protection - Heavy objects such as barrels or tools that might roll onto or fall on a worker's feet - Sharp objects such as nails or spikes that could pierce the soles or uppers of ordinary shoes - Molten metal Hot, wet, or slippery surfaces Energized electrical equipment Other hazard: ## PPE required None required Steel toe shoes Boots or shoes metatarsal guards Slip resistant soles Puncture resistant soles Chemical resistant boots Insulated boots or shoes Other PPE: 440-5871 (07/23/COM)

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# EXCAVATIONS AND TRENCHES WAC [redacted identifier] defines an excavation as "Any person-made cut, cavity, trench, or depression in the earth's surface, formed by earth removal." A trench is "A narrow excavation in relation to its length made below the surface of the ground. In general, the depth is greater than the width, but the width of a trench (measured at the bottom) is not greater than 15 feet. If forms or other structures are installed or constructed in an excavation so as to reduce the dimension measured from the forms or structure to the side of the excavation to 15 feet (4.6 m) or less (measured at the bottom of the excavation), the excavation is also considered to be a trench." One cubic yard of soil can weigh up to 3000 pounds - approximately the weight of a small car. The fatality rate for excavation work is 112% higher than the rate for general construction, according to data from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The agency lists "employee injury from collapse" as the primary hazard of excavation work and includes "no protective system" among the leading causes of worker injuries. ## EXCAVATION AND TRENCHING HAZARDS Trenching and excavation work presents serious hazards to all workers involved. Cave-ins pose the most significant risk and are more likely than other excavation- related incidents to result in worker fatalities. One cubic yard of soil can weigh as much as a car. • Collapse of soils and materials (cave-in) due to lack of, inadequate, or weak protective systems • The striking or damaging of underground utility services • Persons falling into excavations due to a lack of barriers or inadequate fencing • Asphyxiation from toxic gases which have collected in the excavation/trench • Spoil (soil from excavation/trench) or materials/equipment being placed too close to the sides of the excavation/trench, which then become overloaded and collapse • Failure to check and maintain shoring, particularly after incle…

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# This material is for training use only Oftentimes, these questions are answered before the shovel hits the dirt. However, it may not be a bad idea to make this a checklist or at least considered during the toolbox talk. 1. Cohesive? Significant organic material? 2. Too wet/dry? High water table? Area of Area of trench trench most most 3. Utility? Other fill material? likely to likely to collapse collapse 4. Vehicle/pedestrian exposures?? Previously excavated and 5. Overnight? Kids nearby? Pipe backfilled soil takes a long time to regain its previous condition 6. Rain? 7. Vibration? Mobile equipment? Superstructures that create pinch points? 8. Undermining? Rendering stability of adjacent structures? 9. Vibration? Not only high-visibility garments but traffic control plans for both external and internal traffic? OR-OSHA references ODOT's Temporary Traffic Control Handbook. Effort and focus should also be placed on internal traffic/mobile equipment. Consider this fact: Highway construction workers are killed more often by internal, construction-related traffic (NIOSH). 10. Machinery? Traffic? Pile-driving? Tools? 11. Water table?? 12. Sloping? Benching (not in Type C)? 13. Underground installations? OR-OSHA 302 Excavation Safety 6

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# Trench and Excavation Safety Trench collapses, or cave-ins, are the leading hazard in excavation work. Safe trenching helps prevent falls, falling loads, hazardous atmospheres, and incidents involving mobile equipment. ## Trench Safety Measures Trenches 5 feet or deeper require a protective system unless dug in stable rock. For trenches less than 5 feet, a competent person must decide if protection is needed. Trenches 20 feet or deeper must have a protective system designed or approved by a registered professional engineer, as required by OSHA 1926.652(b) and (c). ## Competent Person Before workers enter a trench, a competent person must inspect it daily and after any condition changes to ensure safety. This person is trained to identify hazards, determine soil types, select protective systems, and has the authority to correct issues immediately. ## Access and Egress • Keep heavy equipment and spoils at least 2 feet from trench edges - Locate underground utilities before digging • Test for atmospheric hazards in trenches over 4 feet deep • Inspect trenches daily, at the start of each shift, after storms, and after conditions change • Never work under suspended loads - Wear high visibility clothing when near traffic # Protective Systems • Benching: a method of protecting workers from cave-ins by cutting the sides of an excavation into horizontal steps. Benching is not allowed in Type C soil. • Sloping: involves cutting back the trench wall at an angle inclined away from excavation. • Shoring: requires installing aluminum hydraulic or other types of supports to prevent soil movement and cave-ins. • Shielding: protects workers by using trench boxes or supports to prevent cave-ins. Designing these systems can be complex, as factors like soil type, trench depth, moisture, weather, nearby loads, and site activity must all be considered. OSHA standards require that employers provide workplaces free of recognized hazards. The employer must compl…

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# What are Oregon OSHA's requirements for PPE hazard assessments? If you are a general industry, construction, or agricultural employer you must determine if your workplace has hazards you cannot eliminate or control without PPE. If there are such hazards, you must: • Select the PPE that protects your employees from the hazards • Communicate your selection decisions to each affected employee • Ensure the PPE fits each employee • Require your employees to use their PPE when they are exposed to the hazards General industry employers must also prepare a document that says they have done the hazard assessment. The document must include: • A heading that says the document is a "certification" of the hazard assessment • The name of the workplace evaluated • The name of the person certifying the hazard assessment was completed • The date of the hazard assessment ## Oregon OSHA's hazard assessment rules • General industry: [redacted phone](1), Hazard assessment and equipment selection. Appendix B to Subdivision 2/1 has guidelines for conducting a hazard assessment. • Construction: [redacted phone](1), Hazard assessment and equipment selection. Appendix B to Subdivision 2/1 has guidelines for conducting a hazard assessment. • Agriculture: [redacted phone](2), Hazard assessment and protective equipment selection. Appendix A to Subdivision 4/1 has a sample hazard assessment form. 3

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# HEAVY EQUIPMENT (cont.) ## SPOTTERS Worker visibility and visual and verbal communication are essential to keeping workers safe around moving construction equipment. Blind spots can be a significant hazard for workers on the ground where the operator is unable to see them. A spotter, using effective means of communication or hand signals, can help communicate between the operator, workers on the ground, and any pedestrians entering the work zone. Spotters must wear high-visibility clothing, stand clear of equipment, and always be visible to the equipment operator. ## GENERAL SAFETY WHEN OPERATING OR WORKING AROUND HEAVY EQUIPMENT • Develop a work zone traffic control plan. Indicate travel routes through the site to eliminate (as much as possible) the need for backing equipment or vehicles. • When vehicles or heavy equipment must operate in reverse, ensure they are equipped with an audible backup alarm. • Inspect equipment before operation to ensure all lights and audible alarms work correctly. • Set up the equipment in the work zone so that construction equipment and workers have adequate space to perform the planned tasks. • Use 3-point mounting and dismounting technique off heavy equipment - NEVER JUMP OFF HEAVY EQUIPMENT. • - Establish a "danger zone," the working area where contact could result in personal injury or damage during operations. • Wear high-visibility clothing when working around heavy mobile equipment. • Use predefined and understood hand signals or two-way radios to control movement within the work zone. • Maintain a clear line of sight between the operator and workers. • Use a spotter when heavy equipment is in motion. This requires communication between the operator and workers to maintain safe movement. • Workers - should keep a safe distance from all sides of the heavy equipment while it is in use. • Be aware of the swing radius on specific equipment and, if possible, cordon off the area with barriers or caution tape. • A…

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MIOSHA Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration ## Special points of interest: • Wear Hard Hats, Safety Glasses, and Work Boots on job sites. • Use face shields and goggles when safety glasses are not enough • Wear safety toe foot- wear when feet can be crushed by heavy objects # Tool Box Talk Personal Protective Equipment MIOSHA Construction Safety Standard Part 6. Personal Protective Equipment Employer: Shall provide, at no expense to the employee, the initial issue of personal protective equipment (PPE) and replacement equipment necessary due to reasonable wear and tear required, unless specifically indicated otherwise or other employer/employee agreement specifically requires employees to provide such equipment. Employee: An employee shall wear PPE when prescribed by the MIOSHA rules. ## Head protection (Hard Hat): . Class A hard hat shall be used where a hazard from falling or flying objects or particles or from other harmful contacts or exposures may be present • physically altered, painted, or damaged hard hats shall not be worn • Wear hard hat brim forward • Do not ware baseball hats underneath ## Eye and face protection: - Z87.1 safety glasses shall be used where a hazard exists from flying objects or particles, harmful contacts, such as when using power tools, hammers, and working over head. • An employee who needs corrective lenses where eye protection is required shall be protected by 1 of the following: (a) Spectacles whose protective lenses provide optical correction. (b) Goggles that can be worn over the corrective lenses without disturbing the adjustment of the spectacles. - Use goggles when working around dust, chemicals - Use face shields to protect face from particles, chemicals Face shields do not protect eyes from flying object high impacts, must use Z87.1 safety glasses underneath ## Foot protection: • Employee Provided / Employer must require • ANSI Z41-1999 or ASTM 2412 & 2413 certified footwear mu…