This man's life is in danger!
What's wrong with this picture?
The man in this photo could be digging his own grave. His yellow hard hat is a pathetic safety device given the extreme danger that surrounds him. He is working alone at the bottom of a 22 ft. deep vertical trench. Excavated soil has been stockpiled at the very edge of the trench, adding to the pressure on the trench walls. Vibrations from a backhoe operating at the perimeter of the excavation increases the likelihood of a cave-in. Neither a ramp nor ladder has been provided for the worker to escape. Finally there is nothing to protect him from a cave-in; no sloping back of the trench walls, no shoring of the walls, and no shielding of the worker. Unfortunately, this is an all too common site in excavation work.
How big a problem?
Excavation cave-ins are a major source of fatalities within the construction industry each year. During the period 1990-2000 there were 771 fatal accidents involving excavations in the US. The yearly fatality count ranged from 59 to 81 with an annual average of 70. Moreover, for each excavation fatality perhaps ten times as many workers are injured, some of them with serious long term disabilities. The real tragedy is that most if not all excavation accidents are avoidable.
Is there a Solution?
The knowledge of how excavation cave-ins occur, how to avoid them, and how to protect workers below grade is well documented. OSHA has established guidelines for minimizing the risks to workers in excavations. This tutorial on trench safety presents the OSHA excavation standard in a modern format with the aim to increase awareness of this serious construction issue, and perhaps contribute to preventing some of the associated losses in human life and suffering, as well as in construction productivity.
What's in this tutorial?
Trench Safety is an eleven-lesson tutorial based on the latest OSHA requirements for construction excavation safety. Its purpose is to teach safe trenching practices, in a modern format using the multimedia and hyper-linking capabilities of the WWW. Each lesson begins with specific learning objectives and ends with a set of review questions. Depending on your level of interest and preparation, the tutorial should take you around 4 hours to complete. Upon completion of the tutorial, you can take a comprehensive on line test.
In the tutorial you will be introduced to the dangers of construction excavations using news accounts of recent trenching accidents from around the U.S. The tutorial also covers the mechanics of trench cave-ins, potential hazards to workers, OSHA requirements on excavation safety, and protective systems used to avoid trench cave-ins and protect workers from harm. The tutorial makes extensive use of images, animation, video, and examples of good and bad practices to bring this important subject to life. Click here to view the sample lesson.
| LESSON 1 | Buried Alive | Learning from previous failures; features headlines of significant recent trenching accidents |
|---|---|---|
| LESSON 2 | How A Trench Collapses | Soil behavior and the mechanics of a trench collapse |
| LESSON 3 | It's the Law: OSHA | OSHA regulations for safe trenching |
| LESSON 4 | The Competent Person | Responsibilities of the competent person |
| LESSON 5 | Protective Systems | When and how to protect workers in a trench |
| LESSON 6 | Soil Classification | Identification of soil types, soil behavior |
| LESSON 7 | Sloping | Techniques for protecting workers by sloping trench walls |
| LESSON 8 | Shoring | Techniques for protecting workers by shoring trench walls |
| LESSON 9 | Trench Shields | Techniques for protecting workers with trench shields |
| LESSON 10 | Specialty Systems | Common alternative protective systems for trenches |
| LESSON 11 | Hazardous Atmospheres | Protecting workers from hazardous atmospheres in trenches |
Who can benefit from the tutorial?
Trench Safety was developed originally for constructors and students of construction. Online since Oct. 1995, the tutorial has been used by Engineers, Constructors, Safety Training Professionals, Emergency Rescue Units, Construction Lawyers, and Power, Utility, and Telecommunication Companies. This edition of the tutorial represents a major revision designed to incorporate the latest information on excavation safety, and to take advantage of the newest capabilities of the WWW. Click here to view the sample lesson.
How to access the tutorialTrench Safety is accessed over the web with a user name and password. A two-year license to access the tutorial over the WWW is available for purchase. Individual and Corporate licenses may be obtained by registering on-line or by telephone with the Auburn University Engineering Extension office (see below). To register for a two-year license for the tutorial go to Auburn University College of Engineering Continuing Education for Trench Safety. Corporate License:
Auburn Student: If you are an Auburn University student or faculty member of the Department of Building Science, you can access the Trench Safety Tutorial here. When prompted, enter your CADC username and password. |
Available for Continuing Education Credits
Trench Safety is available for 0.4 continuing education units (CEU's) through the Office of Engineering Continuing Education at Auburn University. Upon completion of the tutorial and earning a successful passing grade on the test users will be issued online a certificate of successful completion. User's who pay an additional CEU certificate fee at the time of registration will be awarded 0.4 CEU's from Auburn University and mailed an additional CEU certificate of completion.
Credits
Trench Safety was developed originally through a grant from The Alabama Construction Industry Fund. Supplemental support for this edition of the tutorial comes from The College of Architecture, Design , & Construction and the Building Science Department at Auburn University.
Thanks go to the following students of Auburn University and the Building Science Department for their valuable contributions to the project over a period of twelve years: Trey Arias, Keith Callahan, Chris Cameron, Jordan Hand, Andrew Hein, Michael Hendrickson, Tim Irwin, James Jenkins, Aaron Weiss. Thanks to the following people at the Instructional Media Group and ETV of Auburn University for their encouragement, support services, evaluation and feedback, and promotion of the project: Bob Cooley, James Barnes, Nick Backscheider. Thanks to John Mouton, Department Head of Building Science at Auburn University, for his enthusiastic support, guidance, and promotion of the project. Special Thanks to David Dow of TrenchSafety and Supply Inc. for a thorough review and for contributing valuable resources on slide rail systems, covered in Lesson 10.
Disclaimer
The contents of this tutorial are suggestions for safe practice in trench excavations by constructors. Although this information follows closely the OSHA standards for excavation safety, the tutorial has neither been sanctioned nor endorsed by OSHA. The use of any information contained herein is at the discretion of the user. By entering this tutorial users agree not to hold the author or Auburn University liable for any act or action based on the material contained herein.
Tutorial Content Developed by Michael F. Hein.
Direct comments to: heinmic@auburn.edu
This page was last updated on Friday, September 28, 2007