Inspecting Excavations
Soil is heavy, and a thorough inspection of a system must be done before anyone can safely enter an excavation. Today’s Safety Saturday moment goes over inspecting excavations.
When performing an inspection, a competent person must be able to answer the following questions. What kind of protective system is needed for this class of soil? Is there standing water or saturated soil that could affect the protective system? Is the trench or excavation deeper than four feet, and is there a safe means of access and egress? Is there any material or equipment within two feet of the excavation? Have environmental conditions changed since last entering the excavation?
If an answer to one of these questions is unsatisfactory, work to change it and avoid entering the excavation until then.
Until next time, from all of us at the W. L. French Safety Department, stay safe out there.