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Since the implementation of the Trenching and Excavation OSHA Compliance Directive in 1985, the plan remained the same for 33 years up until 2018, when OSHA revitalized their efforts with their new National Emphasis Program on trenching and excavation. The renewed emphasis came after 130 fatalities were recorded in trenching and excavation operations between 2011 to 2016. The private construction industry made up 80 percent of those fatalities. Of those construction fatalities, 49 percent occurred between 2015 to 2016. OSHA needed to reinvigorate the dated Compliance Directive with their new National Emphasis Program on October 1st, 2018. Alarmingly, even after the NEP, the U.S. death toll more than doubled from 2021, in which there were 15 fatalities, to 2022 with 39 workers losing their lives in trenching and excavation operations.
OSHA In Action On the enforcement side, OSHA is expecting to conduct over 1,000 inspections of excavations annually. Under the NEP, a compliance safety and health officer shall initiate a trench and excavation inspection if one is observed with or without visible violations during normal work-day travel while conducting programmed or unprogrammed inspections. Community outreach is also a priority under the NEP which includes letters, news releases, seminars for employers, and trade associations. OSHA offers a plethora of resources that can be found at OSHA.gov in English and Spanish that deciphers the technical language found in 29 CFR 1926. In efforts to further simplify the overwhelming amount of information about trench and excavation safety, OSHA is providing critical information in microdoses delivered in the form of videos, hardhat stickers, and posters. What Can You Do? In a similar fashion to OSHA, the education of your workforce is mission-critical! With the resources that can be found through your local OSHA office or online, you do not have to reinvent the wheel. Take the time to revisit your policies and procedures with your team members, and be sure to include management and the front-line team members who complete the work in the field. This is done to ensure that not only do these align with regulatory criteria, but that the policies are applicable and understood relative to the work that your teams conduct. Once there is a consensus of the best practices through your ranks of how you plan to safely proceed with trenching and excavation activities, then add concentrated efforts on how you plan to educate your organization. These deliberate engagements should start with new hire orientation and continue to be emphasized through toolbox talks, demonstrations with third-party vendors, participation in Trench Safety Stand Down Week, and many more. Audit Your Policies & Practices in the Field Once the education pieces are in place, it is time to fact-check that the processes and procedures that have been agreed upon and communicated to the organization are being executed in the field. Start by auditing the pre-task huddle with the team members, who are conducting the trenching and excavation work. Ask yourself these questions: ● Are they discussing the hazards that they are going to encounter during their shift? ● Are they speaking with knowledge and understanding of the risks and the control measures that are going to need to be taken for safe operation? ● Are the risks and control measures discussed accurately for the task? ● Is the emergency action plan discussed, along with everyone’s right to stop work authority? ● Is there going to be a deviation from the company’s best practices that needs to be further discussed or clarified? After a high-quality, interactive pre-task huddle, now it is time to see your training and planning in action! OSHA. gov provides an easy-to-use fillable e-tool for daily inspection of trenches and excavations that is a great compliance-based starting point to verify that field operations are meeting the regulatory criteria for trenching and excavation activity. As you audit your programs in action, don’t be afraid to ask your team members how the processes can be improved upon, or what frustrations they encounter. Remember, they are on the front line and are dealing with the risks in real time. Take note of what is working and what is not working and continue to improve upon your best practices. A Grave Responsibility It is the duty of the organization to ensure that workers are provided a workplace free of known hazards that can cause illness, injury, or death. As recent as this year, OSHA has taken criminal action by arresting a construction company owner in Colorado for felony manslaughter charges after a 2021 deadly trench collapse where he neglected to provide the legally required trench protection system for his employee working in a trench. As a leader in your organization, your team members and their families deserve a workplace that has education and compliance serving as the checks and balances allowing for their tasks to be conducted safely.