Incident alert
LOCATION:
CONSTRUCTION/DELIVERY SITE
ACTIVITY:
ACCESS & EGRESS & WORKING AT HEIGHT
TITLE
Trench Collapse
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN
United Kingdom
ACCIDENT / INCIDENT DETAILS
An excavation collapse resulted in the fatality of a subcontractor. The majority of the excavation was to a depth of 1.4m, but at the point of collapse it was 2m deep.
This and recent incidents are reminders that we should not become complacent to the dangers of working in excavations and that a safe system of work must be in place before workers enter excavations.
ACCIDENT / INCIDENT IMAGES
LEARNING POINTS / ACTIONS TAKEN
BE MINDFUL that relatively shallow excavations can also carry the potential risk of suffocation and crushing.
ALL excavations, regardless of depth, should be assessed by a competent person.
Pay particular ATTENTION to ground stability, changes in ground conditions, adequacy of support and undue loading to the trench edges.
Make sure there is an adequate means of ACCESS/EGRESS
ALWAYS check trench support/alternative safe system of work on a daily basis before work begins.
As work continues KEEP ASSESSING the working environment – have the influencing factors changed?
(see additional pdf document for further details)
LEARNING POINTS / ACTIONS IMAGES
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