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SAFETY MOMENT, JULY 15

Always have a way out

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Safety moment, July 15

Always have a way out

Soil is heavy, and a trench wall can give way with little or no warning. A cave-in can bury or crush a worker before they can react, and a coworker who jumps in to help can be caught by the next collapse. These rules keep the walls off people and give everyone a way out.

SAFETY MOMENT

July 15

The hazard

Soil is heavy, and a trench wall can give way with little or no warning. A cave-in can bury or crush a worker before they can react, and a coworker who jumps in to help can be caught by the next collapse. These rules keep the walls off people and give everyone a way out.

The action

Trenches 4 feet or more deep must have a stairway, ladder, ramp or other safe way out, so no one travels more than 25 feet sideways to reach it. Move the ladder as the work moves. In a trench box, you must be protected from cave-ins while getting in and out, and no one may be inside while it is installed, removed or moved vertically (29 CFR 1926.652(g)(1)(iii) and (iv)). (29 CFR 1926.651(c)(2))

ASK THE CREW

Where is the nearest ladder or ramp to your work spot?

From the talk: Trenching and excavation. Read it in full, free, with the questions and the sign-in sheet.

HOW TO USE IT

How to give a safety moment

  1. Gather the crew where they work, before the shift or the meeting starts. Read the hazard out loud.
  2. Ask the question and let two or three people answer. What they say about their own work counts for more than what you read.
  3. Name the action and point to one place on today's job where it applies, so everyone knows what to do differently.
  4. Write the date and the names on a sign-in sheet.

A safety moment is short and does not replace the full talk. When you want to go through a topic with the crew, pick a free toolbox talk.

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