Tag: trench

2 Connecticut Men Arrested in Fatal Trench Collapse

Two Connecticut men have been arrested following a fatal trench collapse last summer and face charges of first-degree manslaughter and first-degree reckless endangerment, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced March 17. OSHA inspectors investigated the July 22, 2022, collapse of an 8-foot-deep trench in Vernon, Connecticut, that killed an employee of Botticello Inc., […]

Digging trench

Watch OSHA’s Video Before Digging Your Next Trench

Protecting workers from the hazards of trenches has lately been front and center in OSHA’s outreach to employers. One critical step in ensuring that you are meeting your obligations to protect employees who dig and work in trenches is to have a solid knowledge of how to classify soils. The Agency has produced an 11-minute […]

Excavator digging trench on a construction site

OSHA Provides Trenching Compliance Assistance Resources

In a recent news release, OSHA announced the development of a series of compliance assistance resources to help keep workers safe from trenching and excavation hazards. OSHA’s goal is to increase awareness of trenching hazards in construction, educate job creators and workers on safe cave-in prevention solutions, and decrease the number of trench collapses. These […]

Trench construction

Trenching Hazards Dominate Recent OSHA Construction Enforcement

On Monday, three news releases from OSHA covered recent enforcement actions. Two of them were taken against construction companies that failed to protect employees from trenching hazards, and one of the enforcement actions was unfortunately taken only after two employees were killed.