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Trench Safety: How to Prevent Deadly Cave-Ins

Trench safety is GME’s first priority and is also something every company strives for. According to OSHA, two people die in trench cave-ins each month. Even more injuries occur. These can easily be prevented by taking safety precautions, using safety construction equipment and being aware of the environment around you. No one wants to see an employee at risk of being in danger. Accidents will happen and GME is here to help protect against those.

Pictured to the right is a GME trench shield in a trench that had just collapsed. A crew was working in the trench shield when it gave way, saving the worker’s lives. Protective trench equipment is the difference between another day at work and another in a grave.

5 Effective Ways to Prevent Deadly Cave-Ins

1. Identify Soil Properly – not all soil is created equal. Determine if you have a sandy soil or if you have more of a clay-like soil. This will help determine what type of precautions you will take and what type of construction safety equipment you will utilize.
2. Inspect Trenches – at the start of each shift, at the end of each shift, AND when an event occurs that may have compromised the trench’s condition.
3. Keep excavated soil, materials, and equipment at least 2 feet from trench edges
4. Have access to ladders or egresses. There must be a least one safe, unimpeded way to get in and out of an excavation within 25′ of each worker
5. Have workers wear High Visibility safety clothing

If you ever have questions on trench safety or our safety equipment such as, trench shields, trench shoring, benching, slide rails, sloping or other, GME is here to provide any trench safety support.