Eight service workers died in trenching accidents last April. Staying safe requires more than following regulations: It takes a thorough understanding of the tools available.
“Not everything these guys are confronted with is in the rulebooks,” says Jim Sullivan, president of Prospan Shoring. “They’re going to get into all different shapes and sizes; what they need to know is what’s in their arsenal when they pull out the door.”
There are three main types of trench collapse prevention methods: shoring, trench boxes and sloping. While there are some variations on these basic categories, the proper understanding and use of these three
