Is There a Potential for a Cave-In?

One aspect of excavation safety that should be emphasized is found in Appendix F of Subpart P – Selecting Protective Systems. It is a flow chart that takes one through the process of selecting protective systems, beginning with making the decision of whether a protective system is necessary. That initial decision is the focus of this article.

The first question in the flow chart is “Is the excavation more than 5’ in depth?” If the answer to this question is “NO”, the next question is “Is there a potential for cave-in?”

So, if we answer that question “NO”, then we are directed to the box that states “Excavation may be made with vertical sides.” For the purposes of this article as stated above, I would like to focus on the question, “Is there a potential for cave-in?” and what I would like to do is substitute words found in the definition of a cave-in for the actual word “cave-in”. Still with me? I hope so. If we substituted words as described it would look like:

Instead of: "Is there a potential for a cave-in?"

We would have: “Is there a potential for soil’s sudden movement into the excavation, either by falling or sliding, in sufficient quantity so that it could entrap, bury, or otherwise injure and immobilize a person?”

To me, by describing a cave-in in this way, in this flow chart, we can view the hazard more realistically when making the decision whether or not a protective system is required in a shallow excavation. Maybe, when depicted this way, someone would make the decision to protect employees in excavations less than five feet deep.

Thank you for reading this. For more information on this and other excavation safety issues, please visit www.trenchandexcavationsafety.com