Tragedy-

tgeb

http://www.myfoxdc.com/myfox/pages/H...Y&pageId=1.1.1


This is happened this afternoon.
2 men perished.
It is about 10 miles from my home, I have worked in that neighborhood off and on for years, most recently about 3 weeks ago.

Everyone PLEASE be careful.

__________________
Tom

www.gebcon.com

jmic

Wow! Tom, Thats really tragic, but we always do things that our inner voice says " What the hell are we doing? " Thats when you need to step back and rethink all your options and their consequences.

__________________
___"Remember You Never Get A Second Chance To Make A First Impression"______________________
Joe

tgeb

You are right Joe.

I have a sneaking suspicion the men in that trench were not excavators, or even under the direction of an excavating contractor.
In the news footage I saw no heavy equipment, I think those guys may have been laborers with very little experience.

We have a lot of immigrant labor here and those poor guys just may have been day laborers that someone picked up at the corner. I am sure there will be some serious investigations on this one. I will let you know if I find out more.

__________________
Tom

www.gebcon.com

dayexco

how, can you EVER, approach a wife and family.....and tell them that you actions killed their dad/husband? i don't understand it, we've got the capability whether through shoring, or excavating equipment to backslope ditches, to prevent this scenario 100% of the time, it should never happen. what a torment to live with the rest of your life.

__________________
someday, i'll be as patient as Nick.

tgeb

I agree with you Day,

That's why I think the person responsible for this was not a professional excavator, we all know better than to risk life in these type situations.

__________________
Tom

www.gebcon.com

rino1494

What in the hell were they doing 10ft deep in front of the house like that. I don't think that there are any shrubs that need to be buried that deep.

Either way, it is sad to see things like this and it makes me glad that we take our time and precautions to ensure safe working conditions. We don't always use boxes, but I make sure to bench off the trench and remove any rocks that may fall into the trench.

Digging near a foundation is always wet and loose material and you must open it way up because it will fall in. Maybe there was a gas line or water line there in which they were unable to do so, too late now. My prayers go out to those families who are affected by this tragedy.

__________________
Life is hard. It is harder when you are stupid

Uncle Sam wants YOU....to speak ENGLISH

tgeb

http://www.myfoxdc.com/myfox/pages/H...Y&pageId=1.1.1

Turns out the 2 men who died were brothers.

And as I suspected the workers look to be day laborers, which means most likely, no workers comp, no life insurance.

The news guy says no word on whether charges will be filed on anyone. I think who ever sent the fellows to dig that out entirely by hand has responsibility here.

Makes me sick, these guys lost their lives because someone was too stupid, or too cheap to do the job safely.

__________________
Tom

www.gebcon.com

Double-A

This was a water-proofing job according to the follow up report.

I hope OSHA nails them to the wall, but I suspect they will get a slap on the wrist with a negotiated fine.

I hope that the local excavating contractors set up a fund for the families and that they issue a statement condemning the lack of trench boxes/shoring/cutback.

There is never any excuse for this type of thing. Reasons abound, but one's mind boggles at the power greed has over the sense of decency of some people.

TMatt142

Dumb dumb dumb!!! I keep saying it people!!! We all....no matter how successful we are....have more time...than money!!!

dayexco

does osha slap on the wrist on a wrongful death? if i'm not mistaken, this is a punishable crime that could bring cell time

__________________
someday, i'll be as patient as Nick.

Cole

What are OSHA's rules on Trench Safety?

__________________
Tulsa's Leader in Outdoor Living Construction | Facebook | Tulsa Pergola Builder | Tulsa Outdoor Kitchens

dayexco

dude, if you're digging, and you don't know the rules...park your machine until you find out

__________________
someday, i'll be as patient as Nick.

Cole

I am not an excavation contractor.

I am a GC.

__________________
Tulsa's Leader in Outdoor Living Construction | Facebook | Tulsa Pergola Builder | Tulsa Outdoor Kitchens

Double-A

About 5 years ago, a 17 year old boy, working for the family business was electrocuted by a 240V circuit he was working on in the crawl space of the house. Chest contact while laying in damp earth.

No fines were issued.

17-year-old electrocuted on construction site dies Catholic High student was working for family
Abstract: A Little Rock teen-ager who received a severe electrical shock last week as he worked on a job site for his family's construction business died Monday night after being removed from life support.Robert Flynn, 17, had been in a coma since the July 11 accid ...
Date: 07/18/2001
Score: 0.77
Section/Page: B1
Byline: LINDA S. CAILLOUET ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

No one has ever been able to tell me what a 17 year old boy was doing under a house.

dirtdiggencat

[B]STAY IN THE BOX !!!
sTAY IN THE BOX !!!
STAY IN THE BOX!!!
STAY IN THE BOX!!!!!!!!!!!!!

__________________
__________________
SiD
________________ Everyone goes home, Every night. ___________________

jmic

A couple of years ago a Excavation contr. up the road had a Brazilian immigrant working down 17' and a cave in happened, thought that would be the end of him................$5000.00 fine,BTW the guy got buried alive. Some how it just seems like a slap on the wrist. Whats the difference if ya pulled a gun and shot someone, I mean the laborer was probably just trying to save his job going down in that pit. Not right!

__________________
___"Remember You Never Get A Second Chance To Make A First Impression"______________________
Joe

tgeb

Rule #1 is;
A "competent person" must be on site.

OHSA defines a competent person as someone who has undergone specific training in order to know and be able to classify the soil which is being worked in, and know the correct procedures that must be taken to insure a safe work site.

There is quite a bit more to it but there are rules and guidelines that are to be followed.

In this case they were working in class C soil, I know with out having been there because they were working in the overdig of the foundation, previously excavated material automatically = class C, requiring sloping or benching of at least 1:1.
Correct me if I am wrong on any of this guys, I haven't looked at the book in years.

Do most people do a 1:1 slope? No, most do not. These guys were doing this work by hand and the trench they were in was likely no more than 3' wide at the surface and more narrow at the bottom. All of the excavated material was placed right at the top edge of the trench, the weight of which is probably contributed to the trench to fail.

As it turns out it is confirmed that the 2 men who died were brothers, 19 years and 25 years of age.

I hope that someone is held responsible for this.


http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/constructio...ing/index.html

Link to OSHA web site in regard to trenching.

__________________
Tom

www.gebcon.com

tgeb

I was just surfing the web and found this trench safety tutorial.

I only looked briefly but it seems interesting enough for anyone with trench safety questions.

I stated somewhere you had to buy a license for the safety course but it works if you click each lesson at the top of the page.

http://www.trenchsafety.org/trench/t.../lesson01.html

Sort of a refresher course.

__________________
Tom

www.gebcon.com

Cole

Wow, good link Tom!!!

__________________
Tulsa's Leader in Outdoor Living Construction | Facebook | Tulsa Pergola Builder | Tulsa Outdoor Kitchens

dayexco

cole, i must apologize, it appears my mouth started running before my brain did.

__________________
someday, i'll be as patient as Nick.