Updated OSHA guide on trenching, excavation features info on bidding for jobs

Washington – OSHA has updated its guidance document on trenching and excavation activities to include a section on the employer bidding process.

When deciding whether to bid, employers should know as much as possible about a jobsite and consider the materials necessary to perform work at the site safely, the document recommends. OSHA advises employers to consider the following factors when bidding on a job:

• Traffic
• Weather
• Fall protection needs
• Overhead and underground utilities
• Soil classification

The document also details when employers must conduct site inspections, the protective equipment and means of egress employers must provide workers, and requirements regarding protective systems.

OSHA considers trenching and excavation activities among the most hazardous construction operations. Between 1992 and 2000, trenching and excavation hazards during construction projects killed 488 workers, according to NIOSH. In the first six years of the new millennium, 271 workers died in trenching or excavation cave-ins.