Trench collapse in Pa

[DeanW]

http://www.yorkdispatch.com/ci_16864283?source=most_viewed

 

[bobcatmechanic]

thats sad to read that multilple people were injured and 1 killed from a trench collapsing. my condolences to the family and all affected by it

 

[junglejim]

I am close to there visiting for the holidays when I heard the news. HOW SAD! It was a family company. The father was doing the digging with his son and a cousin in the 20 foot ditch with NO shoring. The cousin survived, being buried only to his waist, the man's son is the one who died. Reports are saying he had more than 6 feet of dirt over him when they found him in a standing position.

 

[DeanW]

Not a trench collapse but another death in excavating.

http://www.fox43.com/news/lancaster/wpmt-construction-worker-death,0,2055224.story

 

[bill onthehill]

York has had a run of trench collapse incidents. Time for folks to rethink what they are doing and follow procedures. The one where the son died was digging through a big pile of fill ground not virgin earth. The pile collapsed and buried them as they were setting pipe.

 

[Lee-online]

Not a trench collapse but another death in excavating.

http://www.fox43.com/news/lancaster/wpmt-construction-worker-death,0,2055224.story

From what i heard at work was the excavator operator was getting out of the machine and his coat caught the lever causing it to swing and the bucket hit someone on the ground. We do not know weather the lock lever was up and he stepped around it, weather it was by-passed or broken off or if it was actually inoperative.
Walsh is a big company and the will make sure this kind of thing does not happen again.

RIP.

 

[dayexco]

you know, i'm not denying that it wasn't the company policies or just blatant actions by the company that caused these accidents/deaths...geesus i hate to hear that...BUT, where do we ever hear...about a company that taught, paid for safety training, implied, insisted.....on all the proper safety procedures..only to have an employees actions cause a co workers injury/death? never...it's ALWAYS.....the COMPANY, and it's ALWAYS the COMPANY that gets the press, the lawsuits, the OSHA fines...it's never the other employee that gets fired...it's never the other employee that says...hey, this excavation is to nasty, we're not going in it.

 

[bill5362]

Very sad news anytime of the year, but during the holidays it is compounded truly sad.

Dayexco.... I agree with a lot of your points, I constantly remind my guys of the rules, and on occasions I will pull up and have to have a talk or give someone some time off, always put me in a bad mood. It doesn't happen that often anymore, but it only takes one brief moment.

 

[Buckethead]

you know, i'm not denying that it wasn't the company policies or just blatant actions by the company that caused these accidents/deaths...geesus i hate to hear that...BUT, where do we ever hear...about a company that taught, paid for safety training, implied, insisted.....on all the proper safety procedures..only to have an employees actions cause a co workers injury/death? never...it's ALWAYS.....the COMPANY, and it's ALWAYS the COMPANY that gets the press, the lawsuits, the OSHA fines...it's never the other employee that gets fired...it's never the other employee that says...hey, this excavation is to nasty, we're not going in it.

People get fired (or quit) for safety reasons, it's not something the media report, not like a fatal accident.

 

[dayexco]

People get fired (or quit) for safety reasons, it's not something the media report, not like a fatal accident.

huh?

 

[D5G]

This is horrible, very, very sad. However, I am going to try and put some logic to this incident. You (the contractor, or god forbid, the weekend warrior) have (or rented) a machine that has the capability to dig down 20 feet (we're not talking about a mini excavator, obviously) and you decide against any type of shoring. What did you really think was going to happen? Your 20 feet down with no shoring what so ever, and what, you think the ground is frozen? No, and especially if this was an excavating contractor, shame on them...they know better! This whole story is disgusting in the fact that the entire thing could have been avoided, (as are almost every cave in's) everyone could have gone home that day. It mentions that the workers and the people they were doing the work for were friends. Gee, how would you like to be them right about now? This should serve as a reminder and warning to EVERYONE you have to do these jobs safely, ALWAYS, no matter the monetary cost....the danger isn't worth it, and danger certainly never takes a day off. We sometimes talk bad about OSHA and the trouble they may have caused on our jobsite on a particular day..... but next time think of it this way, who did they, or who could they have saved today? Sorry for the rant, but in the end, you can't put logic to this situation. At the same time, I was not there....so I can only speculate on what the online article reports. My thoughts, prayers, and condolences to their families, and those who survived.

 

[junglejim]

D5G,I agree with most of what you have wrote. However, the contractor was using a small excavator (about a cat 307 size). ASt least that is what was shown in the picture in the paper.

 

[D5G]

junglejim, thats interesting, I didn't see that article or picture. They must have had the machine itself down in the hole somewhere around 7' because the 307 size machines have a dig depth of (usually) 12-14'. Good to see another N.E. Ohioan here, where abouts are you from? (If you don't want to post it you could send me a PM.)

 

[KSSS]

At 20' not only did the hole need shoring (obviously) but it needed to be engineered. If it was 307 that must have been a huge hole. I would assume that he must have dug himself down into the hole. With a limited amount of boom reach for such a big hole I would assume the spoil was right next to the edge of the hole. Compounding an already bad situation.

 

[telescooper]

In the one incident it was a trench collapse, in York. The other just a few days later was an incident at the Holtwood dam project. The dam accident the person was struck by an excavator bucket. How tragic both could have been avoided.

Telescooper

 

[oldtanker]

While serving in the US Army on tanks from 1974 to 1996 I saw a lot of people short cutting safety mandates. The worst a** chewing you would get from me was safety issues. One time while serving in Baumholder Germany I told a Pvt "you must be the youngest child in your family....cause if I had a kid like you I would have sworn off sex for life" because he had committed a real dumb safety stunt!

Rick

 

[junglejim]

I am not saying it was a 307. It looked like a Cat in the picture I seen and I would say it was about a 307 size. It looked as if he was digging a pipe run from an overflow for a retention basin. The spoils were piled all around the machine and from what I could understand it was part of the spoil pile that caved in. Now keep in mind this is just heresay and I can't confirm all this. I can't remember what paper I read all this in. It was something like the york dispatch or daily record.

D5G, I am in cleveland area working. Whereabouts are you, If you don't mind?

 

[insleyboy]

D5G...I like you was not there either, but I cannot agree more with EVERYTHING you posted! This should "Never" happen and all involved should be home for the holidays but they are not. I was involved in a cave in rescue at a very young age and that day is burnt into my every dig! Mom and pop....County employee....Union ...Do not and I mean do not ever put your people in a hole that could be the last one they enter! Shore...slope....bench, if its in an open field a tight alley....wherever it is do the safest thing. Get the job done and never let this happen!

 

[D5G]

junglejim, sorry, didn't mean to take your statement out of context. I am down in medina county. I am sure a few people won't like the comment I am about to make, but here it goes..... Its starting to sound more and more like these guys may have had limited expirence in the excavation industry, carpenters are carpenters, laborers are laborers, not operators....now that said, nor am I. However, I have gained a great deal of knowledge growing up in the construction industry, and when you aren't 100% positive of what you are about to do, YOU DON'T DO IT, not on our jobs anyways. I will compair this incident to all the know-it-alls out there who think they can do their own wiring....and then they either get electricuted or burn their house down, and in the end....EVERYONE stands around and says 'why, why did it happen'. Why did it happen, because you didn't have a CLUE as to what you were doing.

I don't want to sound like a know it all either, I am young myself (18) but like they say, a man has to know his limitations. If you don't do excavating work EVERY day, you probably shouldn't be doing any such work without a professional(s) present to run the site. Again, I was not there, so anything is possible, but it just doesn't seem to me that a professional excavating contractor would do such a thing as putting a smaller machine down in the same hole they are digging. Again, my condolences, thoughts, and prayers to the families, friends, and neighbors of all involved....a very sad event.

 

[Lee-online]

Here is a better report of what happened.

http://www.ydr.com/ci_16857124

http://www.ydr.com/ci_16869040