01-32_GENERALS_SUMMER25_PT - Flipbook - Page 14
HEALTH AND SAFETY
HOW TRENCH
COLLAPSES HAPPEN
Why you should never take soil stability for granted
Originally published by IHSA Health and Safety Magazine, Issue 25.1. Used with permission.
N THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY, working below
grade is just as hazardous as working at
heights. Any time you are in a trench,
you are at risk of being in a trench
collapse.
Even the most stable-seeming
trench wall can cave in if it’s not properly
sloped, supported, and inspected regularly. Collapsing soil can crush you beneath a
weight equal to that of a mid-size car. The
Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA)
recognizes the severity of the risk: 20
sections of the Regulation for Construction
Projects (O. Reg. 213/91) deal exclusively
with safety requirements for excavations
and trenching. And yet even with these
laws in place, in 2024, multiple Ontario
workers died in trench-related incidents.
Trenches are dug for a number of
reasons, including the installation or
servicing of underground utilities and
waterproo昀椀ng of building foundations.
They’re dug in all seasons and in any
location. They can fail for equally diverse
reasons.
I
14 the generals • SUMMER 2025
THEGENERALS.NET
