NAHB Labor Safety &amp - NAHB-OSHA Trenching and Excavation Safety Handbook, English-Spanish

NAHB-OSHA Trenching and Excavation Safety Handbook

Gua de Seguridad de Zanjas y Excavacion

Disclaimer

This publication provides accurate information on the subject matter covered. The publisher is selling it with the understanding that the publisher is not providing legal, accounting, or other professional service. If you need legal advice or other expert assistance, you should obtain the services of a qualified professional experienced in the subject matter involved. Reference herein to any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favored status by the National Association of Home Builders. The views and opinions of the author expressed in this publication do not necessarily state or reflect those of the National Association of Home Builders, and they shall not be used to advertise or endorse a product.

2009 by BuilderBooks. All rights reserved. No pan of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

NAHB-OSHA trenching and excavation safety handbook = Gua de seguridad de zanjas y excavacion.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-86718-624-6

1. ExcavationSafety measuresHandbooks, manuals, etc. 2. EarthworkSafety measuresHandbooks, manuals, etc.

I. National Association of Home Builders (U.S.) II. United States. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. III. Title: Gua de seguridad de zanjas y excavacion.

TA730.N34 2009

624.1520289dc22

2008038915

For further information, please contact:

National Association of Home Builders

1201 15th Street, NW

Washington, DC 20005-2800

800-223-2665

Visit us online at www.BuilderBooks.com

elSBN: 978-0-86718-694-9

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is a Washington, DC-based trade association representing more than 235,000 members involved in home building, remodeling, multifamily construction, property management, trade contracting, design, housing finance, building product manufacturing, and other aspects of residential and light commercial construction.

NAHBs Labor Safety & Health Services is committed to educating Americas builders about the importance of construction safety. Our safety and health resources are designed to help builders control unsafe conditions, operate safe jobsites, comply with OSHA regulations, and reduce their workers compensation costs.

If you have any questions, regarding the content of this handbook, please contact

Labor, Safety & Health Services

National Association of Home Builders

1201 15th Street, NW

Washington, DC 20005-2800

1-800-368-5242

Special thanks are due to those individuals who assisted in the development of the NAHB-OSHA Trenching and Excavation Safety Handbook: Matt Murphy, Safety Environmental Engineering, Inc., Keedysville, Maryland, who wrote the initial draft; NAHBs Construction Safety and Health Committee; and the following members of the Committees Trenching and Excavation Safety Work Group, who critiqued the manuscript and provided suggestions and details to finalize the manuscript: Bob Masterson, Ryland Homes, Calabasas, California; Jim Carr, Department of Construction Management, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Little Rock, Arkansas; George Middleton, Toll Brothers, Inc., Horsham, Pennsylvania; and Thomas Trauger, Winchester Homes, Bethesda, Maryland.

The English-Spanish edition of the NAHB-OSHA Trenching and Excavation Safety Handbook was prepared under the general direction of NAHBs Assistant Staff Vice President of Labor, Safety & Health Service, Rob Matuga, assisted by Kevin Cannon, Safety Specialist, NAHB Labor, Safety & Services.

Numerous other individuals and companies were integral to the development of this book. NAHB would like to thank the following companies and associations for their generous contributions of time, professional expertise, and access to active jobsites and other resources. Beltsville Construction Supply, Inc., Beltsville, Maryland; Winchester Homes, Bethesda, Maryland (www.winchesterhomes.com); NVR, Inc., Reston, Virginia (www.nvrinc.com); Safety Environmental Engineering, Inc., Keedysville, Maryland, (www.seeinconline.com); Ryland HomesWashington, DC Division, Fairfax, Virginia (www.ryland.com); Speed Shore, Houston, Texas (www.speedshore.com); ICON Equipment Distributors, East Brunswick, NJ (www.iconjds.com); GME, Union City, MI (www.gme-shields.com); and American Public Works Association (APWA), Washington, DC (www.apwa.net). Spanish translation provided by Trusted Translations, Falls Church, Virginia (www.trustedtranslations.com) and editing provided by NAHB BuilderBooks assisted by April Michelle Davis at Editorial Inspirations, LLC, Montpelier, Virginia (www.editorialinspirations.com). Photographs taken by Rob Matuga and Kevin Cannon, unless otherwise noted.

Special thanks go to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Directorate of Construction staff for their professional advice and support on this project and Office of Outreach Services and Alliances for their commitment to help us improve the safety and health of the home building industry workforce. For additional safety information on Excavation and Trenching, go to www.osha.gov.

The NAHB Labor, Safety & Health Services Department developed the NAHB-OSHA Trenching and Excavation Safety Handbook to assist the residential construction industry in complying with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administrations (OSHA) safety requirements. An excavation is any man-made cut, cavity, trench, or depression in an earth surface that is formed by earth removal (cut), while a trench is considered a narrow excavation (in relation to its length) made below the surface of the ground. In general, the depth of a trench is greater than its width, and the width (measured at the bottom) is not greater than 15 ft. (4.6 m). If a form (e.g., house foundation wall forms) or other structure installed or constructed in an excavation reduces the distance between the form and the side of the excavation to 15 ft. (4.6 m) or less (measured at the bottom of the excavation), the excavation is also considered to be a trench.