OSHA recently issued 23 citations with a combined $604,094 in penalties for a job site in New York with an unstable trenching wall nearly 75 feet tall. According to the report, this trench wall was not adequately sloped or shored.
Luckily, it doesn't appear that anyone was hurt from the situation as it was reported and rectified in time. The results could have been catastrophic had this not been the case.
Not only are the hazards of trenching very real and potentially life-ending, but OSHA takes this stuff seriously and doesn't appear to hesitate to issue citations.
Looking back, it looks like OSHA has kept trenching and shoring as a national emphasis program since 2018. Amazingly, prior to this it was still emphasized under the earlier Special Emphasis Program since September 1985.
This means that it's been a consistent issue for decades.
Since OSHA has a national emphasis program open for trenching, it also means that any OSHA inspector passing by a job site, even on other business, can stop, open an investigation, and cite the employer.
It's important to take this stuff seriously, as the consequences can, and have been, devastating.
