2 ways to prevent trenches on building sites from collapsing
The collapse of a trench on a construction site can have disastrous consequences. It can not only lead to construction workers being fatally injured but can also cause serious disruptions to the building process. Here are two ways to prevent this from happening.
1. Use a crane to install aluminium shoring before allowing workers to go into the trench
Before any construction workers are allowed to go inside the trench and carry out their assigned jobs, the walls of the trench should be stabilised. The best way to do this is to use a crane to fit aluminium shoring equipment into the trench. When installed inside a trench, shoring equipment will support the walls of this excavated hole, and in doing so, minimise the risk of these walls collapsing, if they are subjected to excessively heavy loads.
Aluminium shoring is ideal for use in trenches, as it is strong enough to withstand heavy loads without bending. Additionally, it will not rust and subsequently weaken if the soil in the trench gets saturated with rainwater; this is an important point to keep in mind if the construction site is located in a region where rainfall is a regular occurrence.
Furthermore, because aluminium is relatively lightweight, the process of installing this type of shoring with the crane should be a straightforward and safe process. There will be virtually no risk of the shoring equipment putting the crane off balance and causing it to tip forward into the trench; this is something that can happen if a crane is used to fit excessively heavy shoring.
2. Do not leave heavy construction equipment near the outer edges of the trench
Whilst the construction workers will need to operate heavy construction equipment around the trench's outer edges, it is very important for these people not to leave the equipment in this area for extended periods of time. For example, it is not safe to leave an excavator parked right next to a trench for the entirety of the weekend whilst the construction site is closed.
The reason for this is that heavy construction equipment is incredibly heavy. As such, if for instance, an excavator it is it left beside the trench for a day or two, its weight could cause the soil underneath it to destabilise. This, in turn, could result in this area of the trench collapsing whilst there are people working inside of it.
For more information, contact a company like GSS Hire today.
