Open trenches are common on large construction sites. Pipe fitters of all types (fire protection, plumbing, gas lines, telephone, etc.) need to dig up the earth in order to install underground piping for future use. What most people don’t realize is how dangerous an open trench can be. For the workers, an improperly formed ditch can spell certain death if a cave-in should occur. Safety precautions may seem like an annoyance but they exist for one single reason: to preserve life. I was superintendent of a large Los Angeles based contractor for almost twenty years. During that time, I did my best to conform to all guidelines and applicable laws when it came to construction safety. I believe the one area that is most important for following rules and regulations is when a trench must be dug. This article will discuss common safety practices for excavation.

Have you ever heard the term “competent person”? OSHA has devised training guidelines for anyone working in or around an open trench. The course is simple and can be acquired for free through local trade schools or your local trade Union. Typically, there must be one competent person around an open trench while work is being performed. If you work near or around an open trench, ask if there is a competent person on site. If not, ask if you can acquire training. What you learn could potentially save your life or someone else’s.

Does your ditch have the proper slope? The general rule is as follows: any open ditch that exceeds five feet in depth must maintain a 1 to 1.5 slope – for every one foot that you dig, you must go “out” 1.5 feet and maintain this slope for the length of the ditch. Although five feet may not seem that deep, even a three-foot ditch can feel exceptionally deep if you are lying on your chest and working inside the ditch. In such a situation, if you are face-down and working in a three-foot deep ditch and a cave-in occurs, you are basically trapped face down. A collapsed mound of dirt can crush your rib cage and prevent you from taking a single breath, and this can happen in a matter of seconds. Always create the proper slope when digging a ditch, even when the depth does not exceed five feet.

Before you dig, call DIG ALERT. Unless you have an on-site engineer to reveal locations of local pipelines, you should simply call and notify Dig Alert two days prior to excavation. When you notify them, they in turn notify the utility companies who then have 48 hours to show up and clearly mark where their respective pipelines cross the intended ditch. This system was implemented in September, 1976 after a construction crew was killed when they accidentally ruptured a petroleum pipeline on Venice Blvd. in Culver City, California. Nine construction workers died and an entire city block burned to the ground as a result of that accident. The good news about Dig Alert: it’s free! There are zero fees whatsoever. The bad news: if you don’t have a permit to dig, you might be forced to get one as Dig Alert may notify the local city that you are intending to dig a trench.

Prior to digging, make sure there is a clear path available for vehicles to drive around the open trench. Make sure the vehicle path does not come too close to the ditch or the weight of the vehicle may cause a cave-in.

Try to keep two workers on site at all times. Although this can make a project more expensive, it is extremely dangerous for only one person to work inside of a trench. If an accident or cave-in should occur, a solo worker may become incapacitated and unable to call for help.

Another obvious but often forgotten safety precaution: cones and barricades. You should barricade the trench and string yellow caution tape from barricade to barricade. And if you can manage it, try to use barricades with flashing lights. Most construction workers will scoff at the idea of excessive barricades and say “we don’t need them!” But what you must realize is this: the barricades are not for the workers, they are for the average person who might be walking by the open ditch at midnight or two in the morning when it’s dark and there’s nobody else around. There have been countless occurrences where a pedestrian stepped into an open trench and was injured. There have also been situations where a vehicle was driven into an open, unmarked trench. When in doubt – add more barricades!

Tools, where are my tools? If you are going to create a trench, place a sheet of plywood nearby and lay your tools on it. Keep a standing rule that all hand tools, nuts, bolts, etc. must be returned to the sheet of plywood. This will avoid loss of tools and and/or pipeline components.

Those simple guidelines can potentially save your life or even a stranger’s life. They will also help in overall productivity and ensure a smoother installation. For complete information on trench safety, you should contact your local OSHA office and request their excavation guidelines.

Check what you want
The most important thing is to make sure that you know exactly what you want. If you’re not sure then spend some time visiting your local library or read certain magazines to find out exactly what you want. If you’re considering a pond or certain other feature then check you know what it is you want. The internet is also a very useful way of making sure that you’re getting the right thing for your garden.

It’s very important to make sure that your garden is laid out correctly so that you get the best use of space. Making a feature bigger or deeper while still on paper is really easy, however when it’s actually built it’s almost impossible. Excavating slightly more earth won’t be much of a problem before you start, however leave it for too late then it can become very expensive.

This is why it’s vital you find out what it is you want before you start constructing or landscaping. If you wait too late then you could end up being unable to afford to do the projects as the costs spiral out of control. If you have decided not to do something that you would like simply because you can’t afford it then you can try to build flexibility into the design. Talk to a professional to make sure that you can add the feature again at some time in the future if you want.

Trial and error
Before you start the excavations you should start laying out the feature. One of the easiest ways of doing this is to use a hosepipe, you can then easily adjust and move the feature around the garden. If you want a pond for example then use a hosepipe to change the shape of the pond until it is perfect for your garden. You want to make sure that the garden not only looks great from outside, but it also looks fantastic when you look out at it from your window.

There are so many things that you need to think about, including tees and various other features around the area. These can make certain features impossible; they can also make it impossible to use certain equipment.

Ponds
Installing ponds in your garden may require retaining walls, for this to be as easy as possible some form of excavation is required to make the most out of the space. Excavating earth is in itself not an easy task and to dig a pond is more so. You would need specialist help if you are looking to go for a pond in your garden. It’s important to ask for help if you need it. A retaining wall is a very important structural part of your garden and even if it’s only purpose is to make your garden look nice it’s important that it will stand the test of time.

Excavation process basically involves the removal of any topsoil overload by machine. This material might be examined by metal detector for drift finds but unless the preparation site has stayed untouched since its rejection there is perpetually a layer of current material on the surface of partial archaeological interest.

In countryside areas, any features are frequently noticeable beneath the surface as opposed to city areas where there might be thick layers of human deposits and as well the only the highest contexts would be primarily be visible and definable
by ways of isolation from few other contexts. A plan for sampling the contexts and other features is formulation that might engage total excavation of each characteristic or only portion.

The growth of excavation methods has moved over the years from a wealth hunting process to one that wants to fully understand the series of human activity on a given site and which site’s relationship with the surroundings in which it is set and further with sites elsewhere.

Its history started with a simple search for wealth and for artifacts that fell into the group of ‘curio’. These curios were the topic of most interest of antiquarians. It was later respected, which digging on a site shattered the proof of earlier people’s lives that it had contained. Once the trinket had been detached from its context, most of the information it detained was lost. It was from this understanding, which antiquarianism started to be replaced by archeology, a process yet to be completed.

Basic Types of Excavation

There are two basic types of modern archaeological excavation:

1. Research excavation – When time and resources are obtainable to excavate the site fully and at a relaxed pace. These are now approximately completely the preserve of academics or concealed societies who could even muster sufficient volunteer labor and funds. The size of the excavation could as well be determined by the director as it goes on.

2. Development-led excavation – Undertaken by expert archaeologist when the site is endangered by building development. Normally funded by the developer meaning, which time is more of a factor as well as its being paid attention only on areas to be affected by building.