Hydro-Excavation Makes Trench Rescue Faster and Safer

• Published in: Underground construction Vol. 62; no. 4; pp. 23 - 27
• Main Authors: Pettyjohn, Jack, Sugawara, Ken
• Format: Magazine Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.04.2007
• ISSN: 1092-8634

Cave-ins have always represented one of the most challenging scenarios to rescue personnel. A collapsed trench wall, like a collapsed building, is a structure in failure. It is also a structure that will continue to fail, if left to its own devices. Many a co-worker or rescue team member has been injured or killed by secondary collapses while attempting to retrieve the initial victim. As a consequence, most rescue programs now mandate securing the excavation before allowing entry on the part of any rescue personnel. Over the past two decades, trench rescue training has evolved from programs that focused on improvised shoring techniques to those based upon engineered solutions provided by the OSHA excavation standard. Plywood, 2-inch by 6-inch pine framing lumber and fence posts have begun to give way to pneumatic and hydraulic shoring systems and, most recently, shield systems. These systems have made it possible for rescue personnel to adequately and confidently address the first major problem confronting them: preventing a secondary collapse of the trench.