United Rentals Joins OSHA, Others, for Trench Safety Webinar
A webinar on May 28 with experts from OSHA, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), CPWR (Center for Construction Research and Training) and United Rentals will look at how to increase awareness and knowledge of the factors that may contribute to trenching incidents and fatalities, and ways to mitigate the risks.
Trench incidents and fatalities have increased over the past several years - so much so that OSHA, intent on reversing this trend, updated its National Emphasis Program on Trenching and Excavation in October 2018.
The session will be moderated by Eileen Betit, CPWR’s Research to Practice (r2p) director. Webinar presenters are:
- Scott Ketcham, director, OSHA Directorate of Construction.
- Joe Wise, regional customer training manager at United Rentals Trench Safety.
- Dr. Alan Echt, senior industrial hygienist, NIOSH Office of Construction Safety and Health.
During the webinar, Wise will discuss the results of a survey, conducted by CPWR, of construction and safety & health professionals on trench safety practices in the field. Among the findings were:
- More pre-planning is needed.
- Trenches often are unprotected and there is often not a competent person on site.
- Incidents often involve contractors who are inexperienced or new to trench work.
- New workers often lack proper competent person supervision.
- There is a need to increase training and education on the standard and safe practices.
“Trench and excavation work represent some of the most dangerous jobs in the construction industry. Maintaining up-to-date training on safety regulations and equipment solutions can promote a safety culture that not only provides safe workplaces, but also enables workers to be productive,” said Wise.
To register for the webinar, please visit: https://cpwr.com/news-events.
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.