Jarrett Strickland, Safety Specialist with Coble
Trench Safety visited Santee Electric Cooperative for the March
safety meeting to help operations employees familiarize themselves
with one of the new Trench Shield shoring devices. The shields are
used to prevent cave-ins and are required by OSHA to be used in
holes deeper than 48 inches. The 6 ft by 8 ft box is constructed of
lightweight aluminum to reduce the weight but still comes in at
1,300 lbs each. The two devices will be used to protect men
primarily while doing underground electrical line repairs.
Employees took time to get hands on experience expanding the device
to various sizes and moving it in and out of the excavation.