Tech
Why did 39 workers die in trenches in 2022?
Dawn Morse makes a standing offer to workers whose employers don’t follow trench safety rules.
“I’ve said, ‘If your company won’t give you shoring equipment or safety equipment, call me, I’ll find you a new job. I will literally help you find a company that will provide equipment.’”
Morse is a safety trainer and branch manager in Boise, Idaho, for shoring safety equipment company D.P. Nicoli. As one who is often on jobsites, she is dismayed at the high number of trench deaths – 39 – recorded in 2022, the highest fatality number in 18 years. That’s up from 15 in 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
“People, they hear 39 deaths in one year, and they don’t think so much about it,” she says. “But that’s 39 that were completely preventable.”
They were preventable because in most cases the trenches did not have trench boxes, which protect workers from cave-ins. In cases where trench boxes were present, they were installed improperly or just sitting on the site unused.
Workers in the trenches also lacked training, as did supervisors. There were even cases of contractors being fully aware of the safety standards – because they had been cited in the past – yet continued to disregard them.
The violating companies pay a fine, which they can often negotiate down substantially, and work continues. Compared to environmental penalties, which can reach into the millions of dollars, the fines are small, typically well below $100,000. Some reach six figures.
A few cases each year end up in criminal court, which can lead to jail time and a contractor losing his or her business or license or both. But that is rare.
The rules and penalties for trenching violations, however, are nothing new. Public information abounds for the dangers of unprotected trenches. The U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration and industry associations constantly remind employers and workers about safety requirements and orchestrate publicity campaigns and industry outreach to spread the word.
So why did so many die in trenches in 2022?
Why so many deaths?
Wendell Wood, owner of Trench Safety Training in Battle Creek, Michigan, believes the biggest cause of trench deaths is a misunderstanding of dirt.
“The soils that stand may look good, but they are not stable soils,” Wood explains. “… Due to vibration, weight of other material and equipment, it is very susceptible to collapsing all at one time.
“It’s the soil that stands that will kill you.”
That misconception can lead contractors to believe workers will be safe without a trench box.
And it does not even have to be a deep trench to be dangerous.
“It is not the amount of dirt that’s going to cover you up; it’s the amount of dirt that’s going to trap or immobilize you,” Wood says. “It pins you, and that’s not necessarily a lot of dirt.”
To employers who have managed to avoid cave-in without a trench box or other protection, Morse says they are pressing their luck. “When you take those chances over and over again, it’s just like you’re playing the lottery. Because at some point, it’s going to happen.”
It’s also impossible to know what’s behind the trench wall. There could be a void, boulders, water about to burst through – any number of invisible things that can weaken a dirt wall, she explains.
“Every single time they say, ‘Hey, I’m just going to be in there for a second,’ that could be the one second, because that’s all it takes. And we have multiple stories over the years of just that happening.”
More inexperienced contractors
“I would say the number one reason we are having more cave-ins is a lack of knowledge of the standard,” trench safety trainer Rick Padgett says.
He’s seeing more younger, inexperienced construction employers and employees.
“Now we have 30- and 35-year-old guys owning their own construction companies,” says the owner of Padgett Risk Consultants in Roswell, Georgia. “There is a naivety or ignorance of the rules.”
He notes that baby boomers are retiring with all their knowledge and being replaced on jobsites by workers in their 20s who know little about safety. There’s also a lack of safety planning.
“Most of the time when a guy’s trying to slope back or do something like that without a trench box, he didn’t plan the job right,” Padgett says. “He either didn’t know what he was doing, didn’t know what he was getting into, or ‘We’re digging it 4 feet, and all of a sudden, we’re 6, 7 and 8 feet. What do we do?’”
At that point, ordering a trench box could set the job back, and in some cases, may require larger equipment than the contractor has. So instead of waiting, the contractor might try sloping the top of the trench, which is rarely done correctly, or just take a chance.
“It’s just poor planning,” he says. “We’ve got people in charge that don’t need to be in charge. They need a few more years of experience.”
“Production and cost”
Morse and other safety experts cite a need for more training on trench rules and hazards.
OSHA requires workers in trenches to be trained on the hazards and proper use of safety equipment, and each excavation must have a trained competent person daily ensuring safety, but some companies, particularly smaller ones or those that don’t excavate often, are unaware of the rules.
Morse notes that the growing construction economy has meant an increase in smaller jobs, leading companies to perform work in which they lack experience.
“You find people that are used to digging an irrigation farm line, all of a sudden, they are putting in a 20-foot-deep sewer line with no real understanding of what is really needed to be assessed,” she says.
She estimates she has offered 100 free training courses in the past two years. She often asks contractors what they view to be the top priorities on a job.
“If you ask them what the most important thing of a job is, they talk about production and cost,” she says. “I try to explain to them, do you really understand that an incident on a jobsite stops production?”
“No duct tape!”
In some cases, contractors have trench boxes, but they are damaged and should be replaced.
“The boxes don’t collapse; they do fail,” says Wood. “And failure is defined by OSHA as a permanent deformation of a structural member.”
He’s often seen trench boxes being used with bent spreaders or walls. And he rarely sees compliance officers pull them from service.
OSHA requires trench boxes to be used in accordance with the manufacturer’s tab data. In some of the trench deaths, OSHA has cited contractors for not following the manufacturer’s guidance.
Morse is appalled at how much duct tape she sees on construction sites holding together parts of trench boxes and shoring equipment.
“I throw such a fit on every jobsite when I see duct tape holding a spreader pipe together,” she says. “I remind them, there’s no tab data anywhere in existence that has the word ‘duct tape’ written anywhere in it. That’s just not an option.”
What can be done?
Morse worries that 2023 could be another deadly year in the trenches like 2022. She keeps track of trench incidents across the U.S. The first of the year showed signs of a repeat of 2022, she says, but recently there’s been a lull in fatalities.
It’s too early to tell what 2023 will bring. But Morse and other safety experts are leaving nothing to chance. They are working within industry organizations like the North American Excavation Shoring Association and the National Utility Contractors Association to ramp up advocacy efforts to spread the word throughout the industry.
Morse would like to see more emphasis on safety when it comes to bidding on projects, making sure all the subcontractors are properly trained.
“Whenever a company goes out to bid a job, it would be ideal if there was a prerequisite for every job that you have a safety record, that you have a training record, that you know that the people bidding the work are qualified to do the work and to assess the hazards,” she says. “But they don’t really have anything like that in place yet.”
She has seen such requirements from large municipal projects but not on smaller jobs.
She’s also called on the governor of Idaho to allocate some of the state’s infrastructure funding for safety training. She’s heard no response.
“That’s not where they want to see it go,” she says. “And I don’t know why; it would save lives.”
Wood has also offered an idea that hasn’t gotten much traction.
“Every excavator that they put out there, along with the check oil sticker, they should have a sticker to say, ‘At 5 feet or deeper, you will need a protective system’ or some stickers similar to that that would alert these people.”
He would also like to see trench box dealers and rental shops focus more on smaller plumbing contractors who trench only on occasion. They don’t belong to industry associations and are ignorant of the standards.
“They’re not catching the small guy,” he says. “He just rents a piece of equipment every now and then, or he’s just trying to get started and he just doesn’t have a lot of capital.”
He notes, too, though that a plumber not knowing the OSHA standards has no excuse.
“Do-it-yourself people, that’s called an accident, but plumbers – no. That’s what they do for a living. And they should be better prepared, more knowledgeable.”
Better enforcement sought
The safety experts would also like to see some improvement from OSHA. Like the construction industry it oversees, the agency has been experiencing high turnover resulting in younger inspectors and regional directors, they say.
They note that the agency has placed greater emphasis on cracking down on trench safety, but there are still problems.
“Almost every OSHA officer I’ve dealt with in the last six months is either new or very young,” Padgett says. “And the experienced ones are being moved up. There’s just such a turnover that you hire from within, and eventually, you’re promoting 28-year-olds to regional directors, and that just ain’t going to work.”
He also sees inconsistency in enforcement and inspections.
“You have an inspector come out on a job. … He’ll pick out one or two things. And then the next inspector comes out and finds the same job with 12 different problems.”
Interview requests to OSHA for this story were unsuccessful.
Morse sees a need for tougher penalties for violations, and violators shouldn’t be able to negotiate down fines when lives are put at risk.
“If you kill somebody in a trench because you didn’t supply them with safety training or safety equipment, you’ve lost your rights, in my opinion, to continue that business,” she says. “But that is not how it works.”
She would also like to see the agency do more outreach to jobsites before safety incidents occur.
She acknowledges, though, that the agency is limited in its resources. For that reason she is focusing on getting the word out within the industry. She’s also hoping to encourage more large general contractors to mentor smaller, lesser-experienced companies on safety and to encourage the industry to voluntarily go beyond the OSHA standards.
“They think OSHA’s strict, but OSHA’s requirements are the bare minimum,” she says. “They should be much stricter.”
Caterpillar is bidding farewell to its 259D3, 279D3 and 289D3 compact track loaders with the introduction of its new, next-generation 255 and 266 models.
The completely redesigned models debuted at media and customer events at Caterpillar’s Edwards, Illinois, Demonstration and Learning Center last week. The 255 and 265 offer improved engine performance, more lift height, a roomier cab and more standard technology than their predecessors.
“We kept the DNA of the D3 series while reimagining the possibilities of loader performance using voice of customer feedback to lead the way,” says Trevor Chase, product application specialist for Caterpillar. “Both next-generation models leverage the many benefits offered by the vertical lift design. The new Cat 255 replaces the 259D3, while the 265 replaces both the 279D3 and 289D3 machines.”
The CTLs are the last of Cat’s building and construction products to get the next-generation treatment and simplified nomenclature. The first number (2) represents the skid steer loader and compact track loader machine family; the middle number (5 or 6) designates the machine size; and the ending number (5) is the compact track loader identifier. Skid steers will be identified by a 0 end number. Additional new models will roll out in the coming months, the company says.
CaterpillarMore power and torque
Cat equipped the 255 with a C2.8T engine and the 265 with a C2.8TA engine, both at 74 horsepower. This gives the new machines a significant boost in torque – 13% for the 255 and 43% for the 256 – over their D3-Series predecessors. The engine and cooling package are mounted lower in the frame for added visibility out the rear window and stability while lifting heavy loads.
Customers attest that the added lift height makes truck loading easier. The 255 offers 10 feet 4 inches of lift height, while the 265 can reach 11 feet high.
“The lift height has made a big difference when loading trucks,” said Derrick Roger, owner of Coast to Coast Lawnscapes, who spent several months testing the 255. “You can get on top of that truck now and empty the bucket; whereas, before you would have to shake the bucket to try to get the material to fall out.”
The 255 delivers 36% more tilt breakout, 26% higher lift breakout force and a 24% increase in rated operating capacity (ROC). The 265 also delivers 19% higher tilt breakout force and 22% higher lift breakout force.
Standard hydraulic pressure has been increased to 3,500 psi, allowing the 255 and 265 to operate all Cat Smart Attachments with the standard auxiliary hydraulics provided.
If demanding attachments require additional hydraulic flow, customers can have their Cat dealer activate the high flow functionality on the machine or remotely via software update. This makes it possible for the CTLs to hit 30 gallons per minute of flow at the standard system pressure.
A High Flow XPS factory option increases auxiliary hydraulic system pressure to 4,061 psi for both models, while also increasing the hydraulic flow to 30 gallons per minute for the 255 and 34 gallons per minute for the 265.
The torsion suspension undercarriage delivers better operator comfort, track wear and material retention, plus the stiffer design results in smoother graded surfaces, Cat says. A new 12.6-inch bar-tread narrow track option is available on the 255.
A more spacious cab
Cat says it has increased the cab width by 2.75 inches without making the machines wider and the footwell-to-ceiling height by 1.8 inches. The larger cab gives operators an additional 1.5 inches of hip room and 1.1 inches more width between the joysticks.
A range of new mechanical and air-ride suspension seat options are available, including a ventilated and heated seat. A new automatic temperature control allows operators to set a specific temperature. Relocated vents help cool or heat the machine quickly.
The standard package includes the same 5-inch LCD monitor as the D3 Series CTLs, which offers Bluetooth connectivity and functionality for the rearview camera feed, creep, job clock, and maintenance reminders.
Customers can upgrade to a new 8-inch advanced touchscreen monitor, like the display found in Cat’s next-generation mini excavators and small loaders. It delivers advanced radio control and supports the 270-degree multicamera option. The advanced monitor pairs with the advanced joysticks for integrated control of all machine functions and adjustments.
“You can adjust the movement – or the aggressiveness or the conservativeness – of how your tracks and lift arms work through your advanced touchscreen display,” Dante Thomas, skid steer and CTL marketing manager, said. “And you can control of all of your display functions from the advanced joysticks. There are buttons with enter and select functions on those joysticks that you’re able to change any functionality that is possible.”
Cat also redesigned the entry, making the 255 and 265 easier to enter and exit. The cab door can be opened even when the lift arms are not fully lowered to the frame stops. It can be removed without tools in less than one minute.
Advanced technologies
Calling the 255 and 265 “one of the most attachment-friendly machines on the market,” Thomas says both the standard and advanced monitors can run Cat Smart Attachments, such as the dozer and grader blades and backhoe.
“It has attachment recognition that when you plug the attachment into the machine, it recognizes which attachment is connected. It adjusts your joystick pattern, so it gives you intuitive and simple control,” says Thomas.
The available Cat Product Link Elite system tracks machine hours, location, asset utilization, provides fault code details and delivers advanced monitoring and machine health, that is remotely accessible via VisionLink. In addition, Product Link Elite provides remote flash and troubleshooting capabilities and quickly enables the remote activation of the SEA High Flow feature.
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Quick Data is a snapshot of new and used wheel loader sales trends from Randall Reilly’s EDA equipment financing data, TopBid auction price service and EquipmentWatch market trend reports.
Demand for wheel loaders has softened with new and used financed wheel loader sales down year-over-year from August 1, 2022 to July 31, 2023 according to Randall Reilly’s EDA equipment financing data.
Financed new wheel loader sales dropped 10%, while used financed wheel loader sales fell by 15% compared to the same period last year.
Cat (22.4%), Deere (21.0%) and Komatsu (12.4%) held their positions year-over-year as the top three sellers of new financed wheel loaders. Top models sold included the Deere 544 P-Tier (401), Deere 624 P-Tier (380) and the Komatsu WA270-8 (364).
[Watch: “A Really Solid Machine” – Test Run of Komatsu’s WA475-10 Wheel Loader]
Cat (28.5%) and Deere (22.9%) also snagged the No. 1 and 2 positions for the highest number of financed used units sold, with Case (14.7%) claiming the third spot. On the date we examined the data, the top-selling models were the Case 321F (340), Cat 926M (164) and the Case 621G (159).
During this period, there were more buyers of new loaders in Florida (955) than in any other state. Buyers of new wheel loaders were also prevalent in Texas (893) and Illinois (665). Those states were also top buyers of used financed machines, with 712 units sold in Texas, 413 in Florida, and 412 in Illinois.
EDA data is compiled from state UCC-1 filings on financed construction equipment. EDA continually updates this data as information comes in from each state.
[Related Content: A Rundown of the Latest Wheel Loaders for 2023]
Used Wheel Loader Market
Used wheel loader prices rose 10.1% for the 12-month period from August 1, 2022 to July 31, 2023, according to Randall Reilly’s EquipmentWatch market trend data.
The average price for a used wheel loader was $137,465 in July 2022 compared to $151,367 in July 2023. The average age of used wheel loaders fell slightly during the period, dropping from 8.8 years to 8.3 years.
EquipmentWatchThe average age and price were calculated on 153,356 resale listings during the period in the EquipmentWatch database.
Over the last 12 months, prices for used wheel loaders have in general increased, with the largest gains in October 2022 (6.5%) and February 2023 (2.9%).
EquipmentWatch defines fair market value (FMV) as the monetary value of an asset that can be expected in a transaction with a single seller and single buyer, neither of whom is under any compulsion or time restriction to complete the transaction. FMV for heavy equipment is most closely associated with the private resale market, as opposed to the public auction market.
Wheel Loader Auction Prices
Caterpillar also dominated the auction charts, accounting for 18 of the top 20 wheel loaders sold in terms of price for the 12-month period of September 1, 2022 to August 31, 2023. Deere and Komatsu were the only other manufacturers to appear on the list.
The top auction price spot went to a 2021 Cat 966M with 2,188 hours. It sold for $400,000 at a Ritchie Bros. auction in Orlando, Fla., on September 21, 2022. The second-highest price paid was $315,000 for a 2019 Cat 980M with 7,836 hours at another Ritchie Bros. sale in Atlanta, on December 1, 2022. Rounding out the top three was a 2018 Deere 944K with 8,941 hours. It sold for $290,00 at a J.M. Wood Auction Co. sale in Montgomery, Ala., on March 21, 2023.
In total, there were 358 wheel loaders sold at auctions tracked by Top Bid during this time, with an average price of $99,747. (This does not include any units sold for less than $5,000.)
EDA, Top Bid and EquipmentWatch are owned by Randall Reilly, parent of Equipment World.
[Related Content: Heavy Equipment Auctions Set for Second Half of 2023]
Volvo Construction Equipment bought Terex’s off-road truck line in 2014, and six years later, it rebranded its articulated haulers under the Rokbak name.
On this episode of The Dirt, we hear from Paul Douglas, Volvo vice president of rigid haulers, who explains the differences between the old Terex line and the Rokbak trucks. He also gives a hint at some of the new things coming from Rokbak, including redesigned cabs and replacing the current trucks with new models. There’s also the possibility of a new size truck to hit the market.
Rokbak, as with other construction equipment brands, is working toward a zero-emissions future. On this episode, he explains where the articulated dump truck market is heading in terms of alternative fuel. He adds that customers will see big changes in emissions and engines in the next five years, with the ultimate goal of reaching zero emissions within 10 years.
So to learn more about Rokbak and what the brand has in store for the future, check out this episode of The Dirt.
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