PLH GROUP NEWS
Dig Into Safety
Date: June 13, 2021
Snelson Companies, Inc. – a PLH Group company – delivers pipeline and gas distribution services with an unmatched experience and safety record.
PLH Group and its electric power and pipeline business units follow strict processes, policies, and guidelines to adhere to and surpass required safety measures. However, they don’t do this just to follow the rules. They do it to make sure everyone throughout the jobsite returns home safely at the end of each shift.
PLH Group prioritizes safety as a leading value of its culture, giving employees the power and responsibility to look out for one another.
Having an entire workforce looking out for each other enhances jobsite safety during even the most critical tasks, like trenching and excavation.
Trenching and excavation work is routinely performed by the power line and pipeline experts at PLH Group.
From pipeline installation, maintenance, and repair to power line substation construction excavation efforts, dirt moving and digging is a necessary aspect of PLH Group’s energy construction services.
It’s not enough for PLH Group to give its workers a set of safety rules to follow when doing this important trenching and excavation work. Instead, the organization promotes a hands-on approach to safety, encouraging all employees to be actively involved in the safety of one another.
PLH Group’s R.B. Hinkle Construction, Inc. safely provides trenching and excavation work with their underground utility, gas distribution, streetlight installation, directional drilling, and storm response services.
In fact, diligence to trench safety is so critical that National Utility Contractors Association (NUCA) declared June Trench Safety Month, with an encouraged Trench Safety Stand Down observation the week of June 14-18.
During this week, workforces throughout the nation – including PLH Group business units – are encouraged to discuss trenching and excavation safety considerations, including:
- Planning the excavation. Identifying risks – such as water accumulation – and performing a hazard analysis prior to digging ensures that threats to worker safety are appropriately mitigated prior to the start of work.
- Knowing what’s underground. Calling 8-1-1, the national dig number, prior to digging ensures underground utility lines are not damaged during an excavation.
- Installing trench safety measures. Protective systems, like OSHA’s “Slope it. Shore it. Shield it.” concept, prevent collapses and cave-ins that could lead to worker injuries or fatalities.
- Ensuring safe entry and egress. Be sure to provide workers with a safe way into and out of the trench.
- Securing the trench. Post signage, caution tape, or other indicators to ensure the trench is secured from people and materials.
- Inspecting the trench. The trench and surrounding areas must be inspected by a competent person prior to the start of work and after any natural events.
The next time you find yourself in a trench or working in a potentially hazardous situation, remember that company safety policies and proper personal protective equipment (PPE) do not make a safety culture. Instead, successful jobsite safety is a continual commitment from all employees, subcontractors, and visitors to ensure everyone returns home safely at the end of each shift.
