Boston Water main break kills workers.
Boston Water main break kills workers.
(OP)
Not an engineering failure but of interest to engineers.
Something fishy here when trench box is needed after the fatality.
http://www.enr.com/articles/40685-boston-water-mai...
Something fishy here when trench box is needed after the fatality.
http://www.enr.com/articles/40685-boston-water-mai...





RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
How so? Seems to me that a dry trench filled with water and then vacuumed dry is likely to collapse.. and that a trench box is the way to prevent that.
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
From the article:
Followed by:
Unless you're in competent rock (per OSHA classifications), you need either a supported cut (sheet pile or trench box) or an excavation with a sloped cut.
For most utility work, you're not going to get sheet piles (or a slurry wall, etc.) so a trench box being used from the outset is most likely. Which is why the box coming in after the event is strange.
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
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RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
On the other hand, wet soil would seem to be more mobile than dry soil.
FYI, government agencies are not required to follow OSHA regulations, as OSHA is federal, and many water companies are local government. Not to say the regulations are bad or in anyway harmful, but they may not apply to local government agencies.
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
Essentially every utility trench that is dug here gets one since most utilities are below frost (6-8 ft)
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
In this particular instance, it was private work being done. I'd guess they were tapping the line.
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
As someone who works for a local government agency that experiences OSHA regulation, I call this statement untrue. You may see the application at Link
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
I also live in an area with deep utilities because of frost. I see trenches deep enough that the workers heads are not visible, with no shoring, all the time.
A few years ago the town I lived in reconstructed the major sewer line that ran down main street. The trench they dug for that job was at LEAST 15 feet deep, 200 or so yards long, and was not shored at all. It was, however, very wide- probably 20 feet. Two full lanes of the road were excavated.
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
I couldn't find much on the circumstances of this accident, but there are also rules relating to having access ladders to get out of a trench. Sounds like the trench was partially covered, so it may have fallen under confined space rules as well.
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/85-110/
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
http://www.wbur.org/news/2016/10/24/south-end-tren...
Tens of thousands of dollars of previous safety fines unpaid:
http://www.baynews9.com/content/news/baynews9/news...
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
And let's not forget simple greed and the almighty profit motive.
John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
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RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
Dan - Owner
http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
The unpaid fines/ violations- I would be curious what was going on there, I'd suspect that the fines were still being appealed or something like, but who knows.
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
Winston Churchill
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
The workers got trapped in a trench and drowned. The news reports say the recovering of bodies was difficult because it was being done on hands and knees in the trench box so they could dig the bodies out. That sounds like a cave-in to me.
It doesn't really matter if the cave-in happened before or after the water main broke. If it happened after, the workers might not have been trapped by the secondary cave-in if they were using a trench box.
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
Unpaid safety violations tells the greatest tale so far. I have a strong feeling that they have an endemic problem with safety.
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
https://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/1476/report.pdf
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
A trench box may not have prevented the deaths, but the company and its owner would now be in a lot less trouble if they had used one.
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
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RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
That's correct, but in no way is it an excuse for, nor does it forgive, not using one. Especially where using one appears to have been a no brainer for anyone operating outside the envelop of total incompetency.
Reaction to change doesn't stop it
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
If they were in a trench box, there is no way that the soil would have buried the men up to their waists.
In addition, it is likely that the pipes were unrestrained and the owners of this compmany lacked the experience for this type of work. Someone with experience with unrestrained pipes would have made sure the pipes were anchored prior to digging around the pipes.
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
This is a terrible tragedy, and I hope that something real comes out of the charges and not just fines/community service.
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
Reaction to change doesn't stop it
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
http://ehstoday.com/construction/criminal-indictme...
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
Big talk. Let's see if it sticks. All too often its like water on a duck's back and these guys will skate away to kill again.
So evidence suggests that they knew what they were doing all along. H
Next problem to fix is ...
Massachusetts law currently caps corporate liability at $1,000 in the event of a manslaughter conviction. “That amount hasn’t been raised in almost 200 years, and it’s woefully inadequate to the circumstances of this case,” he noted.
Find what you like to do, earn a living at it, and then make your lifestyle fit your income. — Chuck Yeager
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
That's sure big talk, except for the 1.5 MM fine, nothing short of rediculous.
Let's see if the charges stick.
Obviously time to change the damage limitation law. Tell me why exactly should there be any "cap" on damages. Why should killers have any protection?
Massachusetts law currently caps corporate liability at $1,000 in the event of a manslaughter conviction. “That amount hasn’t been raised in almost 200 years, and it’s woefully inadequate to the circumstances of this case,” he noted.
Wonder who's been contributing to the political's campaigns in MA for the last 200 years. Seems like that hasn't stopped and, could it be?, is at the route of the entire problem. What do you think we'd find there ... the reason that most of Boston was made on swampland.
Find what you like to do, earn a living at it, and then make your lifestyle fit your income. — Chuck Yeager
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
RE: Boston Water main break kills workers.
Which is why draining the swamp sounds great, but never works.
Find what you like to do, earn a living at it, and then make your lifestyle fit your income. — Chuck Yeager