Recently we were shown a photo of an installation in progress, and one of the workers was standing in an excavated trench where the top of the trench with vertical sidewalls was well over his head. An excavator was continuing to dig the trench. The worker was wearing the required safety equipment including a hard hat and vest. There was a ladder positioned at the other end of the trench.
When the contractor was asked why the worker was allowed in the trench without shoring or other protection, he replied it was because the soil type was being cohesive — that
