Site Specific Pit System Utilized with NTS Work Zone Safety System

The contractor was upgrading the stormwater infrastructure for a Northern Virginia city. The contractor would be blasting the site to help prepare an excavation for a bore pit of approximately 40-ft long by 16-wide to a depth of 18-ft.  Due to the blasting, the site’s shale, rocky, red clay soil had been classified as Type C-60 by the contractor’s Competent Person.

The contractor would be addressing typical boring pit concerns including a four-sided protective system that could accommodate the boring equipment along one end, vertical clearance for the boring equipment, and the depth of the excavation. In addition to the site conditions, the general contractor had mandated a very rigorous safety program for the project covering support of the excavation as well as potential fall hazards. Once the contractor had been awarded the project, the contractor reached out to NTS to discuss the project and potential solutions to the various project mandates by the general contractor. After reviewing potential options, the contractor elected to use a steel trench shield and steel plate pit system with a site-specific engineered plan.  The system would provide the necessary operating space once the boring phase of the project began.

The contractor selected NTS’s patented Work Zone Safety System including handrails, ladder access platform, and davit arm to provide an integrated fall protection solution around the perimeter. With solid steel handrails attached to the steel panels using clamping boots, the system can be adapted to both linear production runs as well as pit applications such as this.  Ladder access platforms provide an access point for a contractor’s ladder to be attached to ensure crews have a safe way to access the excavation. The contractor was very satisfied with the equipment and the integration of all the components to form a cohesive system that addressed all safety concerns. Once the system was fully installed the contractor used the project as an example for key safety personnel to review the system’s capabilities and how an excavation “should” look.