Lessons Learned

May 24, 2016

Lessons Learned: Contractor Employees Entrapped Beneath

Concrete Barrier
Incident Type: Recordable Injury, Fatality

Incident and Discussion of Activities

On 08 May 2016, at 11:15 am, two Contractor employees were deployed to dig a
trial excavation to expose the ends of existing ducts beside the carriage way. The
trial excavation measure approximately 7.0 meters long, 60 cm wide and 90 cm
deep. The perimeter of the excavations was protected by concrete Jersey barriers
placed on the edge of the excavation to protect the workers from live traffic. A
portion of the excavated wall collapsed and the concrete Jersey barrier ensnared
both workers beneath it. The barrier was removed with a truck mounted crane
immediately. Both worker were transported to a local hospital for Treatment. One Workers entrapped beneath these
worker was released from the hospital after three days and the other lost his life barriers
(Prior to Police and Ambulance
due fatal head and neck injuries. The scene was immediately closed by the Police
Arriving on site)
and Client Accident Investigation Team.

Immediate and System Causes

Immediate and system causes were as follows:

 Improper installation of concrete barrier in close proximity from the edge

of excavation.
 Undermining of excavation at the bottom of the excavation was ignored by
the work force.
 Lack of adequate daily checks for soil conditions by the Contractor
Competent Person for excavations prior to allowing workers to enter the
excavation.
 Vibrations from adjacent vehicular movements. After Barrier was removed to free
the workers
( Red Arrows point the location of
soil collapse)

Lessons Learned | Parsons Corporate Safety

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LESSONS LEARNED | MM DD, YYYY
Analysis of What Went Wrong
Workers who arrived on site at 06:00am where they attended an activity briefing
and signed-off on the activity briefing sheet. The workers entered the excavation at
06:30am after having breakfast to continue the work they had started the day
before as per the instruction of the foreman. At approximately 11:15 am, a
Contractor employee standing outside the excavation noticed the concrete barrier
leaning towards the two workers standing inside the trench and attempted to warn
them to exit the excavation. Before the workers inside the trench could exit, the
excavation collapsed and entrapped the workers.

 Placement of heavy load (Concrete Jersey barrier) in Close proximity to the

edge of the excavation.
 Inadequate Supervision.
 Inadequate daily excavation inspections by a Competent Person.

Corrective Actions/Recommendations – “How All Incidents Can Be

Prevented Philosophy”
Parsons immediate safety recommendations and actions taken are as follows:

 Contractor shall instruct employees on how to recognize and avoid

hazardous conditions involving excavations.
 Workers shall be briefed all possible risks related to their tasks.
 Competent Person shall inspect all excavations before deploying workers
on each shift.
 Excavated and other materials must be effectively stored and retained at
least two feet from the edge of the excavation.
 If the trench consists of unstable or soft material, the contractor must
ensure that the walls or sides of trenches be shored, sheeted, braced,
sloped or protected in some manner in order to prevent cave-ins and
protect employees required to work within them.
 When excavations are subjected to vibrations from adjacent traffic,
additional precautions shall be taken to prevent cave-ins.

Contact Information
Originator Ahmed Kutty, Safety Manager
Telephone: +971 50 695 5073
Email:Ahmed.Kutty@parsons.com

Contact Michael R. Nelson / V.P. / Director Safety,

Health and Environment
Telephone: (971) 56 – 924 8595
Email: Michael.Nelson@Parsons.com

Reference Parsons Incident No. FY-16-0970

Distribution All Parsons Programs and Projects

Lessons Learned | Parsons Corporate Safety

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LESSONS LEARNED | MM DD, YYYY

Lessons Learned | Parsons Corporate Safety

This bulletin is being provided to you for review, analysis, and internalization, as applicable. 3