Telecommunications Division
Currently we have nine trenching crews working in downtown San Francisco and a directional drilling operation working its way from Oakland to Fremont. Combined, we have seven superintendents, nine foremen, two subcontractors, and over 100 hands totaling 5,500 man-hours per week. In the past year, this operation installed over 49 miles of new conduit systems in a metropolitan environment. We are challenged by the need to protect our personnel, the pedestrian and vehicular traffic continually passing through our work areas and the other utilities encountered. Our supervisors and crew personnel work together reviewing their work environment on a daily basis prior to the start of work. They discuss the potential hazards that will be encountered during the upcoming shift and develop ways to complete the assignment in a safe and efficient manner to minimize the potential for an accident and impact on the surrounding environment. Our crews are provided with the necessary Personal Protective Equipment to protect themselves from job related hazards like air borne particles of dirt, concrete, asphalt (safety glasses), falling objects (hard hats), loud noises (ear plugs), blisters and splinters (gloves), public awareness (fluorescent vests), hazardous gases (manhole blower, gas monitor) and unsafe ground conditions (hydraulic shoring). The majority of work, whether trenching, drilling, or just inspecting manholes, takes place in the roadway or sidewalk. In order to make room for our personnel and equipment, we have to reduce the number of traffic lanes available for vehicular traffic and/or close a section of sidewalk. Vehicular traffic, next to working around heavy equipment and unknown utilities, is our most dangerous exposure. We utilize cones, signs, sign boards, and arrow boards to inform the public that construction work is being performed ahead and to proceed with caution. |
Even with all the traffic control in place, drivers continue to drive 35-45 mph, often within a few feet of our crews, and ignore our directions, making conditions potentially hazardous. We lost two arrow boards in the last year because of careless drivers. Another driver destroyed a reel of fiber optic cable because he ignored the traffic control devices and signs. In both instances, we are thankful equipment, not employees, was lost. "Our supervisors and crew personnel work together reviewing their work enviornment on a daily basis prior to the start of work." The cities have been requiring more night work as the level of congestion has increased. Night work further compounds an already difficult job. Portable light plants are used to illuminate the immediate work area. The dark, shadowy conditions make it more difficult to see existing utilities, pedestrians and other potential hazards as we are trenching. In addition, the City's Noise Ordinance only allows us to break asphalt and concrete until 10:00 pm, further hampering our efforts. Miles of existing utilities are buried beneath the streets and highways. Utility owners and contractors have a responsibility to locate existing utilities prior to either trenching and/or directional drilling. In California, the law requires a 48-hour notice before we can begin our trenching and drilling operations. The utility companies have a responsibility to locate the alignment of their facility on the ground within two feet of its actual location (horizontally). Our crews have the responsibility to physically locate the utility to prevent any damage as we install the new conduit system. |
We make every effort to locate the existing utilities that are known and are marked. The real danger comes from the unknown or unmarked utility. An unmarked fiber optic cable or telephone cable, although a serious situation, is not life threatening. However, a natural gas line or electrical conduit could be deadly, not only to our crewmembers but also to anyone nearby. In addition to the traffic and existing utilities, there is the additional hazard of trench cave-ins. Ground conditions in the Bay Area range from solid rock to running sand. Some form of shoring is mandatory when the excavation depth is 5' or greater. Often ground conditions warrant shoring at a lesser depth. The frequency of heavy traffic or old trench lines adjacent to our excavations makes the use of shoring even more important. The vibration can cause even stable ground or the adjacent trench backfill to crumble, and place our employee in danger. The ground conditions and adjacent factors are analyzed and a shoring system is developed for each work site. We commend our crews for their commitment to safety and effort in completing this work in a most challenging environment while logging more than 338,000 man-hours. Our superintendents, George Albright, Mike Carlton, George Castro, Mel Jennings, Joe Kovacich, Lance MacFarlane, Jeff Smith, Joe Tagliaboschi and Larry Yamamoto accepted the challenge to create and maintain a safe job site. They were continually called upon to complete work while training new personnel and foremen in the Underground way (safety first). Thank you for an outstanding year! |