Risk of retaining systems for deep excavations in urban road infrastructure with respect to work staff perception

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to present trench retainers and to comment on their use in conjunction with the technical staff work. Initially, a general reference is made to the drainage networks and the necessity of their depth of construction while presenting the method of excavation, the preparation of the drainage trenches and any trench wall collapse. Subsequently, a brief presentation of methods and types of retainers is made, mainly bulkheads, based on the material of construction and their geometrical characteristics, while commenting on soil-bulkhead interaction as well as failure phenomena in drainage ditches. Finally, a survey-through a questionnaire-of trench workers is presented, with the extraction of the corresponding diagrams and partial results and conclusions, which link the technology of retainers and their application to the trenches with the corresponding workforce. This research has led to very interesting findings which strongly indicate that the best solution to avoid collapsing failures along with zeroing of worker deaths, is to combine three parameters, that is high level of retaining technology, appropriate application, maximum attention and responsible attitude of the work team when working in drainage ditches. © IJSTR 2020.