Job Site Safety and Worker Protection
The regulatory frame
Oregon OSHA enforces workplace safety, and landscape crews face the same focus hazards as general construction: falls, struck-by, caught-in, and electrical. Require task-specific PPE, maintain hazard communication with accessible safety data sheets, and train workers in the language they understand before they perform the task.
High-risk activities
Call 811 for utility locates before any excavation. Trenches five feet or deeper require a protective system, and spoil goes at least two feet back from the edge. Use ladders at the correct angle and never stand on the top rung. Chainsaw and chipper work requires eye, ear, leg, and hand protection plus a safe distance between workers. Cutting concrete or stone creates respirable silica; use water or vacuum controls and respirators. Keep a first-aid kit, a communication plan, and emergency addresses on every site.
Heat and smoke
Oregon has specific rules for heat illness prevention and for wildfire smoke. Heat rules require access to shade and cool drinking water and a written acclimatization and emergency plan; smoke rules link mandatory respirator use and exposure controls to air quality index triggers. Neither is optional, and both are common inspection findings.
Worked example
A crew digging a four foot deep footing is under the five foot threshold, but a six foot trench on the same job needs sloping, shoring, or a trench box, plus an accessible exit within 25 feet.
Traps: assuming 811 is only needed for big jobs, and letting crews work alone in heat without water and shade.
Rule of thumb: locate before you dig, protect at five feet, and hydrate before thirst.