Competent Person Trenching & Excavation

Employers have a tremendous amount of responsibility to make excavations and trenches safe for employees to work in. 

OSHA’s construction industry regulations on excavations have been in place since 1971. The most recent major revision to the rules was done in 1989 when OSHA published a new final rule. The updated standard uses performance criteria rather than specification requirements where possible, consolidates and simplifies many of the provisions, adds and clarifies definitions, reformats the standard to eliminate duplicate provisions and ambiguous language, provides a consistent method for soil classification, and gives employers added flexibility in providing protection for employees. These revised rules have been effective since 1990.

OSHA’s excavation rules apply to all open excavations made in the earth’s surface, including trenches. According to the OSHA construction safety and health standards, a trench is referred to as a narrow excavation made below the surface of the ground in which the depth is greater than the width—the width not exceeding 15 feet. An excavation is a man-made cut, cavity, trench, or depression in the earth’s surface formed by earth removal. This can include excavations for anything from cellars to highways.

This course focuses on OSHA standards and on the safety aspects of trenching and excavation.  Students are introduced to practical soil mechanics and its relationship to the stability of shored and unshored slopes and walls of excavations.  Various types of shoring are covered.

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An additional class will be held on September 23, 2009.  Please check back for on-line registration.

All IMA recommendations are purely advisory to help clients identify and effectively control exposures to loss. We do not infer or imply in the making of recommendations and comments that all possible hazards are noted or to indicate that other hazards do not exist. The maintenance of safe premises, operations and equipment, the avoidance of unsafe conditions and practices, and compliance with Federal, State and local statutes and laws are the sole responsibility of the client.