UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

• Safety and Health Topics
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• Trenching and Excavation

Trenching and Excavation

• Construction
• Hazards and Solutions
• Additional Resources

Construction

The references on this page provide information related to trenching and excavation in construction including OSHA's trenching and excavation construction regulations, hazard recogition, possible solutions and general resources.

Standards

This section highlights OSHA standards and documents related to occupational exposures to trenching and excavation.

Trenching and excavation hazards are addressed in specific standards for the construction industry.

State Standards

There are twenty-eight OSHA-approved State Plans, operating state-wide occupational safety and health programs. State Plans are required to have standards and enforcement programs that are at least as effective as OSHA's and may have different or more stringent requirements.

Hazards and Possible Solutions

Excavation cave-ins cause serious and often fatal injuries to workers in the United States. The following references aid in recognizing and evaluating trenching and excavation hazards in the workplace.

• OSHA Technical Manual (OTM). OSHA Directive TED 01-00-015 [TED 1-0.15A], (January 20, 1999).
  • Excavations: Hazard Recognition in Trenching and Shoring. Summarizes the OSHA regulations for trenching.
  • Site Assessment Questions
• Construction. OSHA eTool. A Spanish version is also available. Helps workers identify and control the hazards that cause serious construction-related injuries.
• Trenching and Excavation. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Workplace Safety and Health Topics.

OSHA Bulletins (SHIBs), (HIBs)

• Avoiding Underground Utilities during Horizontal Directional Drilling Operations. (March 13, 2018).
• Hazards Associated with Operating Skid-Steer Loaders with Bypassed and/or Improperly Maintained Safety Devices. (January 12, 2009).
• Hazards of Auger Drilling. (April 16, 2008).
• Hazards of Inadequately Securing Hydraulic Excavator Buckets When Using Quick Coupling Devices. (July 22, 2005).
• Employees' Exposure to Possible Pinch Point Hazard on Certain Models of Bobcat Skid-Steer Loaders Equipped with Either Loader or Backhoe Attachments Manufactured by the Melroe Company. (August 6, 1993).

Other Resources

• Overview for Subpart P Excavations. OSHA Construction Resource Manual. Discusses proper procedure and safe practices in excavation.
• U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), North Aurora, IL Area Office. Aurora OSHA Construction News (PDF). 3.2(2002, Fall). Provides articles discussing trenching contractors not in compliance and their top ten reasons for noncompliance with the trenching standards, reports fatalities and injuries investigated in Illinois, ranks most frequently cited standards, discusses protective systems and the competent person.
• Construction - Pocket Guide (PDF). OSHA Publication 3252, (2005).
• Preventing Injuries and Deaths From Skid Steer Loaders. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 2011-128, (December 2010). Describes six deaths involving skid steer loaders and recommends methods for preventing similar incidents.
• Preventing Deaths and Injuries From Excavation Cave-Ins. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 2011-208, (September 2011). Provides several case reports, OSHA standards that apply to these cases, and recommended courses of action.
• Excavation Safety. Virginia Tech (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University). Establishes guidelines and procedures relating to safety on excavation sites at Virginia Tech. Provides information regarding best practices for related hazards and assessments and inspection guidelines.

Additional Information

Related Safety and Health Topics Pages

• Construction Industry

Training

• OSHA 3015, Excavation, Trenching and Soli Mechanics. This course covers the OSHA Excavation Standard and safety and health aspects of excavation and trenching. Course topics include practical soil mechanics and its relationship to the stability of shored and unshored slopes and walls of excavations, introduction of various types of shoring (wood timbers and hydraulic), soil classification, and use of protective systems. Testing methods are demonstrated and students participate in workshops in the use of instruments such as penetrometers, torvane shears, and engineering rods. Upon course completion students will have the ability to assess their employer's compliance with the OSHA Excavation Standard, utilize soil testing methods to classify soil types, determine protective systems for excavation operations, and training requirements.
• Excavation. Oregon-OSHA. Includes publications, fact sheets, workbooks/instructor guides, and a video/DVD library.
  • Excavation Safety - Instructor Version. Oregon-OSHA Workshop 302. Provides information on excavation work in construction, discussing specific hazards resulting from excavation work and requirements for protective systems.
  • Excavations. Oregon-OSHA Publication 2174. Describes differences between excavations and trenches, the role of a competent person, how cave-ins occur, how soil is tested, protective systems, and getting in and out of an excavation. Includes a safe practice checklist.

Other Resources

• Construction. OSHA's Alliance Program.
• Know What's Below - Call 811 Before You Dig
• Trench Safety Awareness. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 2006-133D, (April 2006).
• Development of Draft Construction Safety Standards for Excavation. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 83-103, (1983).
• Preventing Injuries When Working with Hydraulic Excavators and Backhoe Loaders. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 2004-107, (November 2003).
• Yokel, Felix Y. Soil Classification for Construction Practice. U.S. Department of Commerce. Washington DC: US Government Printing Office, 1980.
• North American Excavation Shoring Association (NAXSA). NAXSA was formed to represent manufacturers, engineers, rental companies/distributors, universities/educators, associates/suppliers and government agency representatives who share the common goal of maintaining safety in the excavation shoring industry with the result of zero deaths and injuries.
• The National Utility Contractors Association (NUCA). The National Utility Contractors Association is a trade association representing the underground utility industry in the United States.