OSHA

JAN 2008

Occupational Safety and Health

Administration (OSHA)
USA Department of Labor
HENCY ABBY Authorized OSHA Trainer

CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY REGULATIONS

Subpart P - Excavations
29 CFR 1926.650 29 CFR 1926.652
A-

Introduction:
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
issued its first excavation and trenching standard in 1971 to protect
workers from excavation hazards. (Cave-ins).

B-

Scope and Application:

OSHA's revised rule applies to all open excavations made in the
earth's surface, which include trenches.

CDeffinitions:
Benching:
A method of protecting employees from cave-ins by
excavating the sides of an excavation to form one or
series of horizontal levels or steps, usually with vertical
or near vertical surfaces between levels.
Cave-In

Competent
Person

Excavation

The separation of a mass of soil or rock materials from

the side of an excavation, or the loss of soil from under a
trench shield or support system, and its sudden
movement into the excavation, either by failing or
sliding, in sufficient quantity so that it could entrap, bury,
or otherwise injure and immobilize a person.
One who is capable of identifying existing and
predictable hazards in the surroundings or working
conditions, which are unsanitary, hazardous, or
dangerous to employees, and who has authorization to
take prompt corrective measures to eliminate them.
Any man-made cut, trench, or depression in an earth
surface, formed by earth removal.

Excavation

OSHA
JAN 2008
Trench
Protective
System

A narrow excavation below the surface of the ground,

less than 15 feet wide, with a depth no greater than the
width.
A method of protecting employees from cave-ins, from
material that could fall or roll from an excavation, or
from the collapse of adjacent structure. Protective
systems include support systems, sloping and benching
systems, shield systems, and other systems that provide
necessary protection.

Shield

A structure that is capable of withstanding the forces

imposed on it by a cave-in and thereby protects
employees within the structure. Shields can be permanent
structures or can be designed to be portable and moved
along as work progresses.

Sloping

A method of protecting workers from cave-ins by

excavating to form sides of an excavation that are
inclined away from the excavation to prevent cave-ins.
The angle of incline required to prevent a cave-in varies
with differences such as soil type, length of exposure,
and application of surcharge loads.

D-

Occupational Safety and Health

Administration (OSHA)
USA Department of Labor
HENCY ABBY Authorized OSHA Trainer

General Requirements:
1- The following specific site conditions should be taken into
accounts for safe excavations:
a- Traffic
b- Nearness of structure and their conditions
c- Soil
d- Surface and ground water - the water table
e- Overhead and underground utilities
f- Weather
2- Before any excavation actually begins, the standard requires the
employer to determine the estimated location of utility
Excavation

OSHA
JAN 2008

Occupational Safety and Health

Administration (OSHA)
USA Department of Labor
HENCY ABBY Authorized OSHA Trainer

installations: Sewer, telephone, fuel, electric, water lines or any

other under ground installations that may be encountered during
digging.
3- No employee should operate a piece of equipment without first
being properly trained to handle it and fully alerted to its
potential hazards.
4- The standard requires that a competent person inspect, on a
daily basis, excavations and the adjacent areas for possible
cave-ins, failures of protective systems and equipment,
hazardous atmospheres, or other hazardous conditions.
5- Adequate protective systems will be utilized to protect
employees. This can be accomplished through sloping, shoring,
or shielding.
6- Workers must be supplied with and wear any personal
protective equipment deemed necessary to assure their
protection.
7- All spoil piles will be stored a minimum of two (2) feet from
the sides of the excavation. The spoil pile must not block the
safe means of egress.
8- If a trench or excavation is 4 feet or deeper, stairways, ramps, or
ladders will be used as a safe means of access and egress. For
trenches, the employee must not have to travel any more than
25 feet of lateral travel to reach the stairway, ramp, or ladder.
9- No employee will work in an excavation where water is
accumulating unless adequate measures are used to protect the
employees.
10A competent person will inspect all excavations and
trenches daily, prior to employee exposure or entry, and after
any rainfall, soil change, or any other time needed during the
shift. The competent person must take prompt measures to
eliminate any and all hazards.
11Excavations and trenches 4 feet or deeper that have the
potential for toxic substances or hazardous atmospheres will be
tested at least daily. If the atmosphere is inadequate, protective
systems will be utilized.
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Excavation

OSHA
JAN 2008

Occupational Safety and Health

Administration (OSHA)
USA Department of Labor
HENCY ABBY Authorized OSHA Trainer

12If work is in or around traffic, employees must be

supplied with and wear orange reflective vests. Signs and
barricades must be utilized to ensure the safety of employees,
vehicular traffic, and pedestrians.
E-

Soil Classification and Identification

The OSHA standards define soil classifications within the simplified
soil classification systems, which consist of four categories:
a- Stable Rock
b- Type A Soil
c- Type B Soil
d- Type C Soil
Stability is greatest in stable rock and decreases through type A and B
to type C, which is the least stable.
Stable Rock: is defined as natural solid mineral matter that can be
excavated with vertical sides and remain intact while exposed.
(Example: granite or sandstone).
Type A Soil: are cohesive soils with unconfined compressive strength
of 1.5 tons per square foot or greater. (Example: clay, silty clay, sandy
clay, clay loam)
Type B Soil: are cohesive soils with an unconfined compressive
strength greater than 0.5 tons per square foot but less than 1.5 (tsf)
(Example: angular gravel, silt, silt loam)
Type C Soil: are cohesive soils with an unconfined compressive
strength of 0.5 tsf or less.(Example: gravel, sand and loamy sand,
submerged soil, soil from which water is freely seeping.

F-

Soil Test & Identification:

Many kinds of equipment and methods are used to determine the
type of soil prevailing in an area, as described below:
Excavation

OSHA
JAN 2008

G-

Occupational Safety and Health

Administration (OSHA)
USA Department of Labor
HENCY ABBY Authorized OSHA Trainer

Pocket Penetrometer: Penetrometers are direct - reading, spring

- operated instruments used to determine the unconfined
compressive strength of saturated cohesive soils. Once pushed
into the soil, an indicator sleeve displays the reading.

Visual Test: If the excavated soil is in clumps, it is cohesive. If

it breaks up easily, not staying in clumps, it is granular.

Thumb Penetration Test: The thumb penetration procedure

involves an attempt to press the thumb firmly into the soil in
question. If the thumb makes an indentation in the soil only
with great difficulty, the soil is probably type A. If the thumb
penetrates no further than the length of the thumb nail, it is
probably Type B soil, and if the thumb penetrates the full length
of the thumb it is type C.

Dry Strength Test: Try to crumble the sample in your hands

with your fingers. If it crumbles into grains, it is granular. Clay
will not crumble into grains, only into smaller chunks.

Wet Manual Test: Wet your fingers and work the soil between
them. Clay is a slick paste when wet, meaning it is cohesive. If
the clump falls a part in grains, it is granular.

Excavation Protection Systems:

There are three basic protective systems for an excavation and
trenches:
a- Sloping and Benching Systems
b- Shoring Systems
c- Shields Systems
The protective systems shall have the capacity to resist without failure
all loads that are intended or could reasonably be expected to be
applied to or transmitted to the system.

Excavation

OSHA
JAN 2008

Occupational Safety and Health

Administration (OSHA)
USA Department of Labor
HENCY ABBY Authorized OSHA Trainer

1. Sloping and Benching Systems:

Sloping Systems:
Maximum allowable slopes for excavations less than 20 feet
(6.09 m) based on soil type and angle to the horizontal are as
follows:
Soil Type
Height/Depth ratio
Slope Angle
Stable Rock
Vertical
90 deg.
Type A
:1
53 deg.
Type B
1:1
45 deg.
Type C
1 : 1
34 deg.

Benching Systems:
There are two types of benching, simple and multiple. The type of soil
determines the horizontal to vertical ratio of the benched side.
As a general rule, the bottom vertical height of the trench must not
exceed 4 feet (1.2 m) for the first bench. Subsequent benches may be
up to a maximum of 5 feet (1.5 m) vertical in Type A soil and 4 feet
(1.2 m) in Type B soil to a total trench depth of 20 feet (6.0 m).

Excavation

OSHA
JAN 2008

Occupational Safety and Health

Administration (OSHA)
USA Department of Labor
HENCY ABBY Authorized OSHA Trainer

2- Shoring Systems:
Shoring is the provision of a support system for trench faces used to
prevent movement of soil, underground utilities, roadways, and
foundations. Shoring is used when the location or depth of the cut makes
sloping back to the maximum allowable slope impractical. Shoring
systems consist of posts, wales, struts, and sheeting. There are two basic
types of sharing, timber and aluminum hydraulic.

Excavation

OSHA
JAN 2008
A-

Hydraulic Shoring:
Hydraulic Shoring is a prefabricated strut and/or wale system
manufactured of aluminum or steel. Hydraulic shoring provide a
critical safety advantage over timber shoring because workers do not
have to enter the trench to install or remove hydraulic shoring.
All shoring should be installed from top down and removed from
bottom up.

B-

Occupational Safety and Health

Administration (OSHA)
USA Department of Labor
HENCY ABBY Authorized OSHA Trainer

Pneumatic Shoring:
Works in a manner similar to hydraulic shoring. The primary
difference is that pneumatic shoring uses air pressure in place of
hydraulic pressure. A disadvantage to the use of pneumatic shoring
is that an air compressor must be on site.

Excavation

OSHA
JAN 2008

Occupational Safety and Health

Administration (OSHA)
USA Department of Labor
HENCY ABBY Authorized OSHA Trainer

3Shielding Systems:
A- Trench Boxes:
Are different from shoring because, instead of shoring up or otherwise
supporting the trench face, they are intended primarily to protect workers
from cave-ins and similar incidents. The space between the outside of the
trench box and the face of the trench should be as small as possible. The
space between the trench boxes the excavation side are backfilled to prevent
lateral movement of the box.

B-

Combined Use:

Excavation

OSHA
JAN 2008

Occupational Safety and Health

Administration (OSHA)
USA Department of Labor
HENCY ABBY Authorized OSHA Trainer

Trench boxes are generally used in open areas, but they also may be used
in combination with sloping and benching.
The box should extend at least 18 inch (0.45 m) above the surrounding
area if there is sloping toward excavation. This can be accomplished by
providing a benched areas adjacent to the box.

H- Spoil:
Temporary spoil must be placed no closer than 2 ft. (0.61 m) from the
surface edge of the excavation

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Excavation

OSHA
JAN 2008

Occupational Safety and Health

Administration (OSHA)
USA Department of Labor
HENCY ABBY Authorized OSHA Trainer

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Excavation