Estimating Trench
Excavation
By Steven J. Peterson, PE,
MBA
Introduction
Trench excavation is often per-
formed by hydraulic backhoe excava-
tors. This is because hydraulic excava-
tors are not only good at excavating
below grade, but they may be used to
lift and place utility pipe in the trench,
eliminating the need for a second
piece of equipment.
The purpose of this article is to give
the reader an understanding of how to
accurately calculate the quantity of
earth that needs to be excavated for
trenches. This article discusses deter-
mining the volume of excavation using
the average-end method and also pres-
ents an alternative method that pro-
duces more accurate quantities.
Factors affecting the production of
hydraulic excavators are also dis-
cussed.
CSI Divisions and Subdivisions
Trench excavation is part of
Division 2 Site Construction
Subdivision 02300 Earthwork.
Methods of Measurement
Trench excavation is measured by
the cubic yard (cubic meters) of exca-
vation or by the lineal foot (meter) of
trench. Measuring trench excavation
by the lineal foot (meter) of trench is
only appropriate when the depth of
excavation is constant. For many
trenches, particularly sewer trenches,
the depth changes over the length of
the trench, requiring the trench exca-
vation to be measured in cubic yards
(cubic meters) of excavation. This
10
article will limit its discussion to the
measuring excavation in cubic yards
(cubic meters) of excavation. Feet
may be converted to meters by multi-
plying the feet by 0.3048, and cubic
yards may be converted to cubic
meters by multiplying the cubic yards
by 0.7646.
Estimating Quantities
A typical trench is shown in Figure
1. In this figure, the sidewalls of the
trench consist of both a vertical com-
ponent with a constant height of dv
and a sloped component with a slope
of s feet horizontal per vertical foot.
The height of the sloped component
of the sides of the trench varies as the
depth of the trench varies. The slop-
ing of the sides of the trench is com-
monly used to prevent the side slopes
from caving in. The height of dv and
the slope of the sidewalls (S) are set by
safety regulations and the soil condi-
tions.
Figure 1
One method of determining the
volume of excavation is the average-
end method. The average-end
method calculates the volume of exca-
vation by taking the average of the
areas representing both ends of the
trench and multiplying them by the
length of the trench. The equation for
the average-end method may be writ-
ten as follows:
V = L(A1 + A2)/2
Eq. 1
Where:
L = Length of the Trench
A1 = Area of One End of the
Trench
A2 = Area of the Other End of the
Trench
In the case of the trench in Figure
1, the areas of the ends may be deter-
mined as follows:
A = Wd + S(d dv)2 Eq. 2
Where:
W = Width of the Trench at the
Bottom
d1 = Depth at One End of the
Trench
d2 = Depth at the Other End of the
Trench
dv = Depth of the Vertical Trench
Wall
ESTIMATING TODAY
 S = Slope of the Trench Walls
The slope of the trench walls is cal-
culated using the following equation:
S = Horizontal Run/Vertical Rise
Eq. 3
The use of the average-end method
is demonstrated in the following
example:
Example 1:
A utility contractor is to install the
sewer line whose plan and profile are
shown in Fig. 2. The trench is to have
the cross-section shown in Fig. 3.
Using the average-end method, deter-
mine the volume of excavation in
cubic yards needed to install the sewer
line.
Figure 2
Figure 3
The depth of excavation at either
manhole equals the elevation of the
rim less the flow line (FL) of the sewer
line plus the distance between the flow
line and the bottom of the trench.
The depth of excavation (d1) at
Station 14+30.20 and the depth of
excavation (d2) at Station 15+80.20
are calculated as follows:
d1 = 1148.20 ft 1140.88 ft + 0.50 ft =
7.82 ft
d2 = 1146.71 ft 1143.88 ft + 0.50 ft =
3.33 ft
OCTOBER 2004
The area of the end of the trench
(A1) at Station 14+30.20 and the area
of the end of the trench (A2) at
Station 15+80.20 are calculated as fol-
lows:
A1 = 2 ft(7.82 ft) + 0.75(7.82 ft 3
ft)2 = 33.1 ft2
A2 = 2 ft(3.33 ft) + 0.75(3.33 ft 3
ft)2 = 6.7 ft2
The volume of excavation required
for the trench is calculated using Eq. 1
as follows:
V = 150 ft (33.1 ft2 + 6.7 ft2)/2 =
2,985 ft3 (1 yd3/27 ft3) = 111 yd3
To simplify these calculations, Eq. 1
and 2 may be set up in a spreadsheet as
shown in Fig. 4:
Figure 4
When the length, width, and
depths are measured in feet, the slope
is measured in feet per foot, and the
input variables are set up as shown in
Figure 4. The volume in cubic yards is
calculated by entering the following
equation in Cell B8 of the spreadsheet:
=B1*(B2*B3+B6*(B3-
B5)^2+B2*B4+B6*(B4-B5)^2)/(2*27)
Care must be used when setting up
spreadsheet formulas because it is easy
to make a mistake that results in inac-
curate quantities. After setting up a
formula, the estimator must carefully
test the formula under a wide variety
of conditions. This should be done by
changing each one of the variables
individually and verifying that the
spreadsheet produces the correct
answer.
Alternately, the volume of excava-
tion for the trench in Figure 1 may be
calculated using the following equa-
tion:
V = L[W(d1 + d2)/2 + S(d12 + d1d2
+ d22 + 3dv2 3d1dv 3d2dv)/3]Eq. 4
Where:
L = Length of the Trench
W = Width of the Trench at the
Bottom
d1 = Depth at One End of the
Trench
d2 = Depth at the Other End of the
Trench
dv = Depth of the Vertical Trench
Wall
S = Slope of the Trench Walls
Equation 4 is based upon four
assumptions. First, the width at the
bottom of the trench is constant.
Second, the height of the vertical side-
wall of the trench is constant. Third,
the slope of the sloped sidewalls is con-
stant; and as a result, as the trench gets
deeper the width of the trench at the
surface increases. Fourth, the change
in depth of the trench is uniform over
the length of the trench; therefore,
the depth may be expressed as a linear
function of the distance from one end
of the trench. Provided these condi-
tions are met, Eq. 4 produces an exact
quantity for the excavation of the
trench. The use of Eq. 4 is shown in
the following example:
Example 2:
Solve Example 1 using Eq. 4.
From Example 1 the depth of exca-
vation at the manholes is 7.82 feet and
3.33 feet. The volume of excavation
required for the trench is calculated
using Eq. 1 as follows:
V = 150 ft{2 ft(7.82 ft + 3.33 ft)/2 +
0.75[(7.82 ft)2 + (7.82 ft)(3.33 ft)
+ (3.33 ft)2 + 3(3 ft)2 3(7.82
ft)(3 ft) 3(3.33 ft)(3 ft)]/3}
V = 2,607 ft3 = 2,607 ft3(1 yd3/27
ft3) = 97 yd3
To simplify these calculations, Eq. 4
may be set up in a spreadsheet as
shown in Fig. 5:
11

Figure 5
When the length, width, and
depths are measured in feet, the slope
is measured in feet per foot, and the
input variables are set up as shown in
Fig. 5. The volume in cubic yards is
calculated by entering the following
equation in Cell B8 of the spread-
sheet:
=B1*(B2*(B3+B4)/2+B6*(B3^2+B
3*B4+B4^2+3*B5^2-3*B3*B5-
3*B4*B5)/3)/27
Switching From Average-End
Method to Eq. 4
Care must be exercised when
switching from the average-end
method to Eq. 4 because the average-
end method can overstate volumes by
as much as 50 percent. In Examples 1
and 2, we saw that the average-end
method overstated the excavation
quantity by 14 percent. This overstate-
ment occurs when the sides of the
trench are sloped and the depth of
the trench is not constant. When a
companys unit costs are based upon
overstated quantities calculated by the
average-end method, the true unit
costs will be understated. If a compa-
ny switches to Eq. 4which produces
accurate quantitiesand use under-
stated costs, they will underbid a job
and risk losing money. When convert-
ing to Eq. 4 estimators need to verify
their unit prices by using Eq. 4 to cal-
culate the volumes for completed jobs
and determine the unit price based
upon Eq. 4.
Factors Affecting Excavation
Production
The productivity of a hydraulic
backhoe excavator is dependent upon
the cycle time, amount of material
excavated during each cycle (load),
and the operational efficiency (the
time that the equipment is being used
for excavation). Production may be
calculated using the following
Equation:
Production = Load(Operational
Efficiency)/(Cycle Time)
Eq. 5
The cycle time is the time it takes
the hydraulic excavator to load its
bucket, swing to the dump location,
dump its load and return to the point
where it will load its bucket. The
more cycles a hydraulic backhoe exca-
vator can perform in one hour, the
greater its production. The cycle time
is dependent on the following factors:

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12 ESTIMATING TODAY
material being excavated, bucket size,
swing angle, depth of excavation,
placement of excavated material and
obstructions that increase the difficul-
ty of excavation.
The material being excavated
determines the speed at which an
excavation cycle may be completed. It
takes longer to load a bucket full of
hard-to-dig materials (such as rocky
soil, rock and frost-laden soils) than it
does to load a bucket full of easy-to-dig
materials (such as sand and clay).
The cycle time is also a function of
the bucket size: the larger the bucket,
the longer the cycle time. This is
because large loads require more of
OCTOBER 2004
the equipments power to excavate
and swing the material to the dump
location.
The cycle time is also a function of
swing angle: the smaller the swing
angle, the shorter the cycle time.
Swing angles range from 30 degrees
when the excavated material is placed
in spoil piles next to the trench, to 90
degrees when the excavated material
is placed in trucks to the side of the
excavator, to 180 degrees when the
excavated material is placed in trucks
behind the excavator. The placement
of the material is a function of the
space available for the excavation
operation. When a very narrow space
is available for excavation, the trucks
must be located behind the excavator.
The cycle time is also a function of
the depth of excavation. The most
optimal depth for excavation is 30 per-
cent to 60 percent of the excavators
maximum digging depth
(Schaufelberger, p 145). Excavation
depths deeper or shallower than the
optimal depth of excavation will
increase the cycle time.
Finally, the cycle time is a function
of obstacles that the excavator has to
work around. The operator must
exercise extra care and slow down the
excavating process when digging
around utilities and other obstacles or
13
when working around overhead
power lines and other above ground
obstacles.
In addition to cycle time the
amount of material (load) excavated
during each cycle affects production.
The amount of material is a function
of the bucket sizewhich is a function
of the excavator size and bucket
widthand the bucket fill factor.
When excavating trenches, the width
of the trench will limit the maximum
width of the bucket. It makes little
sense to increase the bucket width to
increase production if the extra pro-
duction is used to excavate material
that does not need to be excavated.
The increase in production due to an
increase in bucket size more than off-
sets the extra cycle time it takes for the
larger bucket.
The type of material also deter-
mines how much material can be
loaded into the bucket. When exca-
vating poorly blasted rock, we may
only get material equal to 40 percent
to 50 percent of the buckets rated
capacity; whereas, when excavating
cohesive materials (such as clay) we
may get material equal to 100 percent
to 110 percent of the buckets rated
capacity (Schaufelberger, p 146).
The operational efficiency is
expressed as the number of minutes
during an hour that the excavator is
excavating. Nonproductive activities
include bathroom and coffee breaks,
waiting for trucks, and performing
other tasks (such as placing pipe). A
typical operational efficiency for an
excavator is 45 to 50 minutes per hour
and includes time spent performing
other tasks.
give the utility company to locate
them.
Ratios and Analysis
The cost per cubic yard for one
project may be compared to the cost
per cubic yard from other projects
provided the projects have similar
characteristics. This includes types of
materials being excavated, swing
angle, depth of excavation, placement
of excavated material (stockpile versus
truck), obstructions, bucket size, buck-
et fill factor, and operational efficien-
cy. These factors must be similar
because they all affect the production
of the excavation process.
Conclusion
Trench excavation is most often
measured in cubic yards. The volume
may be calculated by the average-end
method or Eq. 4, with Eq. 4 producing
more accurate quantities. When bid-
ding trench excavation using unit
prices it is important that the unit
prices are based upon the same
method of determining the volume of
excavation as is being used to calcu-
late the volume of excavation for the
bid. The cost of excavation is a func-
tion of production. Production is a
function of material being excavated,
swing angle, depth of excavation,
placement of excavated material,
obstructions, bucket size, bucket fill
factor, and operational efficiency (the
time that the equipment is being used
for excavation). Finally, care must be
taken when performing trench exca-
vation to locate existing utilities to
avoid damaging the utilities and to
ensure the safety of the workers.
Rated Capacity The rated volume
of a bucket. The rated capacity is
based upon the bucket being heaped
full with a 1:1 angle of repose.
Swing Angle The horizontal
angel between the point of excavation
and dumping point for a hydraulic
backhoe excavator.
References
Schaufelberger, John E.,
Construction Equipment Management,
Prentice Hall, 1999, p. 142148.
Steven Peterson is an associate professor
in the Parson Construction Management
Technology program at Weber State
University. He teaches courses in estimat-
ing, scheduling, and construction finance.
Prior to teaching at Weber State, Steve
worked as a project manager and estimator
in the construction industry. He received a
MBA and a BS in engineering from the
University of Utah. Steven is the author of
Construction Accounting and
Financial Management and is working
on a book entitled Construction
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Digging into an existing utility line
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Before excavation, the contractor
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14 ESTIMATING TODAY