CONSTRUCTION SAFETY

EDUCATION PROGRAM
#9

EXCAVATING
AND
SHORING

This education program provides a guideline for proper excavating and shoring.
It is intended to give contractors and workers practical information regarding
proper excavating and shoring techniques.

This education program contains general information. For specific regulatory

requirements, please consult the appropriate regulation(s) adopted under the
Workplace Safety and Health Act and the Canadian Safety Association
Standards (CSA).

2005 Construction Safety Association of Manitoba

www.constructionsafety.ca
EXCAVATING AND SHORING

• Shoring, or proper sloping of an excavation must be provided where a worker

is to enter an excavation that is considered to be:

− An open excavation exceeding 2.4 meters (8 ft.) in depth.

(An open excavation is any excavation that does not meet the criteria
of being a trench, shaft, caisson or tunnel.)

or

− A trench excavation exceeding 1.8 meters (6ft.) in depth.

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BEFORE YOU START TO EXCAVATE

• *107 (1) You must be registered as an excavating contractor by WPSH.

• *108 (1) You must notify WPSH 48 hours prior to excavating in excess of 1.8
meters (6 ft.) or an open excavation exceeding 2.4 meters (*8 ft.).

• *108 (3) You must, prior to excavating, notify all utilities: telephone, hydro,
gas, etc.

REMEMBER…

Where a worker or any portion of excavating machinery or equipment may

come closer than 3 meters (10 ft.) to an overhead or underground electrical
power line, the public utility must be contacted and a permit authorization
obtained.

• Manitoba Regulations 189/85 Construction

2005 Construction Safety Association of Manitoba

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SAFETY TRAINING OF EXCAVATION WORKERS

• Training must be done prior to a worker doing excavation work. This must
include but not be limited to:

Hazards involving heavy equipment near excavations:

1. If possible, plan for dive-through areas – reduces need for back-up.

2. Make personnel familiar with blind spots on equipment.

3. If required, use spotters.

Soil conditions when excavating:

1. Be aware of moisture content and soil changes when excavating.

2. Dealing with different types of soil types – hard ground, clay, granular
material, wet clay, organic deposits with high moisture content.

3. Caution when dealing with frozen soil.

Protecting workers against cave-ins. Some methods are:

1. Sloping the trench walls.

2. Trench boxes

3. Shoring

2005 Construction Safety Association of Manitoba

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ENGINEERING APPROVALS REQUIRED

• Where a worker or workers are required to enter an excavation and the

following conditions apply:

* 114(1) A straight-cut trench excavation exceeding 4.5 meters (15 ft.) in

depth or 1.5 meters (5 ft.) in width.

* 114(4) If a safety and health officer in his opinion requires shoring due to
soil conditions.

* 117 Where excavation may affect adjacent building, foundation, utility

pole or other structure.

* 39(1) Where a trench cage is to be used as a shoring support structure.

* 141(1) For all deep foundations.

* 145 For all shaft and tunnel excavations.

CHECK DANGEROUS CONDITIONS

• Assessment of possible hazards such as:

* 111 Human factors – proper training

* 113(1) Locations of utilities

* 115(1) Possible flooding

(2) Explosive and toxic atmospheres, gasoline vapours
(3) Oxygen levels

* 123 Access and egress

*Manitoba Regulations 189/85 Construction

2005 Construction Safety Association of Manitoba

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 PROTECTING WORKERS AGAINST CAVE-INS

* 126(1) Sloping the trench walls – fully sloped

To calculate the overall

width of a sloped excavation,
use the following formula:

WIDTH – (2 X DEPTH) +
BOTTOM TRENCH WIDTH

*Manitoba Regulations 189/85 Construction

2005 Construction Safety Association of Manitoba

www.constructionsafety.ca
WORKER KNOWLEDGE OF WORK SAFE PRACTICES

1. Access/egress for workers entering an excavation usually a ladder or

stairway.

2. Ladders must extend 1 meter (3 ft.) above top of the excavation.

3. In a trench excavation a ladder must be located within 3 meters (10 ft.) of

a worker’s working position.

4. Crossover an excavation must have a proper walkway with suitable

guardrails.

5. All excavations where the public has access must have barriers and
signage to protect the public from the hazards during the work hours and
off hours.

6. First aid and emergency supplies must be kept at the excavation project at
all times.

7. It is preferable that one worker be trained in First Aid and CPR.\

8. Supervisor must be a trained excavator.

2005 Construction Safety Association of Manitoba

www.constructionsafety.ca
 SOIL CATEGORIES - THREE MAIN TYPES

#1 Stiff and Firm Soils – solid soils with substantial cohesion and no water table
present (good clay, stiff clay till, medium till).

#2 Soils likely to crack or crumble – soils that can be excavated by hand tools,
show signs of cracking after excavating, and possess a low medium moisture
content (heavily seamed silty clays, compacted clayey fill, and mixtures of
clays and silts).

#3 Soft and loose soils – soils easily excavated by hand with little or no cohesion
(i.e. sand, gravel, silt, organic soil, soft and wet clay and loose fill).

2005 Construction Safety Association of Manitoba

www.constructionsafety.ca
 REAL FACTS ABOUT EXCAVATIONS

• Since 1976 twenty-four workers have died in unprotected excavations. These

workers ranged in experience from two days to twenty-nine years and ranged
in age from sixteen to sixty-one years. One thing all these fatalities had in
common – EACH WORKER THOUGHT HE WAS SAFE.

• Cave-ins happen unexpectedly, a common occurrence is wall failure. The dirt

slides into the trench pinning the worker. He is then helpless as dirt falls on
him.

• The weight of dirt distributed on your back and chest at a depth of two feet is
about 700 lbs. So even if a worker’s face and shoulders are exposed he will
not be able to breathe.

• An unnecessary fatality occurred at an excavation which was dug by hand.

There was a sewer line to be augured under a roadway. A property dispute
arose and the trench was put on hold. Due to the legal aspects the trench
was left unattended. The accident victim, unaware of the excavation, fell in
and was unable to right himself and drowned in a pool of water.

• This is a hazard of an unprotected hazard – never leave an excavation

unprotected.

• Workplace Safety and Health officers have forwarded reported violations of

the Act to the Crown Attorney’s office resulting in the following fines:

− A worker was fined $400 for working in an unshored excavation.

− A supervisor was fined $700 for letting a worker ride in the bucket of an
excavator.

− Worker/rider fined $200.

− Workers failing to take protective measures to protect themselves and

other workers fined $300.

* These are criminal offenses and require court appearances.

2005 Construction Safety Association of Manitoba

www.constructionsafety.ca
 EMPLOYER RESPONSIBILITY FOR DANGEROUS CONDITIONS

* 115(1) If other hazardous conditions such as potential flooding of the

excavation exists, then the employer must establish a safe working
procedure. This may include provision of safety harnesses and
lifelines to allow workers to be removed from the excavation
immediately, should the hazardous condition develop.

* 115(3) The employer must test the atmosphere prior to entry into the
excavation. If an unsafe atmosphere exists, ventilation must be
provided to maintain safe working conditions.

* 115(4) If it is impossible to maintain a safe atmosphere by providing

engineering controls and a worker must enter the excavation, then a
proper supplied air respirator and emergency excavation procedures
must be provided.

For detailed information, check Workplace Safety and Health Division

“Guidelines for Confined Entry Work”.

*Manitoba Regulations 189/85 Excavation.

2005 Construction Safety Association of Manitoba

www.constructionsafety.ca
PROPER SHORING PROCEDURES

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• When installing shoring within a trench-type excavation, proper methods and
procedures must be followed to provide for a safe excavation.

• When shoring is in progress, the bucket of the excavation machine must be

placed in the trench directly in front of the shoring being installed. The bucket
will serve as additional protection if a cave-in occurs.

• As the diagram on the opposite page shows, it is essential that shoring

struts/jacks be installed from the top down. It is important that the top
(first) strut/jack be placed approximately .5 meters (18”) below the surface,
then the second strut/jack placed according to the shoring table. The
installation of the first and second strut/jack to support the vertical uprights is
very important as it stabilizes the excavation walls.

• When removing shoring, the reverse procedure is used. That is, the struts
are removed from the bottom to the top. Remember, there must never be
less than two sets of uprights in place and the worker must always remain
within the shoring in place for protection.

• It is preferable to have the worker who installed the struts to be the one who
removes them. That worker will know if there has been a change in
conditions, undue pressure on struts or other potentially dangerous
conditions.

2005 Construction Safety Association of Manitoba

www.constructionsafety.ca
SEQUENCE FOR THE INSTALLATION
AND REMOVAL OF SHORING

2005 Construction Safety Association of Manitoba

www.constructionsafety.ca
2005 Construction Safety Association of Manitoba
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TRENCH SHORING TABLES

The following shoring tables indicate the allowable size and spacing of wood
shoring for particular classifications of soil in Manitoba.

2005 Construction Safety Association of Manitoba

www.constructionsafety.ca
CAUTION

• An open excavation may become a trench excavation as the project

proceeds. A concrete basement wall constructed in an open excavation 2
meters (6.6 ft.) deep, now requires shoring or veeing-out if workers are
required to work on the outside wall between the concrete and the earth.

2005 Construction Safety Association of Manitoba

www.constructionsafety.ca
 EXCAVATION AND SHORING
REVIEW QUESTIONS

NAME _____________________________
DATE __________________

T / F 1. You can predict if an excavation is safe to enter without a proper

support structure being provided.

T / F 2. Water helps in controlling the soil of a trench.

T / F 3. An excavation should be considered a confined space and appropriate

evaluation and controls undertaken to ensure workers are not exposed
to contaminated atmosphere.

T / F 4. Clay is easier to handle when dried by the sun.

T / F 5. You do not have to call the public utility if hydro lines are overhead.

T / F 6. You can enter an unprotected trench if you are only going to be in it for
a short period of time and a ladder is in place.

T / F 7. If the soil is frozen, shoring is not required.

T / F 8. The supervisor is the only person allowed into an unprotected trench.

T / F 9. Struts are removed from the top down.

T / F 10.The minimum distance between the edge of the trench and the
excavated material is 3 feet.

T / F 11. Worker training is done onsite.

T / F 12.You must register as an excavating contractor with the City or

Municipality.

2005 Construction Safety Association of Manitoba

www.constructionsafety.ca