Trenching, Shoring & Excavation Safety Program
$25.00
The Trenching, Shoring & Excavation Safety Program establishes requirements for protecting employees who work in or around trenches and excavations. Excavation work can expose employees to cave-ins, falling or shifting materials, hazardous atmospheres, underground utilities, water accumulation, mobile equipment, adjacent structures, and falls into excavations. The program emphasizes pre-work planning, competent person inspections, soil and site evaluation, utility identification, and appropriate protective systems to prevent trenching and excavation injuries.
The program addresses trenching safety, excavation safety, shoring, shielding, sloping, benching, trench boxes, protective systems, soil classification, underground utilities, spoil piles, access and egress, ladders, hazardous atmospheres, water accumulation, and mobile equipment. Employees must be protected from cave-ins in accordance with applicable requirements unless a specific exception applies. Protective systems must be properly selected, installed, and maintained based on soil conditions, excavation depth, environmental conditions, and other hazards. A competent person must inspect excavations, adjacent areas, and protective systems before work begins, as conditions change, and as otherwise required. Safe access must be provided, spoil and equipment kept an appropriate distance from excavation edges, and employees protected from falling loads and equipment. Training, inspections, hazard controls, and emergency planning help prevent trench collapses and excavation accidents.
Description
The Trenching, Shoring & Excavation Safety Program provides detailed requirements for identifying and controlling hazards associated with trenching and excavation operations. It establishes responsibilities for management, supervisors, competent persons, equipment operators, and employees and addresses pre-work planning, soil and site evaluation, utility identification, protective-system selection, inspections, safe access, and changing excavation conditions.
The program addresses soil classification, sloping and benching, shoring and shielding, trench boxes and other protective systems, underground utilities, spoil piles and surcharge loads, access and egress, ladders, hazardous atmospheres, water accumulation, adjacent structures, mobile equipment, falling loads, and competent-person inspections. It also establishes procedures for responding to changing soil or weather conditions, protecting employees from equipment operating near excavation edges, controlling entry into unsafe excavations, and reevaluating protective systems when conditions affect their effectiveness.
Provided in editable Microsoft Word format, the program can be customized for your company’s excavation activities, soil and site conditions, protective systems, equipment, competent-person responsibilities, and inspection procedures. It can be incorporated into a comprehensive Safety Manual or used as a standalone Trenching, Shoring & Excavation Safety Program.
