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OSHA 10 Fact Sheet - Excavations

This document provides information about excavation safety standards and hazards from the OSHA 29 CFR 1926 regulations. It notes that excavations are one of the most hazardous construction operations, with trench collapses being especially dangerous. Over 100 deaths occur each year from excavation accidents, mostly due to cave-ins. The document outlines the role of the Competent Person in selecting protective measures like sloping, shoring, or shielding based on soil type, depth, and other factors. Workers must be properly trained and follow all safety precautions around excavations.

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Juan Carlos Plasencia
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127 views1 page

OSHA 10 Fact Sheet - Excavations

This document provides information about excavation safety standards and hazards from the OSHA 29 CFR 1926 regulations. It notes that excavations are one of the most hazardous construction operations, with trench collapses being especially dangerous. Over 100 deaths occur each year from excavation accidents, mostly due to cave-ins. The document outlines the role of the Competent Person in selecting protective measures like sloping, shoring, or shielding based on soil type, depth, and other factors. Workers must be properly trained and follow all safety precautions around excavations.

Uploaded by

Juan Carlos Plasencia
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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OSHA 10 Hour Construction Course Fact Sheet 3 .

Excavations (Construction)
Relevant Regulations Reasons to Study/Hazards Precautions to Take

OSHA's excavation safety standards for construction Excavations are recognized as one of the most Workers must be trained properly, and must adhere to
are included in 29 CFR 1926, Subpart P. hazardous construction operations. The trench is the the safety plan.
most hazardous type of excavation; it is deeper than it
http://www.osha.gov/ is wide and represents a hazard to any worker inside A Competent Person plays a crucial role in trenches
the trench in the event of a collapse. and excavations.

The fatality rate for excavations is 112% higher than To prevent collapse, the Competent Person will select
the rate for general construction. An estimated 100 either sloping, shoring, or shielding, depending on the
deaths occur each year with over 1,000 workers jobsite conditions. He or she will consider:
injured. • The soil type (A, B, C, or solid rock)
• Stand-up time of the soil
Many injuries and fatalities are the result of cave-ins. • The depth of the trench
Most cave-ins occur in trenches only 5 - 15 feet deep. • Surface vibration
Most of these deaths are from asphyxiation, though • Effects of weather
some are caused by the weight of collapsed materials. • Slope of the trench wall
• Depth of the water table
In addition to the cave-in hazard, there are dangers • The unit weight of the soil.
from excavating near underground utilities.
He or she also identifies and inspects established
safety measures, establishes a rescue plan, directly
supervises the excavation, and keeps records on
Trenching Flow Chart
inspections and on shoring or shielding.
Is the excavation more
than 5 feet in depth? Conditions on a jobsite may change, and therefore
excavations require constant inspections.

NO YES Is the excavation


When digging near underground utility lines, you
Is there potential must “Call Before You Dig” to identify the locations
for cave-in? entirely in stable
Excavation may be made rock? of utility lines.
NO with vertical sides. YES
When digging adjacent to the foundations of other
structures or near utility poles, special care must be
YES Excavation must be sloped, NO used to keep those foundations and poles intact.
shored, or shielded.

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