Trenching and Excavation Safety Program

Sep 2, 2026

Trenching and Excavation Safety Program provides operational guidance to meet OSHA Excavation Standard requirements under 29 CFR 1926 Subpart P, including related Safety Program and Training duties in 29 CFR 1926 Subpart C. It emphasizes the critical role of a competent person in preventing exposure to unsafe trench conditions, conducting pre-job reviews, inspections, soil classification, and selecting protective systems. It also outlines procedures for rescue readiness, water removal monitoring, and air quality testing, with escalation to RPE for deeper or complex excavations.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryGeneral

FormatDOCX

Pages11

Reading Time4 min

AccessFree to download

Purpose

General Requirements

Duties of the Competent Person

Pre-job review and inspections

Soil classification and testing

Protection systems and design verification

Safety meetings, rescue, and environmental testing

Consultation requirements for deep or complex trenches

Steps for Determining Soils Classification

Visually inspect and classify cohesive vs granular soils

Cohesive soil testing examples

Determine cohesive soil type A/B/C

Sedimentation test for granular soils

TRENCHING AND EXCAVATION SAFETY PROGRAM PURPOSE: The purpose of this instruction is to ensure compliance with the OSHA Excavation Standard 29 CFR 1926- Subpart "P" and the Safety Program and Training requirements of 29 CFR 1926 - Subpart "C". GENERAL: Several hundred people die and ten times that many are injured every year in trenches. Trenching is the most hazardous construction work in America today. Strict adherence to 29 CFR 1926- Subpart "F" is essential to ensure workers safety. A competent person will never allow workers to be exposed to unsafe trench conditions, no matter how short the exposure will be! DUTIES OF THE COMPETENT PERSON: 1. Will maintain a copy of 29 CFR 1926- Subpart "P" and have a comprehensive knowledge of OSHA’s Excavation Standards. In addition, competent persons shall have a general knowledge of all applicable construction standards. 2. Conduct pre-job site review to develop a job plan that ensures a safe, efficient job process. A competent person will evaluate difficult sloping and shoring problems (i.e. manholes, etc) prior to commencing the work. 3. Perform inspections of equipment and trench conditions at the start of each shift or as needed by changing conditions. 4. Competent person has the duty and responsibility to remove all employees from hazardous condition and effect all changes necessary to ensure safety. 5. Categorize soil conditions and conduct visual and manual tests to determine stability of soil and surrounding trench conditions. NOTE: If visual and manual tests are not performed, soils shall be classified as type “C”. 6. Maintain on-site records of protection systems. 7. Determine the appropriate protection system to be used and oversee installation. 8. Verify that a competent person designs ramps and walkways for employee use in accordance with OSHA standards. 9. Competent person shall verify proper design of structural equipment ramps and walkways, or shall contact an RPE to design structural equipment ramps and walkways. 10. Hold tailgate safety meetings with all crew members prior to trenching and shoring operations. Subsequent meeting shall be held as conditions warrant. 11. A competent person shall be on-site at all times during excavation/trenching operations. 12. Assure that appropriate emergency rescue equipment is available to meet existing or potential conditions. 13. Monitor use of water removal equipment. 14. Test for oxygen presence and air quality in excavations as necessary. Competent persons shall be qualified in identifying confined/hazardous spaces due to the presence of flammable/combustible gases, toxics, oxygen deficiency and oxygen enriched environments. 15. Competent person shall consult with RPE for trenches over 20', specially designed shoring bracing or underpinning or when excavation endangers nearby structures. NOTE: Competent persons shall ensure that all trenches are properly classified, sloped, or shored in accordance with the appendices of 29 CFR 1926- Subpart "P", or in accordance with manufactures tabulated data. Furthermore, competent persons shall consult with a registered professional engineer (RPE) obtaining written guidance whenever the work exceeds 20 feet in depth, or the work will require control measures not specified in the standard. STEPS FOR DETERMINING SOILS CLASSIFICATION: 1. Visually inspect spoil pile and trench for indication of cohesive or granular soils. If soil appears to be cohesive, conduct plasticity test. If soils are cohesive classify soils by either thumb penetration, shear vane, or pocket penetrometer. If soils do not pass plasticity test, classify granular soils by sedimentation test. NOTE: Other visual and manual tests are authorized in appendix A to 29 CFR 1926- Subpart "P". 2. Determine if soil is cohesive (plasticity test). The following provides a couple of examples for cohesive soil testing: A. Roll or Thread test: Mold a moist or wet sample of soil into a ball and attempt to roll it into threads as thin as 1/8"

FAQs

What is the purpose of the Trenching and Excavation Safety Program?

The purpose is to ensure compliance with OSHA Excavation Standard 29 CFR 1926 Subpart P and the safety program and training requirements of 29 CFR 1926 Subpart C, protecting workers from unsafe trench conditions.

What are the key duties of the competent person?

The competent person must keep updated OSHA standard copies, perform pre-job site reviews and shift inspections, remove employees from hazardous conditions, classify soils, oversee protection system selection and installation, and ensure proper design and emergency readiness.

How are soil types for trench stability determined?

Soil classification starts with visual inspection of spoil piles and the trench. Cohesive soils are evaluated using plasticity tests and then further classified by thumb penetration, shear strength, or unconfined compressive strength; granular soils are classified using the sedimentation test.

Sep 2, 2026

Upload by Ethan Miller