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Do not get buried in the trench

Do not get buried in the trench

Trenching and excavation 5 min 29 CFR 1926.651 · 29 CFR 1926.652

Excavation

Why it matters

Soil can bury a person in seconds. A trench 5 feet deep or deeper needs sloping, shoring, or a shield, unless it is stable rock. Spoil and tools stay at least 2 feet back from the edge. Deeper than 20 feet, a registered professional engineer designs the system. The federal rule here is 5 feet, not 4.

The talk

The trench along the footing looks like firm dirt, and it stood up all yesterday afternoon. This morning a worker hops in to grab a shovel and check a grade stake. They say it will only be a minute. The spoil pile sits on the lip, and a spare shovel sits there too. A crack shows in the wall. There is no slope, no shore, and no box. The bottom is 5 feet down or more, and someone says the number they remember is 4 feet, so they think they are still fine. A trench wall does not give you that minute. Soil can bury a person in seconds.

A trench 5 feet deep or deeper needs a protective system unless it is stable rock. The choices are sloping, shoring, or a shield. A competent person chooses the system. Do not pick one because it is what you used on the last job. Spoil and tools stay at least 2 feet back from the edge. Dirt and tools on the lip add weight, and they can come in on top of you. An excavation deeper than 20 feet needs a system designed by a registered professional engineer. Do not hop into an unprotected trench for a minute. The federal rule here is 5 feet, not 4. Stable rock is the exception, and the competent person is the one who calls that. If you are not in a sloped trench, behind shoring, or inside a shield that was chosen for this soil, you do not belong in the hole.

Before anyone goes in today, the competent person says how deep this trench is and which system is in place: sloping, shoring, or a shield. If it is 5 feet or deeper and it is not stable rock, nobody climbs in until that system is there. If any part is deeper than 20 feet, the system has to come from a registered professional engineer. Pull spoil and tools back so they sit at least 2 feet from the edge. Do not stand a bucket or a stack of pipe on the lip. Nobody hops in unprotected to grab a stake, take a picture, or check one measurement. If you see a person about to do that, stop them and tell the competent person. The short trip is long enough to get buried.

Key points

  1. Soil can bury a person in seconds.
  2. A trench 5 feet deep or deeper needs sloping, shoring, or a shield, unless it is stable rock.
  3. The federal rule here is 5 feet, not 4.
  4. A competent person chooses the protective system.
  5. Spoil and tools stay at least 2 feet back from the edge.
  6. Deeper than 20 feet, a registered professional engineer designs the system.
  7. Do not hop into an unprotected trench for a minute.

Do this

  • Use sloping, shoring, or a shield at 5 feet or deeper unless it is stable rock.
  • Let the competent person choose the system.
  • Keep spoil and tools at least 2 feet back from the edge.
  • Use an engineer-designed system when the excavation is deeper than 20 feet.
  • Stay out until the protection is in place.

Do not do this

  • Do not use 4 feet as the federal depth for this protective-system rule.
  • Do not enter an unprotected trench for a minute.
  • Do not pile spoil on the edge of the trench.
  • Do not set tools, pipe, or a bucket on the lip.
  • Do not choose the system yourself when a competent person has to choose it.

Talk about it

  1. How deep is our trench today, and is any part deeper than 20 feet?
  2. What system did the competent person choose: sloping, shoring, or a shield?
  3. Where is the spoil sitting, and does it need to move back at least 2 feet from the edge?

This is a short crew briefing. It does not replace a competent person, training, or the law.

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