There are four types of soil classification: stable rock, Type A, Type B, and Type C. The type of soil makes the biggest impact on your excavation risk. Why Dirt Is Your Biggest Excavation Hazard They can tell you whether those structures will impact your excavation work or conversely if the excavation work could pose a hazard to those structures.

Undercutting of structures and foundationsįinally, you may need a registered professional engineer to assess any excavations next to an existing building or adjacent construction, including buildings, utilities, roads, and buried structures.

And you need to be prepared for it to prevent it. In other words, if it can collapse, it will. As Eric Voight, a member of the ANSI/ASSP A10 Committee, told the ASSP podcast team last year in Episode 46, “Nature will always try to fill in any void human puts in it.” Understanding Excavation Hazardsīefore you book an operator or pick up a shovel, you need a full risk management plan based on the survey above.Įxcavation risk management tackles multiple hazards, but the most prominent and most deadly of these is an injury caused by the collapse of a trench. Remember all permits need to be in place before you can start digging. You’ll also largely need permits for most excavations or earth moving in most major cities. Tip: Cal/OSHA demands a permit for any excavation reaching 5 feet depth or greater. These vary depending on your state and locality. We’ll cover the soil type issue in more depth in the next section.įinally, you’ll need to determine whether you need a permit to excavate. The soil type will make the biggest impact on their determinations. With a survey in place, you will identify the “competent person” who will determine the right protective measures based on the survey.

Assess the task, equipment needed to complete it.

Take photographs of the area, including any structures impacted by the digging.

You’ll call the 811 number for your locality to identify utilities.

This is particularly true when the excavation and trenching work could negatively impact adjacent structure stability.

However, every single trench benefits from a full excavation plan. OSHA requires you to have a plan once your trench work extends below four feet. There’s an unwritten rule that you don’t to worry about a trench or pit that doesn’t extend beyond four feet, but that’s untrue. All trenches must feature safe access and egress within 25 feet of all workers.īefore You Dig: Excavation Preplanning and PermittingĮvery excavation begins with an excavation plan.All trenches must be inspected daily and prior to worker entry.You need a registered engineer to design a protective system or find a registered-engineer-approved protection system. If your trench is greater than 20 feet deep, then you need to go one step further.If your trench is greater than 5 feet deep or with unstable ground, you need a protective system (e.g., sloping, shoring, or shielding).Here’s what you need to know about federal OSHA: Requirements for protective systems –.Scope, application, and definitions applicable to this subpart (Excavations) –.The federal OSHA standards you should refer to include: What are the OSHA Trenching and Excavation Standards?īoth federal and state OSHAs have strict trenching and excavation requirements. Some of the things that weigh a ton: 20 yards of track from the New York City subway system, an adult male moose, a live oak tree, and the Mark 84 bomb.Īs a result: a trench collapse is more likely to result in recovery than a rescue. Most trenches are more than a single cubic yard, so you can imagine the inherent danger of a collapsed trench.

A single cubic yard of dirt or soil can weigh around a ton: though it can be more or less depending on the soil type and composition of the area. The sheer weight of the soil, rock, and debris involved is enormous. It’s so prevalent that OSHA has a specific priority goal revolving around trench hazards. Underestimating the risk level associated with digging in, working in, or closing an excavation is incredibly common. Scheduling Excavation and Trenching Inspections.Getting Started with Excavation Risk Management.Before You Dig: Excavation Preplanning and Permitting.What are the OSHA Trenching and Excavation Standards?.

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