Introduction

A cave-in can trap you within seconds and kill you

within minutes. Two cubic yards of soil weigh
about 6,000 pounds. If you’re buried,
you’ll suffocate
in less than three minutes. Even if you survive, the
weight of the soil is likely to cause serious internal
injuries. But cave-ins aren’t the only dangers in
excavation work. Lack of oxygen, toxic fumes,
explosive gases, and buried power lines are also
hazards.
3,000 3,000
pounds pounds
Dig a hole in the ground and you’ve made an
excavation. Excavations can be any size: wide,
narrow, deep, or shallow.

A trench is a narrow excavation, not more than

15 feet wide at the bottom. If you install forms
or other structures in an excavation that reduce
its width to less than 15 feet, measured at then
bottom, the excavation is also considered
a trench.
What is an excavation?
An excavation is a man
made cut, cavity, or depression in the
earth’s surface.

Excavation

Excavation cut into slope

Open-faced excavation
 Trench
• Typical trench • Deeper than wid
e
• No more than
15 feet wide at
the bottom

Trench created by formwork

Plan before you dig
Consider the following before you start excavating:
•
Debris near the excavation site that could create a hazard
• How employees will get in and out of the excavation
• How to protect people from falling into the excavation
• How to respond to emergencies
•
Location of overhead power lines and underground utility li
nes
• Possibility of atmospheric hazards in the excavation
• Possibility of water in the excavation
• Stability of soil at the excavation site
• Stability of structures adjacent to the excavation site
•
Vehicles and other mobile equipment that will operate near
the excavation
• Weather conditions
How do cave-ins occur?
When you create an excavation, you remove th
e soil that provides horizontal support.

Sliding

Bulging

Toppling
 Soil and stability
There are three basic soil types that you
may encounter in:
Type A – very stable. Clay is an example.
Type B - less stable than type A soil.
Crushed rock, silt, and soils that contain an
equal mixture of sand and silt are examples.
Type C – less stable than type B soil. Gravel
and sand are examples.
Soil has other qualities that
affect its stability. These include:
•granularity,
•saturation,
•cohesiveness, and
•unconfined compressive strengt
h
 Granularityrefers to the size of
the soil grains; the larger the
grains, the less stable the soil.
 Saturationmeans how much
water soil will absorb.
 Cohesiveness means how wel
l soil holds together; clay is a
cohesive soil.
 Unconfined compressive strength
is determined by a test that shows
how much pressure it takes to
collapse a soil sample.

For example, type A Soil must

have an unconfined compressive
strength of at 1.5 tons per
square foot.
How soil is tested

Acompetent person must conduct

visual and manual soil tests before
anyone enters an excavation. Visual
and manual tests are a critical part
of determining the type of
protective system that will be used.
Visual tests

Visual testing involves looking at the soil

and the area around the excavation site
for signs of instability.

 Observethe soil as it is excavated. Soil t

hat remains in large clumps when
excavated may be cohesive. Soil that
breaks up easily is granular.
Visual tests
• Look for layers of different soil types
and the angle of the layers in the face
of the excavation that may indicate
instability.

•Look for water seeping from the sides

of the excavation.
Manual tests

 Manual testing involves evaluating a sample of

soil from the excavation
to determine qualities
such as cohesiveness, granularity, and
unconfined compressive strength. Soil can be
tested either on site or off site but should be
tested as soon as possible to preserve its
natural moisture.
 Plasticity test.

Dry strength test.

Thumb penetration test.

The basic methods for protection
from cave-ins are:
SLOPING AND BENCHING
Sloping and benching provide protection by
removing material from the face of an
excavation at an angle to its floor; in general,
the flatter the angle, the greater the
protection. Benches are cuts in the slope that
give it a stair-step appearance.
There are two types of benches: simple and
multiple.
Type A soil: simple and mul
tiple benches
Type B soil: simple and multiple
benches
 Type C soil: simple and multiple
benches

Benching in type C soil requires a

registered professional engineer.
 Shoring and shielding
Shoring and shielding systems can prevent
cave-ins in excavations with or without sloped
or benched faces.

SHORES are vertical or horizontal supports

that prevent the faces of an excavation from
collapsing.

SHIELDS provide employees a safe work area b

y
protecting them from collapsing soil.
Vertical shores are called
UPRIGHTS.

Horizontal shores are calle

d WALERS.
HORIZONTAL SHORE
Vertical shore
Trench shield
Getting in and out of an excavation
 An excavation that has a depth of four feet or more must
have a
means for entering and exiting — such as a stairway, ladd
er, or
ramp — within 25 feet of employees; their safety may
depend on how quickly they can climb out.
Structural ramps that are used to enter and exit
the excavation must have nonslip surfaces and
be designed by a competent person.

A competent person must also evaluate ramps

made from soil that are used to enter and exit an
excavation.
 When are spoils hazardous?

 Excavated soil, called spoils,

piled too close to the edge of
an excavation can cause a
cave-in.

 So can heavy equipment.

 Keep spoils and heavy
equipment
at least two feet (2ft) from the
edge; when possible, use vertical
shores or shields that extend
above the top of the excavation
to restrain spoils.
Water accumulation
 Water makes soil unstable.
You can’t enter an
excavation when water
has built up unless you
re protected from the
unstable soil. Protection
includes specialized
support systems and
water-removal equipment.
A competent person must
inspect the excavation and
monitor methods used to
control water accumulation.
Working with hydraulic
excavators
Most accidents happen for three
reasons:
 Entering the excavator’s swing

area
 Using quick coupling devices

improperly
 Using unsafe rigging methods to

drag a trench shield

Entering the excavator’s
swing area

Be aware of the

excavator’s swing
area and blind spots
.
 Entering the excavator’s
swing area
Always maintain at least
three feet of unimpaired
clearance between the
excavator’s rotating
superstructure and adjacent
objects.
Entering the excavator’s
swing area
Keep others outside the
area by marking it with
rope, tape, or a similar
barrier, if necessary.
Entering the excavator’s
swing area
Post warning signs tha
t
say DANGER – STAY
CLEAR on all sides of
the excavator.
Entering the excavator’s
swing area
 Don’t allow anyon

e to stand under a
suspended load or
the boom, arm, or
bucket.
Using quick-coupling devices improperly

 Aftermarket “quick-coupling” devices

make it easy to change buckets or
replace other attachments. However,
a number of workers have been killed
when the coupling devices have not
been locked properly and the buckets
have detached.
Using quick-coupling devices
improperly

Follow the manufacturer’s

instructions for using positive

locks on quick-disconnect
Using quick-coupling devices
improperly
Securelylatch attachment
s such as quick-
disconnect
buckets before beginning
work.
 Using quick-coupling devices
improperly
Make frequent visual
inspections of quick
disconnect systems —
especially after changing
attachments.
Working near overhead power lines
 Before you do any work within 1
0 feet of a high-
voltage power line,
notify the utility that controls
the line at least two business
days before you begin. If you
don’t know who controls the
line, any utility can help you.
Working near overhead power l
ines
Youneed to tell the utility
the location, what work
you need to do,
and when
you need to do it.
To ensure that you do the work
safely, the utility may help you
with tasks such as the following:

Coordinate work
schedules
Working near overhead power l
ines

Identify
and provide
temporary visual barriers
that help prevent
encroachment with the line
s
Working near overhead power l
ines
Temporarily raise or
move the lines
What happens if you don’t notify the utility?

 You could be responsible for all

damages and costs that result
from an electrical contact. There’s
also a potential penalty for
violations of these rules, in additio
n
to the cost of injuries and repairs
to the system.
Stability and adjacent structur
es
Make sure that structures
, roadways, and sidewalk
s
adjacent to the
excavation
are adequately supported.
Stability and adjacent structur
es
Use an appropriate support
system –such as shoring or
bracing – if the excavation
could affect the stability
of nearby buildings, sidewalks
and roads.
Don’t excavate below the
base or footing of any foun
dation that
might endanger
employees unless you do
one of the following:
Use a support system
that protects employees
and keeps the structure
stable.
Have a registered
professional engineer
determine that the
structure
will not be affected by the
excavation work.
Have a registered
professional engineer
determine that the
excavation work will not
endanger employees.
Ensure that the
excavation is in
stable rock.