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GameConstructionSafety

Trench and excavation safety talk

15 minutes 13 slides, 5 liveFree Free template

Cave-in protection, the 5-foot rule, ladders and spoil piles, plus the competent person's daily checklist and phone questions to finish.

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Trench and excavation safety

Never enter an unprotected trench

Title

In short

Trench safety means protecting workers from cave-ins, falls, bad air and falling loads in excavations. This free pack covers sloping, benching, shoring and trench boxes, OSHA's 5-foot and 4-foot rules, the competent person's daily checklist and four phone questions that check the crew understood.
Time
15 minutes
Slides
13, 5 interactive
Follows
OSHA 1926 Subpart P
Plan
Free

Updated October 4, 2026

The questions

  1. 1Trench and excavation safety
  2. 21 cubic yard of soil can weigh as much as a car. A cave-in gives no warning and no time to get out.
  3. 3Protective systems
  4. 4The rules at the edge
  5. 5Competent person: daily checklist
  6. 6Get out now if you see
  7. 7Four questions
  8. 8At what depth does a trench need a protective system, unless it's in stable rock?3 feet · 5 feet · 8 feet · 20 feet live
  9. 9How far back from the edge must spoil piles be kept?Right at the edge is fine · At least 2 feet · At least 6 inches · It doesn't matter in clay live
  10. 10You need to grab a tool from an unprotected 6-foot trench. It'll take 10 seconds.Fine if you're quick · Fine if someone watches · Don't enter. Get it out another way. · Fine if the soil looks dry live
  11. 11It rained heavily overnight. What happens before anyone enters?Pump out the water and go in · The competent person inspects it again · Nothing changes · Wait one hour live
  12. 12What worries you about the excavation on this site today? live
  13. 13Never enter an unprotected trench

How to run it

  1. 1Give the talk next to the excavation if it's safe, so you can point at the protective system, ladder and spoil pile.
  2. 2The competent person reads through their daily checklist on the slide and says what they found this morning.
  3. 3Run the check questions on phones. Any wrong answers about entering an unprotected trench get covered again on the spot.
  4. 4End with the open question and fix anything raised before anyone enters the trench.

Questions people ask

What depth requires trench protection?
OSHA requires a protective system for trenches 5 feet deep or more, unless the trench is entirely in stable rock. Trenches 20 feet or deeper need a system designed by a registered professional engineer.
What does a competent person do for excavations?
They inspect the excavation, protective system and surroundings daily before work and after rain or other changes, and they have the authority to remove workers when they find a hazard.
How far must a ladder be in a trench?
In trenches 4 feet or deeper, a ladder, stairway or ramp must be within 25 feet of lateral travel for every worker.

Run it with your group

Free
  • Everyone answers on their phone, no app or sign-up
  • Results, decisions and actions in the summary
Use this template

Free to use and to run live. No card needed.

Goes well with

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