Trench Safety

Overview

Trench Safety should be managed through a planned system of work: identify the task-specific hazards, eliminate exposure where practical, use engineered or collective controls before relying on PPE, verify critical safeguards before starting, and stop the task when controls are missing or conditions change. This guide applies those principles specifically to preventing cave-in, access and struck-by hazards in trench work.

Main Hazards

• • Cave-in and soil collapse onto workers
• • Unsafe access, water accumulation or falling material
• • Collapse, falling material or structural instability
• • Falls, unsafe access and struck-by exposure
• • Underground services or changing ground conditions

Essential Controls

1. 1Use the protective system required for soil and excavation conditions.
2. 2Provide safe access and inspect the trench after rain, vibration or other changing conditions.
3. 3Inspect the work area by a competent person and reassess after changing conditions.
4. 4Provide stable access, edge protection and physical separation from mobile equipment.
5. 5Control collapse, falling-object and service-strike hazards before work starts.
6. 6Stop work when weather, ground, loading or structural conditions invalidate the safe system.

Related Guides