Osha 2226
Osha 2226
Osha 2226
Excavation Safety
Table of Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
What is the difference between an excavation
and a trench?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
What are the dangers of trenching and
excavation operations?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
What do the OSHA Excavation standards cover,
and how do they protect workers?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
What are the soil classification categories?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
What is a competent person? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Preplanning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Why is preplanning important to excavationwork?. . . . . . . . . 3
What safety factors should be considered when
bidding on a job?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
How can employers avoid hitting underground
utility lines and pipes during excavation work? . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Protective Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
How can employers prevent cave-ins?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
What types of protective systems can employers
use to protect workers from cave-ins?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
What other precautions do employers need to
take to protect workers from cave-ins? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
What are the requirements for safely installing
and removing protective systems?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
What do employers need to do to maintainmaterials
and equipment used forprotective systems?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Additional Hazards and Protections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
What other excavation hazards do employers
need to address?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
What is the effect of water accumulation on
excavation safety and what do employers need to do to
protect workers from water-related excavation hazards?. . . 10
How can employers protect workers from hazardous
atmospheres inside excavations?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Introduction
Excavation and trenching are among the most hazardous
construction operations. The Occupational Safety and Health
Administrations (OSHA) Excavation standards, 29 Code
of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 1926, Subpart P, contain
requirements for excavation and trenching operations. This
booklet highlights key elements of the standards and describes
safe work practices that can protect workers from cave-ins and
other hazards.
Stable rock;
Type B soil; or
Type A soil;
Type C soil.
Classifying soil;
Inspecting protective
systems;
Conducting site
inspections.
Preplanning
Why is preplanning important to
excavationwork?
No matter how many trenching, shoring, and backfilling jobs an
employer has done in the past, it is important to approach each
new job with care and preparation. Many on-the-job incidents
result from inadequate initial planning. Waiting until after the
Traffic
Weather
Quantity of shoring or
protective systems that
maybe required
Soil classification
Overhead and
undergroundutilities
Protective Systems
How can employers prevent cave-ins?
OSHA generally requires that employers protect workers from
cave-ins by:
Protect workers from loose rock or soil that could fall or roll
from an excavation face by scaling to remove loose material,
installing protective barricades at appropriate intervals, or
using other equivalent forms of protection.
Conclusion
When employers share the details of their safety and health
programs with workers, they should emphasize the critical role
workers play in keeping the jobsite safe. Employers also need
toemphasize specific practices that will help reduce the risk
of on-the-job injuries at excavation sites. Such practices can
include the following:
Workers Rights
Workers have the right to:
Cooperative Programs
OSHA offers cooperative programs under which businesses,
laborgroups and other organizations can work cooperatively
with OSHA. To find out more about any of the following
programs, visit www.osha.gov/cooperativeprograms.
Brochures/booklets;
Fact Sheets;
Posters;
Region VI
Dallas Regional Office
(AR, LA, NM*, OK, TX)
525 Griffin Street, Room 602
Dallas, TX 75202
(972) 850-4145 (972) 850-4149 Fax
(972) 850-4150 FSO Fax
Region VII
Kansas City Regional Office
(IA*, KS, MO, NE)
Two Pershing Square Building
2300 Main Street, Suite 1010
Kansas City, MO 64108-2416
(816) 283-8745 (816) 283-0547 Fax
Region VIII
Denver Regional Office
(CO, MT, ND, SD, UT*, WY*)
Cesar Chavez Memorial Building
1244 Speer Boulevard, Suite 551
Denver, CO 80204
(720) 264-6550 (720) 264-6585 Fax
Region IX
San Francisco Regional Office
(AZ*, CA*, HI*, NV*, and American Samoa,
Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands)
90 7th Street, Suite 18100
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 625-2547 (415) 625-2534 Fax
Region X
Seattle Regional Office
(AK*, ID, OR*, WA*)
300 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1280
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 757-6700 (206) 757-6705 Fax
www.osha.gov