A Guide to OSHA Excavations

D. Allen Hughes, P.E.

Course Outline

This course covers:

1. Common Soil Problems
2. Soil Types and Pressures
3. Methods of Protections
4. Installation and Removal of Protective Systems
5. Residential Contractors and the Excavation Standard
6. Worker Training
7. Jobsite Safety
8. Safety Checklist

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this course, the student will have learned or been exposed to the following:

• Soil Mechanics;
• Cave-ins and Protective Support Systems;
• Surface Encumbrances;
• Soil Characteristics;
• Determination of Soil Type;
• Earth Pressures;
• Effects of Water;
• Remedies to Dewater an Excavation;
• Sloping and Benching;
• Sheeting;
• Support Systems;
• Shield Systems;
• Other Protective Systems;
• Shoring Types;
• Hazards; and
• Special Health and Safety Considerations.
  

Intended Audience

This course is intended for use by engineers, planners, and contractors.

Benefit to Attendees

Students will gain an understanding from this course of the benefits of jobsite safety during several types of excavations. They will learn to predict, identify and remedy excavation hazards.

Course Introduction

This course is based on the publication, A Guide to OSHA Excavations Standard. The techniques and methodologies described in this course document are well defined and should be studied to improve the working environmental for all jobsite employees.

Course Content

This course is based on the NCDOL publication.

A Guide to OSHA Excavations

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Course Summary

This course demonstrates the basic elements of excavation safety. Educating engineers, planners, contractors and employees on excavation safety elements can save lives. However, advances in trenching and excavation safety cannot compare to the safety advances that can be made if workers avoid entering unsafe excavations. For workers to avoid entering unsafe excavations, they must first be able to identify unsafe excavations.

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

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DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.

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