Pre-Job Planning
- Underground utility location and support
- Adjacent structures, surface loads and traffic
- Weather, water and hazardous-atmosphere planning
- Equipment, access and emergency considerations
OSHA & Workplace Safety • Private Onsite or Live Online
Excavation & Trenching Safety
Practical instructor-led hazard-recognition training for employees and supervisors who plan, inspect, enter, work near or support excavation and trenching operations.
Choose a two-hour private onsite or live-online class at $99 per paid participant, or a four-hour private onsite or live-online class at $125 per paid participant. Both require a minimum charge for seven participants, even when fewer attend. An eight-hour, private-onsite practice day is $200 per paid participant, with a seven-paid-participant minimum even if fewer attend; additional participants and applicable travel are added to Cindy’s quote. No one enters a trench or excavation as part of TBT training.
Course at a Glance
$99, $125 or $200 Per Participant
Two hours: $99. Four hours: $125. Eight hours onsite: $200 per paid participant. Every private class has a seven-paid-participant minimum, even if fewer attend. Cindy adds participants above seven and any applicable travel to the quote.
Two, Four or Eight Hours
The eight-hour version adds supervised above-ground practice and is delivered onsite only. No class includes trench or excavation entry.
Private Onsite or Live Online
Choose either format for the two- or four-hour class. The eight-hour practice day is private onsite only at $200 per paid participant; Cindy calculates the seven-paid minimum and any travel charge.
Up to 20 Participants
Larger groups or materially customized scopes require advance review and a written proposal.
Important regulatory context
Plan the Work Before the Ground Is Opened
OSHA’s excavation requirements are contained in 29 CFR 1926 Subpart P. Excavations include trenches, and the hazards extend beyond cave-ins to underground utilities, adjacent structures, mobile equipment, water, hazardous atmospheres, access and changing soil or weather conditions.
The course helps participants understand the questions that must be answered before and during the work. It does not replace the competent person’s inspections, protective-system selection, engineering where required or the employer’s site-specific planning. Any onsite observation or demonstration stays outside the trench or excavation; neither learners nor the instructor enter as part of this course.
Who Should Attend?
- Public works, utilities and construction employees
- Crew leaders, foremen and field supervisors
- Competent persons seeking refresher support
- Project managers, inspectors and safety personnel
- Employees who operate equipment near excavations
- Personnel who coordinate underground utility work
Learning Objectives
By the end of the course, participants will work toward the ability to:
- Recognize cave-in, struck-by, fall, water, utility and atmospheric hazards
- Explain the competent person’s inspection and corrective-action responsibilities
- Describe soil-classification and protective-system concepts
- Identify safe-access, spoil-placement, traffic-control and mobile-equipment considerations
- Recognize conditions that require employees to leave the excavation
- Connect pre-job planning, daily inspection and documentation to safer operations
Course Content
Competent-Person Responsibilities
- Initial and daily inspections
- Inspections after rain or hazard-increasing events
- Authority to stop work and correct hazards
- Employee communication and documentation
Protective Systems
- Sloping, benching, shoring and shielding concepts
- Soil-classification awareness
- Manufacturer data and tabulated information
- Registered professional engineer involvement where required
Safe Field Practices
- Access and egress
- Spoil piles, materials and equipment setback
- Falling loads and equipment swing areas
- Water accumulation, atmosphere and changing conditions
What the Client Should Provide
The following information helps Tampa Bay Training align the class with the organization without implying that a short course replaces the employer’s program responsibilities.
- Representative projects, photographs, plans or excavation procedures
- Information about protective systems and equipment used by the client
- Applicable competent-person forms or checklists when the client wants them discussed
- A safe classroom area and, when approved, a controlled observation area outside the excavation and away from active hazards
Customization boundary: Standard adaptation and discussion are included. Material curriculum research, development, procedure review, organization-specific tools or other deliverables require a separate written scope and quote.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this course designate someone as a competent person?
No. The employer must designate a person who has the required knowledge and authority for the work. Course completion by itself is not a designation.
Does the class design our protective system?
No. Protective-system selection must follow the applicable standard, manufacturer or tabulated data, and professional engineering requirements.
Can the class be tailored to utility or public works operations?
Yes. TBT can adapt examples to the client’s work. Material research, custom curriculum or project-specific deliverables require an additional quote.
Which delivery format can we choose?
The two- and four-hour classes may be private onsite or private live online. The eight-hour class includes supervised above-ground practice and is onsite only. No format includes trench or excavation entry during training.
Schedule Excavation & Trenching Safety
Cindy Torres, Customer Service Manager, can help confirm the audience, class length, location, proposed dates, client materials, accessibility needs and written quote.