Excavation Training
Cooperation between employers and employees is necessary to make sure excavation safety training policies are developed and implemented effectively. Each project supervisor and competent person must understand their responsibility for providing effective safety training to ensure a safe working environment.
Effective excavation training includes a hands-on practice component to make sure workers have adequate knowledge, skills, and the ability to perform tasks safely (KSAs).
Employee excavation training should include the following topic areas:
- Trenching and excavating hazards
- Soil identification
- Safe slopes for different soil types and conditions
- Stress patterns on trench walls from soil and spoil, equipment, and vibration caused by equipment and traffic
- Effects of nearby buried utilities, building foundations and lengthy exposure to the elements on trench side walls and other excavations
- Effects on trench and excavation conditions from severe weather (such as excess water, freezing temperatures, unexpected heat or long-term drying)
- Recognition of buried drums, containers, tanks and wells
Employees also need to be trained to follow the proper procedures to involve the electrical power company, health department and other agencies when they find unforeseen objects, such as wells, sewage disposal systems, cemeteries, and historical, architectural, and archeological artifacts.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
5-6. Which component of excavation training helps to determine if workers have adequate knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) to complete tasks safely?
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