A trench is not routine just because you were in it yesterday
A straight talk for excavation and utility crews before anybody goes below grade.
Here’s the conversation to have.
A trench can look the same as it did yesterday and still be a different hole today. Rain, water, spoil piles, traffic, equipment near the edge, and changing soil can turn a decent setup into a bad one fast.
Before anybody goes in, everybody needs to know who the competent person is, what is holding the trench, where the way out is, and what shuts the work down. If you cannot answer those things from the top of the hole, you are not ready to send somebody in it.
What needs to be checked.
- Nobody goes in until the competent person has looked it over.
- Know what is protecting the crew: slope or bench, shore, or shield. Do not guess.
- Keep spoil, material, and equipment back from the edge, and make sure the way out is there before the way in.
- After rain, water, a near miss, or equipment working close to the edge, stop and inspect again.
Don’t just read it. Get an answer.
Use these when you need the rule or want to dig deeper.
This is a starting point for the tailgate talk. The crew, the equipment, and the job conditions in front of you decide what has to happen next.
Get next week’s talks before the Monday huddle.
Short, practical topics for the next time you have your crew together. No filler.
Get the weekly topics