Requirements for Protective Systems

Protection of Employees in Excavations

Each employee in an excavation must be protected from cave-ins by an adequate protective system except in the following circumstances:

• Excavations are made entirely in stable rock.
• Excavations are less than 5 feet (1.52 m) in depth, and examination of the ground by a competent person provides no indication of a potential cave-in.

Protective systems must have the capacity to resist without failure all loads that could reasonably be expected to be applied or transmitted to the system.

The protective systems commonly used at excavation sites include the following:

• Sloping and benching systems
• Support systems
• Shield systems

To learn more about Trenching and Excavation visit our Trenching and Excavation Safety Online Training web page.