Excavation, Trenching and Shoring

Prerequisites: None

For this course we can conduct the training at your facility or at our own training facility, whichever will suit your needs best. There are some great benefits to both approaches. By completing your training on-site we can save your staff travel time, by completing your training at our facility you can benefit from our spacious training room, our state of the art hands on training space and full use of our break room.


Program Content

Hazards involving excavations, in particular trenches, can lead to serious incidents involving workers at construction sites. Workers can be critically injured or die in cave-ins. Many cave-ins occur on small jobs of short duration, such as water, gas, electrical and sewer line connections.

Employers, supervisors and workers must follow the requirements set out in the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) and Regulations for Construction Projects.

This training program has been designed for those that excavate or work in trenches or excavations deeper than 1.2 metres (4 ft.).

The course is designed to provide participants with a comprehensive overview or legislative and practical considerations for safe and legislatively compliant excavation and trenching.

Training program topics include:

  • Excavation Hazards
  • Plan before you dig – Obligations under Construction Regulations
  • Reasonable precautions under the Occupational Health and Safety Act
    • Duties of workplace parties
  • Notifications
  • Determining soil types
    • Soil strength
    • Wall stability
  • Marking and location utilities
  • Adjacent structures
  • Working safely with and around heavy equipment
  • Public safety and work area protection
  • Prefabricated protective support systems
  • Sloping and Shoring
  • Trench boxes
  • Emergency procedures

You will learn by:

  • Classroom interaction with experienced instructors
  • Exploring legislative requirements
  • Detailed handouts, videos and quizzes

Who should enroll in this training program?

Employers, supervisors and workers who engage in excavation and trenching.

Training Program Duration

½ Day (4 Hours)