The Competent Person Daily Excavation Checklist
29 CFR 1926.651 · 29 CFR 1926.652 · This talk in Spanish
Why it matters
OSHA requires a competent person to inspect every excavation daily before work starts, and again after rainstorms or anything that changes conditions. Competent means trained to spot the hazards AND authorized to stop work and fix them. Today we go through what that daily inspection actually looks at, so the whole crew knows what a passed inspection means and what to watch between inspections.
Hazards
- ⚠ Overnight changes: rain, seepage, drying cracks, raveling walls
- ⚠ Tension cracks along the edge signaling a coming slab failure
- ⚠ Protective system moved, damaged, or out of spec since yesterday
- ⚠ New surcharge loads: deliveries, spoil, equipment parked at the edge
- ⚠ Atmosphere changes in deep or connected excavations
- ⚠ Access ladders moved away or buried
Controls and safe practices
- ✓ Inspect daily before entry, after every rain, and after any event that could change conditions.
- ✓ Walk the top first: look for tension cracks, new loads, and undermined edges.
- ✓ Check walls for sloughing, raveling, bulging, and water seepage.
- ✓ Verify the protective system: shores tight, box aligned and at depth, slopes at angle.
- ✓ Confirm egress: ladders in place, secured, within 25 feet of the work.
- ✓ Test the atmosphere when deeper than 4 feet where a hazardous atmosphere could exist.
- ✓ Anything wrong: workers out, fix it, re-inspect, then back in. The competent person has stop-work authority.
Crew discussion questions
- Who is our competent person today, and does everyone know their face?
- What did this morning inspection find, and what changed from yesterday?
- What should any of us watch for between inspections?
- What is the fastest way out of the trench from where you will work?
Applicable OSHA standards
29 CFR 1926.651, 29 CFR 1926.652
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