Trench Safety

Trench Safety Course Types Overview

Get trained in trenching and excavation safety with courses built for crew members, equipment operators, foremen, competent persons, and safety managers. We offer awareness and competent-person options that cover soil classification, protective systems, pre-dig planning, and daily inspections.

Courses are 100% online and self-paced for your convenience. After completing interactive modules and a final exam, you will earn a downloadable and printable certificate of completion for your records.

• Our training courses align with OSHA trenching and excavation standards and include helpful customer support whenever you need help.
• Refunds may be available to eligible learners. See our Refund Policy for full requirements.
• Several courses are available in Spanish. Browse our Spanish offerings here.
• Please visit our System & Browser Requirements page for device and browser details.

The type of trench safety course you need will depend on your role and work setting. Frontline crew members may need awareness, field leads often need competent-person depth, and some teams want equipment-specific training. Below are some common options and who each is for:

Excavation & Trench Safety in Construction

Ideal for construction crews and supervisors who need Subpart P fundamentals: soil classification, protective systems (sloping/benching, shoring, shielding), access/egress, hazards, and daily inspections.

Excavation and Trench Safety Online Training

A versatile option for mixed or general worksites that want OSHA-aligned essentials on excavation planning, utilities/locates, protective systems, and safe work practices.

Working in California? Choose our Cal/OSHA option.

OSHA Trencher Online Training

Best if you’ll be working with trenchers or near trenching operations and need focused training on equipment hazards, safe setup/operation, and jobsite controls.

OSHA Requirements

OSHA has several standards that address trenching and excavation across work settings.

• Protection at 5 feet: Use a protective system for any trench or excavation 5 feet (1.52 m) or deeper, unless it’s entirely in stable rock; even shallower trenches need protection if a competent person sees cave-in potential.
• Egress at 4 feet: Provide a safe way out, ladder, stairway, ramp, or equivalent, in trenches 4 feet (1.22 m) or more deep, so workers never travel more than 25 feet laterally to exit.
• Protective systems (what to use): Choose sloping/benching (per Appendix B) or support/shoring or shielding (trench boxes), and ensure the system is designed/selected in accordance with 1926.652(b)–(c); trenches 20 feet or deeper require a system designed by a registered professional engineer or approved tabulated data.