Associations Offer Many Training Resources

Several organizations offer training resources to help contractors reduce the chances of excavation and trench cave-ins:

The Associated General Contractors offers an online OSHA excavation safety introductory course for $20. The course covers issues such as identifying hazards, the responsibilities of competent persons and ingress and egress. It includes quizzes for each section and a final exam that requires 70% for passage and three attempts are possible. www.agc.org

The Associated Equipment Manufacturers’ Trench Shoring & Shielding Association offers three free downloadable documents: “8 Good Reasons Why Trench Shoring and Shielding Saves You Money,” “Trench Shoring and Shielding Do’s & Don’ts,” and “An Introduction to Modern Trench Shoring and Shielding.”
www.aem.org/CBC/ProdSpec/TSSA/index.asp

The National Utility Contractors Association has a free interactive, pictorial-based training DVD that helps workers recognize hazards around excavations and trenches. The DVD is produced in both English and Spanish for both audio track and visual text. http://www.nuca.com/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=1094

OSHA offers several links to pages that can be printed out and publications on excavation and trench safety.www.osha.gov