2024-10-14 TBT Excavation: The role of the Competent Person

Every action you take on an excavation site could have negative ramifications on the safety of yourself or others. Digging in an area without first locating underground utilities could cause serious disruption of service, and maybe even an electrocution or explosion.

Entering a trench that does not have a properly constructed protective system could result in you being caught in a sudden cave-in. And entering an excavation containing a hazardous atmosphere could prove to be deadly as well. Because of these and other hazards associated with excavation work OSHA, requires [companies / organizations] like ours to designate someone at the excavation site to be responsible for performing critical functions to help ensure the safety of our workers and that person is known as the “Competent Person”.

Here is an overview of just a few of the major duties performed by the Competent Person at an excavation site:    

The Competent Person analyzes the soil and other conditions at the excavation site to determine whether or not we must utilize some form of protective system, such as sloping, shoring, or a trench box, to prevent workers from being caught in a cave-in when we are working inside certain excavations.

Do you know who the Competent Person is at our worksites?

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Revision #1
Created 28 October 2024 14:31:30 by Dale Bergman
Updated 28 October 2024 14:32:32 by Dale Bergman