Safety Knights

I do not have experience with trenching/excavation outside of the classroom, but I know OSHA has a lot of helpful resources to start your review. This tool is interactive and highlights the common hazards: https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/construction/trenching/mainpage.html

The biggest hazard in any excavation is a collapse or cave in. Make sure you know the soil type and slope or shore it properly.

Other small hazards I've noticed are entry and exit, and walking/ working surfaces. I've had employees simply walking in an excavation, slip and blow out their knee.

Trench collapse, working underneath an excavator bucket (these both kill a decent amount of people each year. Additionally trench box installation can be dangerous.

With cave ins, working near traffic create more of a hazard, they say you shouldn't be in the trench while equipment is operating nearby because the vibration can increase the risk of collapse. They need a means of egress, they can never be more than 25ft away from a means of egress. If you're in an area that could potentially have hazardous soil or gases, you should monitor the air before entering. Make sure the trenches are barricaded with signs, cones, chain, "hole" covers.

Check out this video from Marko Kaar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmPSW2cx6n8

Marko also runs this website with info on trench safety: http://www.stopthinkprevent.com/trench--excavation-fatalities.html

What type of work do your crews do? I have a lot of experience in water/wastewater treatment plant construction with all types of excavations. Happy to help. When I first got started, I'd attend classes at my local AGC chapter, NUCA, and Trench Plant Rental (or similar rental outfit that offers classes)

Don't let the workers boss you around, there's a lot of "old wives' tales" related to trenches that are totally wrong, especially if you're in Type C soil (which is a lot of scenarios).