Trench Safety: Slope Shore Shield Methods
Summary
OSHA's trench safety guidance emphasizes three protective methods—sloping or benching trench walls, shoring with supports, or shielding with trench boxes—to prevent cave-ins, the leading cause of worker fatalities in excavation work. The guidance instructs employers to ensure safe entry and exit, keep materials away from trench edges, monitor for standing water and atmospheric hazards, and verify proper inspection before any worker enters a trench. Applicable standards include 29 CFR 1926.650, 29 CFR 1926.651, and 29 CFR 1926.652.
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What changed
OSHA has published updated trench and excavation safety guidance reiterating three primary protective measures: sloping or benching trench walls, shoring walls with supports, or shielding walls with trench boxes. The guidance identifies trench collapse as the greatest risk to workers' lives during excavation operations.
Employers and construction firms must ensure safe entry and exit from trenches, keep materials away from edges, watch for standing water and atmospheric hazards, and verify proper inspection before permitting worker entry. The guidance cites three specific OSHA standards (29 CFR 1926.650, 1926.651, and 1926.652) under Subpart P governing excavation safety.
Archived snapshot
Apr 22, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
Trenching and Excavation
SLOPE IT. SHORE IT. SHIELD IT.
Trenching and Excavation Menu Workers' Rights
Overview
Highlights
- 2026 Trench Safety Stand Down, June 15-19
- Trench Collapses Can Be Deadly. OSHA Alert (Publication 3971), (2022).
- Compliance Directive for the Excavation Standard, 29 CFR 1926, Subpart P. OSHA Directive CPL 02-00-165, (July 1, 2021).
- Trenching Safety – 5 Things You Should Know to Stay Safe. OSHA Flyer (Publication 3974), (2019).
- Protect Workers in Trenches. OSHA Poster (Publication 3215), (2018). Also available in Español.
- Trench Safety: Slope It. Shore It. Shield It. OSHA Sticker (Publication 0088), (2018). Also available in Español.
- Working Safely in Trenches. OSHA QuickCard™ (Publication 3243), (2018). Also available in Español.
- National Emphasis Program on Trenching and Excavation. OSHA Directive CPL 02-00-161, (October 1, 2018). Describes policies and procedures for continued implementation of an OSHA National Emphasis Program (NEP) to identify and to reduce hazards which are causing or likely to cause serious injuries and fatalities during trenching and excavation operations.
OSHA is focusing on reducing trenching and excavation hazards. Trench collapses, or cave-ins, pose the greatest risk to workers' lives. To prevent cave-ins:
- SLOPE or bench trench walls
- SHORE trench walls with supports, or
- SHIELD trench walls with trench boxes Employers should also ensure there is a safe way to enter and exit the trench. Keep materials away from the edge of the trench. Look for standing water or atmospheric hazards. Never enter a trench unless it has been properly inspected.
29 CFR 1926.650, 29 CFR 1926.651, and 29 CFR 1926.652 are applicable OSHA standards.
Construction
Resources on OSHA's construction regulations, hazard recognition, and possible solutions.
Hazards and Solutions
Describes how soil analysis should be conducted to determine appropriate sloping, benching, and shoring for preventing cave-ins and how employees should be trained on all trenching hazards before beginning work.
Additional Resources
Publications, videos and other resources to help employers keep workers safe.
CFR references
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