Reinspect the excavation before the next entry
A trench that looked acceptable at yesterday's close is not automatically ready for today's crew. Rain, vibration, changing spoil loads, damaged protection, standing water and new nearby equipment can change the entry decision. Before anyone goes below grade, make the competent person's current inspection—not the prior shift's condition—the release point for work.
Use this three-step field check before the next entry:
Name the competent person who will inspect the excavation, adjacent area and protective system before work starts.
Identify what changed since the last accepted inspection: weather, water, soil, protection, access, traffic, vibration, loads or nearby structures.
Keep people out until any hazard found is corrected and the competent person confirms the area is ready for the planned work.
Use our free Construction Risk Radar to carry an unresolved excavation condition into the broader field-risk review.
Why the inspection timing matters
OSHA's excavation standard requires a competent person to inspect excavations, adjacent areas and protective systems before work begins, as needed throughout the shift, and after every rainstorm or other hazard-increasing occurrence when employee exposure can reasonably be anticipated. If the inspection finds a possible cave-in, protective-system failure, hazardous atmosphere or another hazardous condition, exposed employees must be removed until the necessary precautions are taken.
The practical point is simple: a daily form is not the control. The control is a current, competent inspection tied to the actual conditions and the work about to begin.
Three current signals worth carrying into the plan
On November 2, OSHA highlighted a New York project where six construction employers were cited for alleged excavation hazards around a steep, unstable embankment that was not adequately sloped or shored.
NIOSH's July 2026 trenching guidance says workers should never enter an unprotected trench and calls for advance decisions on the competent person, soil, protective system, spoil piles, heavy-equipment routes, traffic control and emergency action.
OSHA's trenching overview pairs cave-in protection with safe access, edge control, standing-water and atmospheric checks, and a proper inspection before entry.
Make the release visible to the crew
Use the company's excavation procedure and the competent person's judgment. At the pretask meeting, state who is making the entry decision, what work area and protective system that decision covers, and which changed conditions will stop entry and trigger another inspection. Do not let a schedule milestone, yesterday's signature or equipment already staged at the edge become an implied release.
For a bounded internal check, select the excavations where employee exposure is reasonably anticipated during the shift. Count how many had a current competent-person inspection before entry and after each recorded hazard-increasing occurrence, with hazards corrected before exposure, against all excavations selected. This measures process completeness; it does not prove legal compliance or predict incident prevention.
Source note: OSHA 29 CFR 1926.651(k), OSHA's Trenching and Excavation overview, OSHA QuickTakes dated November 2, 2026, and NIOSH Trenching and Excavation Safety dated July 16, 2026; reviewed November 5, 2026. The three-step check and internal measure are The Dig Daily Dose's editorial recommendations.
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