Skip to content
All safety questions
Asked by a personGeneral — US and Canadaen-CA

When does the ladder need to be used in a trench?

A person submitted this question to Rosie's free generator. The asker's identity is neither imported nor published.

Rosie's answer

Published by SALUS

A ladder, stairway, ramp, or other safe means of egress must be located in trench excavations that are 4 feet (1.22 m) or more in depth 1, 2. The egress must be placed so that there is no more than 25 feet (7.62 m) of lateral travel required for employees to reach it 1, 2. In some jurisdictions, if a worker is required to enter a trench that is more than 1.5 meters deep, a safe point of entering and leaving must be located not more than 8 meters from the worker [1].

1 source record(s)

Sources used for this answer

[1] Occupational Health and Safety Code

Page 233

Open source document

Source excerpt

- (a) cutting back the walls of the excavation to reduce the height of the remaining vertical walls, if any, to no more than 1.5 metres for 'hard and compact soil' and 'likely to crack or crumble soil', - (b) installing temporary protective structures, or - (c) using a combination of the methods in clauses (a) and (b). 450 (2) Subsection (1) does not apply if a trench is constructed in solid rock throughout the entire trench. ## Cutting back walls - 451 If the walls of an excavation are cut back, an employer must ensure that - (a) if the soil is classified as 'hard and compact soil', the walls are sloped to within 1.5 metres of the bottom of the excavation at an angle of not less than 30 degrees measured from the vertical, - (b) if the soil is classified as 'likely to crack or crumble soil', the walls are sloped to within 1.5 metres of the bottom of the excavation at an angle of not less than 45 degrees measured from the vertical, and - (c) if the soil is classified as 'soft, sandy or loose soil', the walls are sloped from the bottom of the excavation at an angle of not less than 45 degrees measured from the vertical. ## Loose materials 452 An employer must ensure that loose materials are scaled and trimmed from the sides of an excavation if workers may be on or near the sides. ## Spoil piles - 453 An employer must ensure that a spoil pile is piled so that - (a) the leading edge of the pile is at least 1 metre away from the edge of the excavation, - (b) the slope of a spoil pile adjacent to the excavation is at an angle of not more than 45 degrees from the horizontal, and - (c) loose materials are scaled and trimmed from the spoil pile. ## Power pole support 454 An employer must ensure that work that disturbs the ground in the vicinity of an overhead power line is performed in a manner that does not reduce the original support provided for power line poles. ## Safe entry and exit 455 (1) An employer must ensure that if a worker is required to enter a tren

Related Q&A

Keep exploring.

Human questionGeneral

Trench excavation

Toolbox Talk: Trench Excavation Safety *Date:** [DATE] *Duration:** [DURATION] minutes *Presenter:** [PRESENTER NAME] *Location:** [LOCATION] Objective To provide workers with the knowledge and procedures necessary to safely perform trench excavation work, identify potential hazards, and implement appropriate control

Read the thread
Human questionGeneral

What do I need when working with concrete

When working with concrete, several safety measures and equipment requirements should be considered. Here's a breakdown: *1. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE):** If applying a cement, sand, and water mixture through a pneumatic hose, ensure you wear protective head and face equipment [1]. *2. Equipment Safety:**

Read the thread
Human questionGeneral

Toolbox talk on blindspots

Blind Spot Awareness and Mitigation =================================== *Date:** 2025-12-15 *Duration:** \[DURATION] minutes *Presenter:** \[PRESENTER NAME] *Location:** \[LOCATION] Objective To understand what blind spots are, how they contribute to accidents, and how to mitigate them to ensure a safer work

Read the thread
Human questionGeneral

When is fall protection required?

Fall Protection Requirements and Conditions =========================================== This document outlines the conditions and height requirements that mandate the use of fall protection equipment to prevent injuries from falls. It is essential to understand these requirements to ensure a safe working environment

Read the thread
Human questionGeneral

Gradingʻ

Site Grading and Soil Stability =============================== *Date:** 2025-12-15 *Duration:** \[DURATION] minutes *Presenter:** \[PRESENTER NAME] *Location:** \[LOCATION] Objective To understand the safety procedures for grading construction sites and ensuring soil stability to prevent accidents and injuries.

Read the thread
Human questionGeneral

Cold Stress and Hypothermia

Preventing Cold Stress and Hypothermia ====================================== *Date:** 2025-10-27 *Duration:** \[DURATION] minutes *Presenter:** \[PRESENTER NAME] *Location:** \[LOCATION] Objective To understand the risks of cold stress and hypothermia, and to implement effective safety measures to protect workers in

Read the thread
Discussion thread

Add your experience.

Community answers can add practical context. They are moderated, but they are not SALUS-reviewed safety guidance.

New contributions are temporarily closed while the moderation queue is configured.

Community answers(0)

No community answers have been approved yet.

Comments on Rosie's answer(0)

No comments have been approved yet.

Ready to put operational safety to work?

Join 400K users across 150K sites already on SALUS.

No commitment · 30-minute personalized walkthrough