JHA / JSA / AHA builder
Excavation and Trenching JSA Example
A JHA breaks the work into steps, hazards and controls. Use this example to build a draft for your actual job and review it with your crew.
Just need the example? Download it here.For the crew
You know the work. Let’s turn that experience into a plan your crew can talk through. Start with today’s job, then check the steps together.
Let’s build your JHA.
Step 1 of 4 · Working draft
Your job
Tell Jenkins what you’re planning and where the work will happen. Use the actual job details.
Use the published example’s suggestions when they fit your task, or write your own steps. These are planned controls, not verified worksite conditions.
Describe an observable step, how someone could be harmed, and the control that acts on that hazard. Identify who checks it and what evidence is needed.
Walk through the plan with the people doing the work. Resolve missing controls and agree who checks them. Moving to the next step does not approve the work.
Confirm people, equipment and emergency arrangements
Record changes, checks, and open actions
Walk the work area, review with the crew, and resolve missing controls. Follow the required approval process. This tool does not judge completeness, verify signatures or authorize work.
Print your own JHA by signing in, or contribute the selected structured categories as a guest. Signing in does not require research participation. Written job details are processed to prepare your export and are stored on our server only if you save to your private company library.
Research purpose, data fields, retention and withdrawal · Privacy notice
Sign-in uses a free account. Your tab draft is retained for the return from sign-in.
Hosted organization saving requires active jSMS access and a company workspace. View jSMS plans.
The export uses landscape pages, task-only continuation pages and a Page X of Y footer in current Chrome or Edge. Review every page. Opening an export is not proof that the JHA was printed or used. The PDF includes its research choice and reference; the private withdrawal link stays in the export’s screen-only receipt.
Device storage and other draft options
Device copies may contain private job information. Clear them when using a shared device.
Your entries stay in this working draft as you move between steps. Required field checks, employer review and work authorization remain separate.
Your Excavation and Trenching JSA Example
Walk through the job in order. Use these possible hazards, planned controls and checks to start a conversation about your actual work.
01Define the route and verify utilities
Possible hazards: The bucket contacts an unverified electrical, gas or water service, exposing the crew to shock, fire or sudden flooding.
Planned controls: The supervisor obtains utility-owner information and required local locate responses. As digging approaches a service's estimated position, determine its exact position by safe, acceptable means. Stop mechanical digging where the route remains unresolved.
Check before work: Compare field markings and exposed locations with the proposed trench. Record unresolved services and who will resolve them.
02Separate equipment, deliveries and pedestrians
Possible hazards: A reversing vehicle or swinging excavator strikes a person; edge loading contributes to ground failure.
Planned controls: The supervisor sets a physical work boundary and delivery route. The operator and designated spotter agree on signals and stop when communication is lost. Position equipment using the ground evaluation and protective-system limits.
Check before work: Walk the route before mobilization; confirm an approaching driver can identify where to stop without entering the excavation zone.
03Excavate and establish cave-in protection
Possible hazards: Soil collapses onto a worker or a poorly selected shield fails under the actual loads.
Planned controls: The employer selects a compliant protective system for the depth, ground and loads. The competent person checks conditions and installation against the applicable design or tabulated data. Workers remain out until required protection is established.
Check before work: Match the installed arrangement, components and limits to the supporting data; investigate cracks, sloughing or movement.
04Prepare the entry and work position
Possible hazards: Workers cannot exit quickly, are struck by falling spoil, or cross an unprotected area to reach the job.
Planned controls: The foreman establishes protected access. In trenches 4 feet or deeper, arrange safe egress within 25 feet of lateral travel. Keep spoil back or use adequate retaining measures, and keep people out from beneath lifted or excavated loads.
Check before work: Trace the worker's complete route into, within and out of the protected zone; verify egress remains usable.
05Check conditions and complete bedding work
Possible hazards: Water, exhaust or a changed ground condition develops while workers focus on grade measurements.
Planned controls: The competent person inspects before work and as conditions require. Evaluate atmospheric hazards and apply required testing and controls. Control accumulating water before exposure; locate combustion equipment so exhaust does not enter the work area.
Check before work: Record actual observations and any required readings. Workers identify the withdrawal signal and accessible exit before entering.
06Backfill and remove protection
Possible hazards: A worker remains in the excavation during an unsafe equipment movement or protection is removed prematurely.
Planned controls: The foreman coordinates withdrawal, backfill and protective-system removal using the system's instructions and applicable design. Account for workers before equipment movements; preserve barriers around any section left open.
Check before work: Confirm the work zone is clear and the removal sequence does not expose anyone to unsupported ground.
Example scope and starting conditions
A fictional construction crew plans an open-cut utility trench across a closed section of a service yard. An excavator will expose the route; workers may enter a protected portion to check grade and place bedding. Existing utility records are incomplete, delivery traffic continues outside the barrier, and rain is forecast. This example ends at bedding inspection and backfill; pipe connections, manhole entry and contaminated-soil remediation need their own analysis. The proposed controls below are decisions to verify before work, not a record that an actual trench has passed inspection.
- Define the trench route, intended depth, soil and groundwater observations, adjacent foundations, pavement and expected equipment loads before selecting protection.
- Name the excavation competent person, operator and person controlling delivery movements. Give workers an agreed way to stop digging or request reassessment.
- Identify public and private services; a drawing or paint mark does not prove the exact position of a buried installation.
- Keep this open-excavation assessment under construction Subpart P. A separate vault or manhole may require construction confined-space evaluation.
Know when to pause
- Withdraw exposed workers for cracks, movement, protective-system damage, unexpected water or other hazardous conditions; have the competent person reassess before reentry.
- Arrange a new inspection after rain or another event that increases hazards, and revise the plan when depth, route, nearby loading or soil conditions change.
- Pause for an unidentified service, unusual odor or suspect soil; do not improvise a utility repair or enter for an attempted rescue.
After a pause, correct the condition, reassess the work, and obtain required authorization before restarting.
Free example and template
No account required. The worked example contains planned controls. The blank template is for your own work; neither includes fabricated inspection results, signatures or approval.
Worked exampleNeed help? Ask Jenkins
Jenkins · Your Safety Concierge
What brings you here today? Choose what you’re working on, or tell Jenkins about your situation.
Jenkins matches your words to published starting points. Keep names and private job details in your working draft. Suitable free resources come first.
For managers
Does the team have what it needs to carry out the plan? Give the crew time, equipment and support, and make it clear who will resolve anything that is missing.
Manager checks and supporting resources
Confirm the people doing the work have the time, equipment, information and support to carry out the plan. Agree who checks the controls and who resolves open actions.
Decisions that change the plan
The ladder is inside the shield, but the work is beyond its end. What changes?
Stop entry into the unprotected position. Revise the work arrangement and protection so the task and access route are covered; do not treat the ladder's position as permission to leave protection.
A delivery truck is moved closer to the edge. Is this just a traffic change?
No. Reassess the added ground loading as well as vehicle interaction before continuing affected work.
Keep planning connected
Resources that support this JHA
Additional tools for task planning and safe work. Start with the free resources; explore paid options only when they meet an additional need.
Toolbox talks for the work
Prepare a practical crew discussion.
Trenches: Verify Protection Before Entry →
Safety program resources
Review procedures, roles, and requirements.
Browse the existing catalog and confirm the scope and purchase availability of each program.
Browse safety programs →
Paid service · Availability
Task-specific training and qualifications
Explore applicable training and qualification needs.
Task-specific training services are not currently available to book here. Start with the free training-needs lookup; a toolbox talk or online course alone does not establish competence or employer authorization.
Review training needs · Free →People, equipment, emergency arrangements and open actions are recorded in the guided JHA’s Crew review step.
Open the crew review step →For safety professionals
How do we know the planning process and controls are working? Connect what the crew reports with field checks, risk decisions and the evidence behind your system.
Industry context, SIF, control verification and AHA review
Guidance and evidence
Review the method, risk decisions and evidence behind the plan. Use the actual jurisdiction, equipment instructions, employer process and project requirements.
Task-by-task control and verification rationale
Define the route and verify utilities
Hazard: The bucket contacts an unverified electrical, gas or water service, exposing the crew to shock, fire or sudden flooding.
Control: The supervisor obtains utility-owner information and required local locate responses. As digging approaches a service's estimated position, determine its exact position by safe, acceptable means. Stop mechanical digging where the route remains unresolved.
Verification: Compare field markings and exposed locations with the proposed trench. Record unresolved services and who will resolve them.
Why this belongs in the analysis: A locate ticket starts coordination; it is not evidence that every service is where the drawing shows it.
Separate equipment, deliveries and pedestrians
Hazard: A reversing vehicle or swinging excavator strikes a person; edge loading contributes to ground failure.
Control: The supervisor sets a physical work boundary and delivery route. The operator and designated spotter agree on signals and stop when communication is lost. Position equipment using the ground evaluation and protective-system limits.
Verification: Walk the route before mobilization; confirm an approaching driver can identify where to stop without entering the excavation zone.
Why this belongs in the analysis: High-visibility clothing improves recognition but does not create separation or stable ground.
Excavate and establish cave-in protection
Hazard: Soil collapses onto a worker or a poorly selected shield fails under the actual loads.
Control: The employer selects a compliant protective system for the depth, ground and loads. The competent person checks conditions and installation against the applicable design or tabulated data. Workers remain out until required protection is established.
Verification: Match the installed arrangement, components and limits to the supporting data; investigate cracks, sloughing or movement.
Why this belongs in the analysis: A trench box on site is useful only when it protects the actual work and access positions.
Prepare the entry and work position
Hazard: Workers cannot exit quickly, are struck by falling spoil, or cross an unprotected area to reach the job.
Control: The foreman establishes protected access. In trenches 4 feet or deeper, arrange safe egress within 25 feet of lateral travel. Keep spoil back or use adequate retaining measures, and keep people out from beneath lifted or excavated loads.
Verification: Trace the worker's complete route into, within and out of the protected zone; verify egress remains usable.
Why this belongs in the analysis: The access route belongs in the JSA because protection at the final work position alone is insufficient.
Check conditions and complete bedding work
Hazard: Water, exhaust or a changed ground condition develops while workers focus on grade measurements.
Control: The competent person inspects before work and as conditions require. Evaluate atmospheric hazards and apply required testing and controls. Control accumulating water before exposure; locate combustion equipment so exhaust does not enter the work area.
Verification: Record actual observations and any required readings. Workers identify the withdrawal signal and accessible exit before entering.
Why this belongs in the analysis: A good morning inspection cannot predict a leaking service or an afternoon storm.
Backfill and remove protection
Hazard: A worker remains in the excavation during an unsafe equipment movement or protection is removed prematurely.
Control: The foreman coordinates withdrawal, backfill and protective-system removal using the system's instructions and applicable design. Account for workers before equipment movements; preserve barriers around any section left open.
Verification: Confirm the work zone is clear and the removal sequence does not expose anyone to unsupported ground.
Why this belongs in the analysis: The excavation remains a changing worksite until restoration and access control are complete.
Compare control wording
| Needs improvement | More useful for this scenario |
|---|---|
| Excavate safely; wear a hard hat. | Identify the required cave-in protection and protected access, then have the competent person verify the actual installation before entry. |
| Utilities marked: proceed. | Resolve actual service locations as the excavation approaches them and stop mechanical digging where the location remains uncertain. |
Common questions
Does a trench less than 5 feet deep automatically need no protection?
No. The under-5-foot exception requires a competent person's examination showing no indication of a potential cave-in. OSHA separately provides an exception for excavations entirely in stable rock. Other hazards still need controls.
Can this excavation JSA replace an inspection?
No. Use it to plan the work and identify what must be checked. Actual excavation conditions, protective-system suitability and required inspections must be assessed at the site.
Are these resources part of a paid course?
This walkthrough, browser draft builder and downloads are free public resources, separate from Academy course enrollment.
References and source note
- OSHA 1926.651 — Specific excavation requirements
- OSHA 1926.652 — Protective systems
- OSHA 1926.1201 — Construction confined-space scope and excavation exception
This original walkthrough was informed by review of uploaded examples, then rewritten for the stated fictional scenario using current primary references. It does not reproduce a source document or its approval record. Use actual equipment instructions and site requirements alongside these references. Reference review: October 6, 2026.
Developed by Todd Jerome Jenkins, MS, CSP · Edition v1.0 · October 6, 2026
Use the builder’s Print / Save as PDF action after signing in or accepting research participation.