Trenching and Excavations
- Contractors shall follow OSHA regulation 29 CFR 1926.650 for trenching and excavation work conducted on campus.
- The contractor shall ensure that a “competent person” will be onsite to oversee such activities.
- Inspections shall be conducted by the “competent person” and made available upon request to university personnel who may need to enter to perform inspections or other activities.
- University personnel who must enter excavations/trenches should coordinate a pre-inspection by a university “competent person” prior to entry.
- Contractors shall be notified prior to university personnel entering excavations/trenches on projects.
- Where the design of protective systems requires review and approval by a registered professional engineer, the contractor shall provide a copy of the documentation to the project manager and/or Environmental Health & Safety upon request.
- Contractors are responsible for contacting Miss Utility prior to digging/excavating.
- Where heavy equipment will be in the vicinity of overhead power lines, the project manager shall notify the Virginia Tech Electric Service and coordinate any special precautions that must be implemented.
