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Training Directory

NYC DOB SITE SAFETY TRAINING

1-Hour Excavations

A 1-hour SST specialized elective on trenches and excavations: the depths that matter, cave-in protection, soil types, and NYC's duty to protect neighboring buildings. Online and self-paced.

  • Online, self-paced
  • 1 hour
  • English
  • 1 hour of SST specialized elective credit
  • SST card included

Training Directory · NYC DOB provider ID SEED-DOB-0004

Course at a glance

Format
Online, self-paced
Length
1 hour of instruction (60 minutes)
Assessment
A knowledge check after each of the 4 modules and a final exam. You need 70% to pass.
Credential
1 hour of NYC DOB SST specialized elective credit and a certificate of completion. It does not make you a competent person for excavations.

About this excavation safety SST course

1-Hour Excavations is an NYC DOB Site Safety Training (SST) course built on OSHA's excavation standard, 29 CFR 1926 Subpart P, and the NYC Building Code rules that go further. You learn how a trench differs from an excavation, the depths at which egress, atmospheric testing and cave-in protection begin, sloping, shoring and shielding, soil types and their maximum slopes, and New York City's duty to protect adjoining buildings at any depth. This is an awareness-level hour. It does not make you a competent person for excavations.

Local Law 196 of 2017 requires an SST card for construction and demolition workers and supervisors on sites that require a Site Safety Plan. A cave-in can bury a worker in seconds, and in New York City even a shallow dig can damage the building next door. Some SST card pathways include elective hours, and DOB splits the elective list into two groups: general electives and specialized electives.

This course is a specialized elective. General and specialized hours are counted separately, so this hour can only fill a specialized elective slot. A new SST Supervisor card (62 hours) needs 2 hours of general electives and 2 hours of specialized electives. A new SST Worker card through Option 2, the 10-Hour OSHA route, needs 4 hours of general electives and 4 hours of specialized electives. If you are getting a Worker card through 30-Hour OSHA or 40-Hour Site Safety, you do not need electives, and none of the current renewal options use elective hours.

The course is online and self-paced. You work through 4 modules of narrated slides with a short knowledge check after each one, then take a final exam. You need 70% to pass. Seat time is tracked, so the course takes at least 60 minutes. You will be asked to verify your identity.

What you'll learn

Drawn from the training objectives in DOB's outline.

  • Tell a trench from an excavation using OSHA's definitions.
  • Know the depths that matter: a way out of a trench at 4 feet, atmospheric testing over 4 feet where needed, and cave-in protection at 5 feet.
  • Know the two exceptions to cave-in protection, and why the under-5-feet exception needs a competent person's examination.
  • Tell sloping, shoring and shielding apart, and name the four ways sloping and benching can be designed.
  • Know why most soil on an NYC street is not Type A, and the maximum slopes for Type A, B and C soil.
  • Know NYC's duty to protect adjoining buildings at any depth, plus daily inspections and where spoil can go.

Course topics

Organized by module, following DOB's outline for this course. The hour teaches a focused part of the outline and says what it leaves out.

  1. Part 1 · Definitions and depths

    • Excavation and trench (1926.650(b))
    • Depth triggers for egress, atmospheric testing and cave-in protection
    • The two exceptions to cave-in protection (1926.652(a)(1))
    • What this hour does not cover

  2. Part 2 · Protective systems and soil

    • Sloping, shoring and shielding
    • The four design options for sloping and benching (1926.652(b))
    • What keeps soil out of Type A: fissures, vibration, previous disturbance
    • Maximum slopes: Type A 3/4 to 1, Type B 1 to 1, Type C 1.5 to 1
    • Option 1: slope at 1.5 to 1 without classifying the soil

  3. Part 3 · New York rules and daily duties

    • BC 3309.4: protect adjoining structures, regardless of depth
    • BC 3304.3.2: notice to the adjoining owner
    • Competent person inspections (1926.651(k))
    • Spoil placement (1926.651(j))

Credit & certificate

SST card included

Specialized elective

  • 1 hour toward the 2 hours of specialized electives required for a new SST Supervisor card (62 hours).
  • 1 hour toward the 4 hours of specialized electives required for a new SST Worker card under Option 2 (the 10-Hour OSHA route).
  • It does not count as a general elective, and it is not part of any SST card renewal option.

1 hour of NYC DOB SST specialized elective credit and a certificate of completion. It does not make you a competent person for excavations.

Who it's for

  • Workers getting a new SST Worker card through Option 2 (10-Hour OSHA) who need specialized elective hours
  • Supervisors and competent persons completing the 2 specialized elective hours for a new SST Supervisor card
  • Laborers, utility crews and foundation workers who work in or near trenches
  • Anyone working on sites with foundation or soil work next to existing buildings

Before you buy

Format and schedule
Online and self-paced. Start any time after purchase; no class dates or location.
Certificate and credential
When you finish, Training Directory issues a course certificate.
Identity verification
No identity verification or proctoring is required for this course.

Questions

Is 1-Hour Excavations a general or a specialized elective?

It is a specialized elective. It counts only toward the specialized elective hours on your SST card. It cannot be used to fill a general elective hour.

How many elective hours do I need for my SST card?

For a new SST Supervisor card you need 2 hours of general electives and 2 hours of specialized electives. For a new SST Worker card through Option 2 (10-Hour OSHA) you need 4 hours of each. Workers who qualify through 30-Hour OSHA or 40-Hour Site Safety do not need electives, and renewals do not use them. This course gives you 1 hour of specialized elective credit.

Does this course make me a competent person for excavations?

No. It is an awareness-level hour. Soil classification and daily inspections are competent person duties, and that role takes more training than this course provides.

Does a trench under 5 feet deep need cave-in protection?

It does unless a competent person examines the ground and finds no sign of a possible cave-in. Both conditions are required. Being under 5 feet is not enough by itself.

What does the course leave out?

It does not teach manual soil testing, design of support or shield systems, benching geometry, or excavations deeper than 20 feet. Those belong to longer competent person and engineering training.

What does NYC add to the OSHA rules?

The NYC Building Code requires the person who causes soil or foundation work to protect adjoining structures, regardless of depth. It also requires notice to the adjoining owner before the work.

Can I take this course online, and can I finish it faster than an hour?

Yes, it is online and self-paced, so you can stop and come back. Seat time is tracked, so you cannot finish in less than 60 minutes. You will be asked to verify your identity.

Is this course part of a package?

Not currently. You can take it on its own to fill an elective hour, alongside the other electives you choose.

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Ready to start?

Start as soon as your order is confirmed, and work at your own pace.

$50.00