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Excavation, Trenching and Ground Collapse Prevention

Trench collapses on pipeline, foundation and municipal service jobs bury workers in seconds and remain one of the most lethal hazards on civil sites across the region. This course covers soil classification, shoring and shielding selection, spoil placement and safe access, using the sandy and clay soils common on South African and wider African sites as reference conditions. Delegates leave able to plan an excavation that protects the people working inside it.

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What you will be able to do

  • Classify soil conditions and identify the factors that make a trench unstable.
  • Select and specify shoring, shielding or battering appropriate to depth and ground type.
  • Plan safe access, egress and spoil placement around an open excavation.
  • Assess the risk of buried services, water ingress and adjacent loads before digging.
  • Inspect an excavation daily and after rain, and record the findings correctly.
  • Respond to a collapse or entrapment without creating secondary casualties.

Course outline

  1. 01Why trenches collapse and the human cost
  2. 02Soil types and stability assessment
  3. 03Shoring, shielding and battering options
  4. 04Buried services and utility strike prevention
  5. 05Safe access, egress and spoil management
  6. 06Water, weather and adjacent load risks
  7. 07Daily inspection and record keeping
  8. 08Collapse rescue and emergency response

Who should attend

Site supervisors, foremen, safety officers, plant operators and civil engineers responsible for excavation and trenching work on construction and municipal service projects.

Dates, venues and fees

DatesVenueDaysFeeCalendarRegister
28 to 30 Sep 2026Mozambique3US$1,500Closed
29 Sep to 1 Oct 2026Nairobi3US$1,500Register
30 Sep to 2 Oct 2026Dar es Salaam3US$1,500Register
5 to 7 Oct 2026Kigali3US$1,500Register
6 to 8 Oct 2026Kampala3US$1,500Register
7 to 9 Oct 2026Accra3US$1,500Register
12 to 14 Oct 2026Lagos3US$1,500Register
13 to 15 Oct 2026Cairo3US$1,500Register
14 to 16 Oct 2026Mauritius3US$1,500Register
19 to 21 Oct 2026Dubai3US$1,500Register
20 to 22 Oct 2026Online3US$900Register
16 to 18 Nov 2026Johannesburg3R13,000Register
17 to 19 Nov 2026Cape Town3R13,000Register
18 to 20 Nov 2026Durban3R13,000Register
23 to 25 Nov 2026Pretoria3R13,000Register
24 to 26 Nov 2026Windhoek3US$1,500Register
25 to 27 Nov 2026Gaborone3US$1,500Register
30 Nov to 2 Dec 2026Maseru3US$1,500Register
1 to 3 Dec 2026Mbabane3US$1,500Register
2 to 4 Dec 2026Lusaka3US$1,500Register
7 to 9 Dec 2026Harare3US$1,500Register
8 to 10 Dec 2026Lilongwe3US$1,500Register
9 to 11 Dec 2026Blantyre3US$1,500Register

Fees are per delegate. South African venues are priced in rand; other locations and online in US dollars. Fees exclude 15% VAT where applicable. Group bookings of three or more delegates from the same organisation qualify for a reduced rate; contact us for a quotation.

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