Introduction and safe access - safe routes into and out of the excavation
Participants assess the importance of safe working conditions using accident causes and assign the duties of employers and employees. They distinguish sloped and shored excavations from shored trenches, measure the width of a crossing, and inspect requirements for shoring, slopes, and exits. Using a checklist, they assess ladder condition, projection, angle, footing, and slip protection, select a safe access route, and clear traffic, escape, and rescue routes.
Note: The visual appearance and quality of the training may vary depending on your hardware, screen resolution, browser, and device performance. The images shown are for illustrative purposes only.
Online Training
Basic safety principles for excavations and trenches
Estimated time
1:40
Hours
Available languages
GE
Starting at
149€
per license, plus VAT
TOUGH creates certified training courses that can replace official mandatory training.
Training Overview
Lesson Overview
Frequently Asked Questions
About TOUGH
Downloads
Training Overview
Course Description
This interactive safety training takes participants through sloped and shored excavations as well as shored trenches. It focuses on fall, slip, trip, burial, and crushing hazards, unsafe access routes, defective shoring, unknown utility lines, machinery at excavation edges, suspended loads, and difficult rescue conditions.
Participants distinguish between excavation types, inspect ladders, construction stairs, crossings, and workspaces, measure safety distances, clear safety strips, and respond to defects by stopping, securing, and reporting the work. They verify measures from the rescue plan, evacuate hazardous areas during heavy rain, and make a structured emergency call. Four interactive modules, practical decisions, handouts, and a final assessment support transfer to everyday work. The training supplements the company's annual internal instruction; applicable legislation and company rules remain authoritative.
Target Audience
Employees on construction sites who enter excavations and trenches, carry out work inside them, secure access routes and edge areas, support machine or load movements, or assist with rescue measures.
Course Content
Participants distinguish sloped and shored excavations from shored trenches, assign responsibilities, and inspect crossings, ladders, construction stairs, and escape and rescue routes before use.
Participants identify crumbling soil, water, mud, trip hazards, confined workspaces, defective shoring, and unknown utility lines, establish safe walking and working surfaces, and stop work when critical deviations occur.
Participants measure the distance between machinery and trench edges, inspect safety strips, shoring projections, and edge protection, and remove materials from hazardous edge and access areas.
Participants coordinate machine movements through clear communication, keep their distance from hazard areas, and receive suspended loads safely while wearing a helmet, maintaining a clear escape route, and staying outside crushing zones.
Participants inspect rescue routes, access roads, rescue stretchers, first-aid equipment, and lone-working conditions, evacuate hazardous excavations during heavy rain, and make a structured emergency call without putting themselves at risk through improvised rescue attempts.
Lesson Overview
Lesson 1
Lesson 2
Hazards in excavations and trenches – keep your eyes open and spot errors
In a sloped excavation, participants identify crumbling soil, slippery surfaces, trip hazards, missing PPE, and prohibited shortcuts across the slope. They select suitable measures for stable walking routes. In a shored trench, they measure the working space, remove obstacles, improve physically stressful working postures, and assess gaps in the shoring and unknown utility lines. If strong vibrations occur, they stop work, leave the area, and have the stability checked.
Lesson 3
Safety at the excavation edge - distances, safety strips, and housekeeping
Participants stop an excavator through the signaller, remain outside the hazard area, and measure the machine's distance from the trench edge. They inspect shoring projections and edge protection, report defects, and clear materials, excavated soil, and obstacles from the safety strip. They then secure an open edge and receive materials inside the excavation without stepping under suspended loads or between the load and the shoring.
Lesson 4
Emergency and rescue plan for excavations – responding correctly to weather and emergencies
Participants match typical accident scenarios with suitable rescue measures and check whether access roads, rescue routes, the rescue stretcher, and the first-aid kit are ready for use. They identify the risks of lone working and apply the principles of remaining calm, securing the accident scene, and protecting themselves. During heavy rain, they evacuate people from hazardous excavations. In an unstable excavation, they avoid improvised rescue attempts, make an emergency call using the relevant key questions, and guide emergency services to the accident site.
Lesson 5
Comprehension Check
The final assessment contains ten single-choice and multiple-choice questions. It covers safe access routes and crossings, hazards in sloped excavations, defective shoring, clear rescue routes, the site-specific rescue plan, shoring projections, machine distances, crushing hazards involving loads, and situations in which work must be stopped and areas must be evacuated.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can find more answers to frequently asked questions here. Alternatively, schedule a no-obligation consultation.
TOUGH goes beyond traditional e-learning: Digital, realistic
simulations recreate construction sites, railway stations or roads
in a practical way. Employees train safe decision-making in a
“serious gaming” format – increasing training effectiveness,
motivation and demonstrably improving learning outcomes. As a
subsidiary of HOCHTIEF, TOUGH also brings genuine industry expertise
to the content.
First, you determine how many licenses are required. The purchased
licenses can then be easily assigned in the TOUGH Dashboard via email
address or CSV import. Participants complete the training based on
real work situations in interactive simulations and practical
scenarios. At the end, a final test assesses the learning outcome.
Participation, results and certificates are automatically recorded
and centrally documented. This means that all records are available
at any time in a clear format for audits and internal documentation.
The costs depend on the number of participants and the selected
package. Each license gives you access to the entire TOUGH Training
portfolio. The digital training format can significantly reduce time
and costs, especially for larger teams.
Yes. Training courses can be centrally managed and assigned to
multiple employees at the same time. Each participant requires their
own device. Progress, results and certificates can be viewed clearly
in the Dashboard at any time.
The test can be repeated. The aim is to ensure that all participants
fully understand the content and can apply it correctly.
The certificate is automatically generated digitally after
successful completion and is available immediately.
Yes. The content can be accessed again at any time and used as a
refresher.
Yes. The training can be interrupted at any time. Progress is saved
for completed or fully processed modules. Modules that have been
started but not yet completed are not saved and must be completed
again from the beginning once the training has been closed.
Digital Safety Training for Construction and Infrastructure
TOUGH TRAINING x HOCHTIEF
HOCHTIEF, as an international infrastructure group with around 62,000 employees, relies internally on innovative, scalable training technologies that prepare employees for risks in a practical and effective way, helping to prevent accidents.
With TOUGH Training as a HOCHTIEF subsidiary, this experience is now available to the external market, contributing to greater safety across the construction and infrastructure industry.
TOUGH develops digital safety training for construction, infrastructure, road, rail and office environments. The browser-based training courses combine real-world requirements with modern 3D technology, interactive learning methods and in-depth safety expertise.
With deployments in more than four countries and over 5,000 external employees trained, TOUGH supports companies in delivering mandatory training efficiently, transparently and with a strong practical focus. The multilingual, certified training solutions can be flexibly integrated into existing processes and can replace official mandatory safety training.
5000 +
Over 5,000 employees from external companies trained
40 +
More than 40 leading companies already trust TOUGH.
Downloads
Handout
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Why TOUGH is more than just digital mandatory training
Train for real-world hazards
Move beyond dry theory: Our 3D scenarios bring hazardous situations to life and help employees practise safe behaviour in realistic, hands-on situations.
Measurable learning outcomes
Access learning progress, results and certificates centrally, giving companies a clear overview at all times.
Flexible training delivery
No installation required and accessible directly in your preferred browser, on desktop, tablet, Windows or macOS.
One licence. Access to all training courses.
With one licence, companies receive six months of access to the TOUGH training portfolio, offering the flexibility to meet a wide range of training needs.
Certified training courses
Many of our training courses are officially certified and can replace mandatory training requirements.
„The use of VR enables us to realistically depict the dangers of working in and around the track, making them tangible and easier to understand.“
„With TOUGH, we support the safety of our employees on the track. The combination of track construction and VR inspires our junior staff and offers an innovative solution to the shortage of skilled workers in rail transport.“
Nicole Lieb
Head of Technical Qualification Maintenance
„Our RSA training courses are significantly enriched by the interactive and practical elements of the TOUGH software.“
„The participants visibly enjoy the digital construction of workplaces according to standard plans and can experience various training contents immersively with the help of VR glasses. In this way, we actively ensure improved retention and can therefore also improve occupational safety.“
Michael Höhne
Senior Safety Engineer
„What used to be a mandatory session becomes a lively, easy-to-understand training with real impact.“
„With TOUGH, occupational safety becomes tangible. What used to be a mandatory session turns into a lively, understandable training with real impact. We are thrilled with the smooth collaboration – many thanks to the TOUGH team!“
Marius Möcklinghoff
QHSE-Manager, HOCHTIEF PPP Solutions GmbH
„The use of TOUGH not only increases the success of training, but also the attractiveness of companies.“
„The use of TOUGH not only increases the success of training, but also the attractiveness of companies. Young people feel attracted by the game design and VR technology. An important step against the shortage of skilled workers and an innovation we needed in road construction!“
Lee Merces
Managing Director
„This makes the job safer and ensures our road workers are even better qualified.“
„With Virtual Reality, challenging situations on the road can be trained very effectively. This makes the job safer and ensures our road workers are even better qualified.“
Ina Brandes
Former Minister, North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW)
„We hope that this will help further reduce hazardous situations resulting from insufficiently secured road construction sites.“
„Through the virtual exercises for setting up work sites, our participants can now apply their knowledge in a realistic way.“
Inken Hallber
Managing Director of Moravia Academy
„Especially in occupational safety, the high level of immersion allows participants to engage with realistic scenarios, reflect on their actions, and make informed safety-related decisions.“
„With TOUGH, learning becomes an engaging experience: through interactive and practical content, the three key factors of self-determination theory are effectively addressed.“
Sebastian von Mammen
Head of Group Games Engineering and Head of the Games Engineering degree program
„The TOUGH training has made a significant contribution to improving the occupational safety of our road maintenance staff.“
„The RSA training supported by TOUGH highlighted the critical importance of road safety for our road workers. Through interactive simulations, participants were able to experience the virtual setup and removal of traffic safety measures as well as potential hazards in a practical and engaging way.“
Tobias Kupfer
Managing Director
„From our perspective, virtual reality applications offer great potential for knowledge transfer. TOUGH is the ideal partner to help turn our ideas into reality.“
„At SPITZKE, we focus on innovation, especially in training and professional development, and actively support the advancement of virtual learning methods.“
Jörg Prohaszka
Academy Director
„The software is very helpful for highways and country roads, allowing us to prepare for what we will face on the road in the future.“
„At the beginning of the training, it took some getting used to being so close to moving traffic and working there. For highways and country roads, the software is very helpful in preparing us for what we will face on the road in the future.“
Trainee
Nagold Training Center
„The new training software will make the work of the traffic safety organization safer.“
„Road safety is a top priority. The new training software will make the work of the traffic safety organization safer.“
Winfried Hermann
Ministry of Transport, North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW)
„Our collaboration with TOUGH allows us to address our unique safety and efficiency requirements through tailored training solutions.“
„The realistic scenarios are expertly tailored and adapted to our road conditions, providing our employees with invaluable preparation for real-world hazards in a controlled environment. These customized training programs will play a key role in elevating our safety standards even further.“
Dimitris Mandalozis
COO
„TOUGH provides us with a digital toolkit that allows us to create our own training scenarios. This gives us a high degree of flexibility and enables us to prepare our employees for a wide range of challenges.“
„We operate across a wide range of rail-related business areas and therefore provide training on a variety of topics.“
Phillipp Landt
Head of Corporate Development
„Being able to train these tasks with TOUGH in a virtual yet practical environment is a major step forward and benefits both new and experienced employees alike.“
„It is essential for Powerlines employees to carry out work on overhead line systems safely and professionally.“
William Bergin
Technical Officer for Training and Further Education
Schedule an appointment now!
Choose a suitable appointment or email us at info@tough-training.com.
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Faster training rollout with less administrative effort, travel costs and scheduling
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Better knowledge retention through realistic 3D scenarios and interactive learning
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Average recommendation rate based on feedback from more than 5,000 trained participants
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With one licence, you gain access to all available TOUGH training courses.
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TOUGH Demo
Try TOUGH free of charge and experience how digital safety training works in practice. No installation required and accessible directly in your browser.