September 22-26, 2025, Advanced Trench Rescue Symposium, Howell

Description

This 50-hour, advanced trench/excavation shoring, symposium consists of 15 hours of intense didactics and 35 hours of hands on training and destructive testing of shoring components and systems. This course is designed for trench rescue team decision makers and trench rescue instructors. NFPA Trench Technician certification is a prerequisite.

The MUSAR Advanced Trench Rescue Shoring Symposium course teaches the participants to apply critical thinking and system analysis skills to develop and install rescue shoring systems in trenches. Students will learn “best practices” that are based on results from destructive testing and engineered data.

Classroom didactics will prepare the participant for guided experimental learning:

Review and implementation of trench rescue shoring strategies and tactics

Identification of common collapse patterns and void shoring options

Calculating soil forces

Use of engineered shoring charts designed for trench collapse conditions

Trench rescue shoring system analysis

Decision making and shoring implementation procedures

Hands on training will include:

Trench assessment and shoring size up

Shoring team and panel team operations

Shoring void areas of partially collapsed trench walls

End wall shoring options

Deep excavation shoring with rakers

Supplemental shoring with raker shores

Intersecting trench shoring

Shoring angled trench walls

Large wall shear shoring

Use of Vactor trucks and wall sculping equipment

Extreme soil condition shoring options

Destructive Testing:

Students will learn the purpose and scope of Type 1 and Type 2 rescue shoring tests and will participate in the implementation and collection of data for several trench res-cue shoring destructive testing experiments.

For more information, please contact: Chad Godfrey at [email protected]