A trench excavation must be inspected by a competent person:

Explanation

Section 1541(k) requires daily inspections of excavations, the adjacent areas and the protective systems by a competent person, made before the start of work and as needed through the shift, and after every rainstorm or other hazard-increasing occurrence. Two things follow. The inspection is not a one-off at the start of the job (a), because the trench changes as it is dewatered, loaded, vibrated by traffic and dried by the sun. And the trigger is the condition rather than the calendar, so weekly (b) leaves four shifts uninspected. Option (d) keeps the right frequency and loses the competent person: the inspector has to be capable of identifying the hazard AND authorised to remove employees from the excavation, which two workers of equal rank are not.