Ground Disturbance & Excavation Training

Under Alberta's OHS Code, ground disturbance is any work that disturbs or displaces soil. Only a few small jobs are exempt, such as hand digging no deeper than 300 mm that doesn't permanently remove cover over a buried facility. Before digging starts, the employer must ask the facility owner to locate and mark buried facilities.

The 101 and 201 levels come from training standards set by Utility Safety Partners (USP). USP describes 101 as the standard for workers who take part in ground disturbance under supervision, and 201 for people who want to become ground disturbance supervisors. It keeps separate 201 standards for Alberta, BC and Manitoba.

• Alberta: workers in an excavation more than 1.5 m deep, and closer to the wall than its depth, must be protected from cave-ins by cutting back the walls, a temporary protective structure, or both.
• British Columbia: the location of underground utilities must be accurately determined before excavating with powered equipment, and the sides must be sloped or supported before anyone enters an excavation over 1.2 m (4 ft) deep.

• Operator, labourer or worker who won't plan or supervise: Ground Disturbance 101, about 75 minutes. Endorsed by USP.
• Planner, supervisor or anyone who plans ground disturbance in Alberta: Ground Disturbance 201, about 6 hours. Endorsed by USP. Read our GD 201 course overview for the module list.
• The same role in BC: Ground Disturbance 201 (BC), about 6 hours. Endorsed by the BC Common Ground Alliance.
• Already hold a 201 for one province from Astec Safety Inc.: the AB Add-on or BC Add-on, about 45 minutes each.
• Digging, trenching and shoring: Safe Excavation, about 2 hours, covers soil testing, sloping and benching, protective structures, access and crossing ramps. Excavation and Trench Safety - CAN, about 60 minutes, covers Canadian legislation, the competent person's role, soil classification and the warning signs of trench failure.

• If your employer or client names a level or province, take that course.
• The add-ons only work with a currently valid 201 issued through Astec Safety Inc. Otherwise, take the full 201 for that province.
• Training doesn't replace a locate request. In Alberta, request locates from USP through Click Before You Dig. In BC, use BC 1 Call.