Ground Disturbance Training in Manitoba: Online Awareness Course
Ground Disturbance Awareness: A Canadian Compliance Course, $34.95 CAD
A 30 to 40 minute online course that covers the ground disturbance concepts that Manitoba WSH Regulation, Part 26 (sections 26.1 to 26.47) expects Manitoba workers to understand: what counts as a ground disturbance, locate requests and locate marks, the hand-expose zone around buried facilities, pipeline right-of-way rules, soil types and excavation hazards.
- Instant access after checkout, self-paced, works on any device
- Developed by CRSP-certified safety professionals
- Printable certificate of completion with verification code
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Awareness level: pairs with your employer's site-specific procedure
What this course is (and is not)
It is awareness-level training: the shared knowledge every worker, operator and supervisor needs before they take part in digging, trenching, augering or driving anything into the ground. It covers the concepts in Manitoba WSH Regulation, Part 26 (sections 26.1 to 26.47) in plain language, with quizzes and a final assessment.
It is not a Ground Disturbance 201 supervisor certificate, an industry-endorsed ticket, or a substitute for the locate and permit process on a specific site. Manitoba does not issue a ground disturbance licence. We do not claim the course meets or satisfies the regulation on its own; your employer pairs it with locate requests, site procedures and supervision.
Buying for a crew? Corporate accounts let you assign seats and track completions. Need help writing the excavation or ground disturbance procedure the regulation requires? Talk to a consultant.
What Manitoba Requires for Ground Disturbance
Workplace Safety and Health Regulation (Manitoba Regulation 217/2006), Part 26, Excavations and Tunnels, sections 26.1 to 26.47, in plain language.
In Manitoba, ground disturbance is governed by Part 26, Excavations and Tunnels, of the Workplace Safety and Health Regulation (Manitoba Regulation 217/2006), sections 26.1 to 26.47. Manitoba is unusual in requiring employers to register with the Workplace Safety and Health Branch before doing excavation work at all.
Safe work procedures (section 26.2). The employer must develop and implement safe work procedures for excavation work, train workers in them and ensure workers comply, and make workers aware of the hazards of their tasks before excavation begins.
Registration and notice (sections 26.3 and 26.4). To perform excavation work an employer must notify the Branch and receive a registration number. An excavation more than 1.5 metres deep that a worker will enter also needs a separate notice to the Branch not more than 48 hours before the scheduled start.
Supervision (section 26.5). The employer must supervise, or designate a competent person to supervise, work at the excavation site, with the supervisor present whenever a worker is in the excavation, and a competent person must be stationed on the surface when a worker is in an excavation more than 1.5 metres deep.
Underground facilities (section 26.6). Before any excavation work begins, the employer must give notice of the proposed excavation to the owners of underground facilities in the area, such as gas, oil, steam, water, sewer, communication and electrical systems; ensure the owner has conspicuously marked the location of the facilities; and obtain from the owner any relevant information, instructions and documents about the facilities and the precautions to take. That information stays at the site, and a facility likely to be exposed must be supported and protected as its owner instructs.
Hazards in the excavation (sections 26.7 to 26.11). Flooding risks require a harness and lifeline and direct communication with the surface person; a toxic or hazardous atmosphere must be tested by a competent person before entry; water must be kept out; trees, poles, boulders and other hazardous objects near the site must be removed or supported; and powered mobile equipment and machinery must not endanger the stability of the walls.
Guarding, access and support (sections 26.12 to 26.47). Guarding, walkways, safe entry and exit, open excavations, trenches, support structures, inspections, reshoring and tunnelling are prescribed in detail.
The Regulation is enforced by Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health; prevention resources come from SAFE Work Manitoba.
This summary is for awareness only and is not legal advice. Always read the current consolidated text on the official site linked above.
Who Needs Ground Disturbance Training in Manitoba
Anyone who digs, trenches, augers, drives posts, hydrovacs or operates excavation equipment, and the supervisors and planners who send them out.
- Utility, telecom, Manitoba Hydro and gas contractors
- Heavy civil, road building and municipal crews
- Residential builders, foundation and deck contractors
- Landscaping, fencing, irrigation and post installation
- Pipeline and compressor station construction
- Hydrovac, directional drilling and locating services
- Agriculture, drainage and tile installation
- Surveying, environmental drilling and geotechnical crews
Also relevant for joint health and safety committee members, new and young workers, landscapers, fencers and utility contractors bidding on Manitoba work who need documented awareness training before mobilizing.
Ground Disturbance Training Manitoba FAQs
Is ground disturbance training mandatory in Manitoba?
Section 26.2 of the Workplace Safety and Health Regulation requires the employer to develop safe work procedures for excavation work, train workers in those procedures and make workers aware of the hazards before excavation begins. The Regulation does not name a specific course. Employers meet the requirement by pairing general awareness training with their own procedures and locate practices. This course supplies the awareness half.
Does this course give me a Manitoba ground disturbance certificate?
There is no provincial ground disturbance licence or ticket in Manitoba. This is an awareness-level course. On passing the final quiz you receive a printable certificate of completion with a verification code. It does not replace the employer registration number that section 26.3 requires before excavation work, or any supervisor-level program a pipeline or utility owner specifies in a contract.
Does my company have to register with Manitoba before digging?
Yes. Section 26.3 requires an employer to notify the Workplace Safety and Health Branch that it intends to do excavation work and to receive a registration number before performing that work. Section 26.4 adds a separate notice, not more than 48 hours before the start, for any excavation more than 1.5 metres deep that a worker will enter. The course explains these steps; the Branch handles the registration itself.
What does Manitoba require about underground facilities before excavating?
Section 26.6 requires the employer, before any excavation work begins, to give notice to the owners of underground facilities in the area, ensure the owner has conspicuously marked their location, and obtain the owner's information, instructions and documents about the facilities and the precautions to take. The information must be kept at the excavation site, and any facility likely to be exposed must be supported and protected as its owner instructs.
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$34.95 CAD. Instant access, printable certificate, 30-day money-back guarantee.