Ground Disturbance Training in New Brunswick: 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 New Brunswick General Regulation 91-191, Part XIII (sections 180 to 188) expects New Brunswick 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 New Brunswick General Regulation 91-191, Part XIII (sections 180 to 188) 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. New Brunswick 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 New Brunswick Requires for Ground Disturbance
General Regulation (N.B. Reg. 91-191) under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Part XIII, Excavations and Trenches, sections 180 to 188, in plain language.
In New Brunswick, ground disturbance is governed by Part XIII, Excavations and Trenches, of General Regulation 91-191 under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, sections 180 to 188. WorkSafeNB both administers the Act and enforces the Regulation. The Regulation uses the terms excavation and trench rather than ground disturbance.
Underground utility lines and utility poles (section 180). Before beginning an excavation or trench, the employer must ensure the location of any underground utility line or piping is determined. Where employees are working within 600 millimetres of an underground utility line or piping, the employer must ensure the authority operating it has been notified, the line has been de-energized, and an adequate operating procedure is used. Utility poles, posts and similar structures within 3 metres of an excavation more than 1.2 metres deep must be supported or removed.
Shoring, bracing or caging of walls (section 181). The walls of an excavation or trench must be supported by shoring, bracing or caging unless it is less than 1.2 metres deep, cut in solid rock subject to the conditions in the section, or sloped or benched to within 1.2 metres of the bottom at no more than 1 metre of vertical rise for each 1 metre of horizontal run, or an engineer has certified another arrangement.
Entering an excavation or trench (section 182). No employee may enter an excavation or trench 1.2 metres or more deep unless the walls are supported, cut in rock or sloped as section 181 requires, and safe access and exit is provided. Shoring and caging must not be installed or removed from inside the excavation.
Excavated material (section 183). Excavated material must be kept at least 1.2 metres from the edge, and where the excavation is more than 1.8 metres deep in rock, set back a distance at least equal to the height of the material.
Remaining sections (sections 184 to 188). The Part goes on to cover water in the excavation, observation of an employee working in an excavation or trench, lowering material into it, and illumination to prevent inadvertent entry.
Locate requests in New Brunswick go through the regional one-call service; section 180 makes the employer responsible for acting on the locate. Enforcement, prevention resources and workplace injury insurance are all handled by WorkSafeNB.
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 New Brunswick
Anyone who digs, trenches, augers, drives posts, hydrovacs or operates excavation equipment, and the supervisors and planners who send them out.
- Utility, telecom, NB Power and gas contractors
- Heavy civil, road building and municipal crews
- Residential builders, foundation and deck contractors
- Landscaping, fencing, irrigation and post installation
- Forestry road building and resource-sector earthworks
- Hydrovac, directional drilling and locating services
- Water, wastewater and stormwater contractors
- 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 New Brunswick work who need documented awareness training before mobilizing.
Ground Disturbance Training New Brunswick FAQs
Is ground disturbance training mandatory in New Brunswick?
Part XIII of Regulation 91-191 does not name a specific course. Section 180 requires the employer to determine the location of underground utility lines before beginning an excavation or trench, and to notify the authority, de-energize the line and use an adequate procedure when employees work within 600 millimetres of it. Employers meet the expectation by pairing general awareness training with site procedures and locate practices. This course supplies the awareness half.
Does this course give me a New Brunswick ground disturbance certificate?
There is no provincial ground disturbance licence or ticket in New Brunswick. This is an awareness-level course. On passing the final quiz you receive a printable certificate of completion with a verification code. Some utility and pipeline owners specify a supervisor-level program in their contracts; check the owner's conditions before mobilizing.
What happens when workers get within 600 millimetres of a buried line in New Brunswick?
Section 180(2) requires the employer to ensure the authority operating the utility line or piping has been notified, the line has been de-energized, and an adequate operating procedure is used by the employees. The course explains locate marks, the tolerance zone and hand exposing; the utility and the employer's procedure set the site steps.
When does a New Brunswick trench need shoring?
Section 181 requires shoring, bracing or caging unless the excavation or trench is less than 1.2 metres deep, is cut in solid rock subject to the section's conditions, or is sloped or benched to within 1.2 metres of the bottom at no more than 1 metre vertical for each 1 metre horizontal. Section 182 prohibits entering an excavation 1.2 metres or deeper until those conditions are met.
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