Ground Disturbance Training in Saskatchewan: 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 Saskatchewan OHS Regulations, 2020, Part 17 (sections 17-1 to 17-9) expects Saskatchewan 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 Saskatchewan OHS Regulations, 2020, Part 17 (sections 17-1 to 17-9) 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. Saskatchewan 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 Saskatchewan Requires for Ground Disturbance
The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2020 (RRS c S-15.1 Reg 10), Part 17, Excavations, Trenches, Tunnels and Excavated Shafts, sections 17-1 to 17-9, in plain language.
In Saskatchewan, ground disturbance is governed by Part 17 of The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2020 (RRS c S-15.1 Reg 10), Excavations, Trenches, Tunnels and Excavated Shafts, sections 17-1 to 17-9. The Regulations are made under The Saskatchewan Employment Act and enforced by the Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety. Section 17-2 excludes excavations governed by The Mines Regulations.
Locating underground pipelines, cables and conduits (section 17-3). Before starting work with power tools or powered mobile equipment on an excavation, trench, tunnel, shaft or borehole, and before breaking the ground surface with any equipment to a depth that may contact underground utilities, the employer or contractor must accurately establish the location of all underground pipelines, cables and conduits in the area and ensure those locations are conspicuously marked. Where soil will be disturbed within 600 millimetres of an existing pipeline, cable or conduit, it must be exposed by hand digging or another approved method before mechanical excavating is allowed within that zone.
Excavating and trenching (section 17-4). Where the stability of a structure may be affected, it must be supported by a temporary protective structure designed by a professional engineer. Loose material must be scaled or trimmed from the sides, equipment, spoil piles, rocks and materials kept at least 1 metre from the edge, water kept out of any excavation a worker enters, and powered mobile equipment and heavy loads kept away from the walls. Work must not reduce the support of an overhead power line pole without the utility's permission.
Protective structures and cave-in protection (sections 17-5 to 17-7). Temporary protective structures, and the sloping, shoring or shielding that protects workers from cave-in in excavations and trenches, are prescribed in detail.
Shafts, tunnels and boreholes (sections 17-8 and 17-9). Excavated shafts, tunnels, boreholes and belled areas have their own requirements.
A free provincial option exists. The Saskatchewan Safety Council offers a free Online Ground Disturbance for Saskatchewan Workers course. If a Saskatchewan-only crew needs basic awareness at no cost, that program is a sound choice. Our course adds a Canada-wide perspective, a verification-coded certificate and corporate seat tracking for crews working across provinces.
Enforcement is by the Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety; prevention resources are published through WorkSafe Saskatchewan.
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 Saskatchewan
Anyone who digs, trenches, augers, drives posts, hydrovacs or operates excavation equipment, and the supervisors and planners who send them out.
- Oil and gas pipeline, battery and lease construction
- Potash and mining surface contractors
- Utility, telecom, SaskPower and SaskEnergy contractors
- Heavy civil, road building and municipal crews
- Agriculture, drainage and irrigation work near pipelines
- Landscaping, fencing and post installation
- Hydrovac, directional drilling and locating services
- Home builders, foundation and deck contractors
Also relevant for joint health and safety committee members, new and young workers, landscapers, fencers and utility contractors bidding on Saskatchewan work who need documented awareness training before mobilizing.
Ground Disturbance Training Saskatchewan FAQs
Is ground disturbance training mandatory in Saskatchewan?
Part 17 of the OHS Regulations, 2020 does not name a specific course. Section 17-3 requires the employer or contractor to establish and mark the location of underground pipelines, cables and conduits before breaking ground with power tools or equipment, and to hand expose any line within 600 millimetres before mechanical digging. Many pipeline and utility owners contractually require a supervisor with a Ground Disturbance 201 certificate. This awareness course is not that certificate; it gives crew members the shared foundation.
The Saskatchewan Safety Council course is free. Why buy this one?
If you need Saskatchewan-only awareness at no cost, use the Saskatchewan Safety Council's free Online Ground Disturbance for Saskatchewan Workers course; it is a good program. Buy ours if you want a course written for crews that also work in Alberta, BC, Manitoba or the Maritimes, a certificate with a verification code that clients can check, or corporate seat assignment and completion tracking. Both are awareness level; neither replaces a Ground Disturbance 201 supervisor ticket.
How close to a buried line can a machine dig in Saskatchewan?
Section 17-3(2) requires that where soil will be disturbed within 600 millimetres of an existing pipeline, cable or conduit, the line is exposed by hand digging or another approved method before mechanical excavating is allowed within that zone. Locates must be established and marked before the work starts under section 17-3(1).
Does Saskatchewan require a locate before hand digging?
Section 17-3(1) is triggered by work with power tools or powered mobile equipment and by breaking the ground surface with any equipment to a depth that may contact underground utilities. Pure hand digging with shovels is not expressly listed, but a shovel can still reach a shallow gas or electrical service, so the course and the provincial one-call service both recommend a locate before any digging.
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$34.95 CAD. Instant access, printable certificate, 30-day money-back guarantee.