This course has been endorsed by Utility Safety Partners (USP), the new name of the Alberta Common Ground Alliance (ABCGA). You can see the endorsement certificate dated January 25, 2022 by clicking here.

This online course will teach you how to plan and carry out a ground disturbance safely and legally. It is for anyone who needs to dig, excavate, or disturb the ground in any way.

After finishing this course, you will be able to:

• Understand why damage prevention is important and who is responsible for it

• Define what a ground disturbance is and what rules and regulations apply to it

• Identify the hazards and risks of a ground disturbance and how to avoid them

• Know what approvals and permits you need before you start a ground disturbance

• Know how to find and mark buried facilities and what to do if you damage them

• Know how to use a ground disturbance permit and how to communicate with other parties involved This Ground Disturbance 201 course has the same content and exam as a classroom course that meets the Utility Safety Partners (USP) Ground Disturbance 201 Standard. You can take the exam online with a virtual proctor.

COURSE TOPICS:

• Why damage prevention matters and what can go wrong

• Who is involved in damage prevention and ground disturbance and what they have to do

• Who regulates and supports damage prevention and ground disturbance and what resources they provide

• Why you need damage prevention and ground disturbance training Module B: Ground Disturbance Planning

• What a ground disturbance is and what codes of practice you have to follow

• Why you need a hazard assessment and an emergency response plan

• What approvals you need and how to get them

• What agreements you need and how to follow them

• Who is in charge of the ground disturbance and what they have to do Module C: Preparing for a Ground Disturbance

• How to search for buried facilities and who to notify

• How to request and receive locates and who is responsible for them

• How to recognize and use different locate marks and how to mark the ground Module D: The Execution and Completion of a Ground Disturbance

• How to use a ground disturbance permit and why you need one

• What a pre-job meeting is and why you need one

• What a tailgate meeting is and how to run one

• What the hand expose zone is and how to dig in it

• How to excavate and backfill properly

• How to deal with damage, report it, and investigate it