A core interactive course that trains workers to read a trench for cave-in risk across soil, spoil placement, water, and protective systems, and to recognize when an excavation is unsafe to enter. Its 19 interactions and 6 competencies build the split-second recognition that decides the outcome at grade.
Excavation and trenching awareness for everyone who works in, around or near excavations and trenches — construction (residential, ICI and heavy-civil), utilities, pipeline, municipal works, landscaping, telecom and site-servicing crews, and the people working nearby alike.
Equip everyone who works in, around or near excavations and trenches to understand that the ground gives no warning — a trench wall that held all day drops without a sound, a…
At a glance
Format: Online, self-paced and interactive
Length: about 1 hour, 5 modules
Pass mark: 80% on the final test
Certificate: QR-verified, valid for one year
Jurisdiction: Manitoba law and standards
Who this course is for
Workers who enter, work in, or work beside excavations and trenches on Manitoba construction sites.
Construction workers on residential, ICI and heavy-civil sites who dig, lay pipe, form footings or work in and around trenches and excavations
Utility, pipeline, municipal-works and site-servicing crews who open the ground to install or repair water, sewer, gas, power and telecom services
Landscaping, irrigation and telecom workers who trench, bore or dig by machine or by hand on residential and commercial sites
New and returning workers being oriented to a site with excavation and trenching work, and anyone who works nearby an open trench or excavation
What you will learn
Explain that the ground gives no warning — a trench wall that held all day drops without a sound, a cubic metre of soil is more than a tonne, and you can't outrun a cave-in or read a trench from inside it
Name the excavation hazard set found on every dig — cave-in / collapse, engulfment, buried-services strike, falling loads and spoil, access / egress, and atmosphere — and identify why the cave-in is the killer
Describe how a trench kills — soil weight and cave-in speed, engulfment that crushes the chest so a buried worker can't breathe or self-rescue — and what raises the risk (disturbed soil, vibration, water, spoil load, weather)
Explain the trigger depth (1.5 m, about 5 ft) beyond which a trench must be protected unless it is cut in solid rock or other equally stable material (and no more than 4.5 m deep), and how: shoring built to the Schedule or an engineer-certified system such as a trench box or hydraulic shoring used within its certification — sloping and benching being the open-excavation options, and for a trench only part of an engineer's design
Course outline
The Ground Gives No Warning — The ground gives no warning — a trench wall that held all day drops without a…
Why Trenches Kill — How a trench kills — the chain, because a cave-in is not one hazard but…
Never Enter an Unprotected Trench — Never enter an unprotected trench. Past 1.5 m, a protected trench is shored to…
Read the Trench — Recognition — standing back and reading the trench before anyone approaches…
Stop at the Edge — Stop and report any one of these: an unprotected trench, spoil at the edge, no…
Laws and standards covered
Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health Act (C.C.S.M. c. W210)
Manitoba WSH Regulation MR 217/2006
CSA Group — home page (CSA excavation and shoring standards are cited generally for the protective-system design and…
Certificate and renewal
Passing the final test issues a QR-verified certificate, valid for one year.
Common questions
How long does Excavation & Trenching Awareness take?
About 1 hour online, over 5 modules, at your own pace. It ends with a final test that needs 80% to pass.
How long is the Excavation & Trenching Awareness certificate valid?
One year from the day you pass. Orientra’s standard is for excavation and trenching training to be reviewed at least annually and whenever the work, the soil or the site conditions change — a deeper or longer trench, different or previously-disturbed ground, water in the excavation, nearby traffic or equipment vibration, a new protective system, or a near-miss all trigger a refresh.
Which laws and standards does Excavation & Trenching Awareness cover?
Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health Act (C.C.S.M. c. W210); Manitoba WSH Regulation MR 217/2006; CSA Group — home page (CSA excavation and shoring standards are cited generally for the protective-system design and…; and 5 more listed on this page.
Who should take Excavation & Trenching Awareness?
Workers who enter, work in, or work beside excavations and trenches on Manitoba construction sites.