Pre-Excavation Management Course (PEMC)

Pre-Excavation Management Course (PEMC)

Webinar: 3.5 Hours | Face-to-Face: 5 Hours / face-to-face / On-Demand Webinar / Scheduled Webinar $149 + GST

The Pre-Excavation Management Course (PEMC) has been developed to strengthen industry capability in managing excavation risk where underground utilities are present.

Ground disturbance remains one of the highest-risk construction activities in Australia, with utility strikes resulting in serious injury, service disruption, regulatory action and significant financial loss. The PEMC provides structured, practical guidance that links the Safe Work Australia Model Code of Practice: Excavation Work and Australian Standard AS 5488 Classification of Subsurface Utility Information (SUI) to the real-world decisions that must be made before excavation begins.

Rather than focusing solely on compliance, the course equips participants with the knowledge and tools to take reasonably practicable steps to manage subsurface utility risks effectively.

PEMC covers regulatory obligations and recognised industry best practice for identifying, locating and managing subsurface utilities. Participants gain practical insight into:

The duties of Persons Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBUs), supervisors and workers
Legal, financial and reputational consequences arising from utility strikes
Risk assessment processes and implementation of reasonably practicable control measures
Sourcing and interpreting underground service information, including Before You Dig Australia (BYDA) utility plans
Applying AS 5488 quality levels to excavation planning and decision-making
The role, competency and independent assessment of Certified Locators
Documenting and demonstrating that reasonably practicable steps have been taken to manage excavation risks

By strengthening pre-excavation planning, documentation and decision-making, the course supports organisations and individuals to reduce the risk of utility strikes, limit legal exposure, avoid costly damage and delays, and improve workplace safety outcomes.

The PEMC is delivered via scheduled or on-demand webinars, with face-to-face delivery available for organisations on request.

To arrange in-house delivery for your team, please contact us to discuss availability and pricing.

Course Outline

This course includes:

Utility Strike Risk: Causes and Contributing Factors
Consequences of Utility Strikes: Safety, Legal and Financial Exposure
Legal Obligations and Accountability in Excavation Work
Sourcing and Interpreting Utility Information
Applying AS 5488 Quality Levels to Excavation Planning
Pre-Excavation Site Assessment and Verification
Utility Locating Methods and Competency Requirements
Applying the PEX Risk Framework
Understanding Telecommunications Network Plans (Telstra & NBN)

1. Utility Strike Risk: Causes and Contributing Factors

Understand why utility strikes occur, including planning gaps, misinterpreted information, inadequate supervision, and site-level risk failures.

2. Consequences of Utility Strikes: Safety, Legal and Financial Exposure

Examine the potential outcomes of strikes, from serious injury and service disruption to prosecution, enforceable undertakings, civil liability, project delays, and reputational harm.

3. Legal Obligations and Accountability in Excavation Work

Clarify the obligations of PCBUs, officers, supervisors, and workers under WHS legislation, and the legal implications of failing to meet those duties.

4. Sourcing and Interpreting Utility Information

Learn how to obtain utility information, including Before You Dig Australia (BYDA) utility plans and Look up and Live app, and interpret them correctly for planning and decision-making.

5. Applying AS 5488 Quality Levels to Excavation Planning

Gain practical understanding of Australian Standard AS 5488 and how Quality Levels (QL-A to QL-D) influence excavation planning, investigation requirements, and risk management controls.

6. Pre-Excavation Site Assessment and Verification

Conduct structured site inspections, identify surface indicators, and determine when additional investigation or verification is required before ground disturbance.

7. Utility Locating Methods and Competency Requirements

Explore electromagnetic locating, ground penetrating radar, potholing, and other verification techniques. Understand the role of independently assessed Certified Locators and competency requirements under the Safe Work Australia Model Code of Practice: Excavation Work.

8. Applying the PEX Risk Framework

Use the PEX Chart to evaluate excavation complexity, assess risk, and determine appropriate control measures and escalation pathways.

9. Understanding Telecommunications Network Plans (Telstra & NBN)

Develop confidence in reading and applying communications network documentation to support defensible excavation decisions and reduce the likelihood of damage to critical infrastructure.

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Request more dates

Tue 3 March, 2026
8:00 am - 11:30 am AEST

Wed 18 March, 2026
10:00 am - 1:30 pm AEST

Thu 26 March, 2026
1:00 pm - 4:30 pm AEST

Wed 15 April, 2026
9:00 am - 12:30 pm AEST

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What our clients are saying

It was timely to remind the team of how important the DBYD service is and an opportunity to learn about the updates. It is difficult at the moment to get access to training so this was a great opportunity to upskill in a safe environment. The course showed the cost of complacency, some in depth information regarding the differences in how services can be marked according to which plan you have. How a plan that appears professional can be dangerous taking into account the quality of the survey information (or utility plan limitations) and the survey quality classification system.

Streamline Plumbing

Operations Manager
I had plenty of positive feedback from the team post training. It was very relevant information for our industry, and was delivered expertly by Adrian.

Evolution

Ben Spletter, National Civils Manager
It was a comprehensive session which covered the entire process. I believe everyone could benefit from this regardless their role in the industry. As a designer, I now better understand how to prepare my utility survey requests and which parts need to be highlighted. Also, the quality level information helps me to assess how reliable the survey information can be for the design purpose.

SMEC Australia Pty Ltd

Experienced Engineer-Water Infrastructure
The webinar way exceeded my expectations. I found myself fully absorbed in the material and the presenter’s delivery.

Diona

HSEQ Advisor
I believe the Pre-Excavation Management Course should be mandatory for those delegating a team on an excavation site. Prior to attending the course I had a sense of false faith in the safety and accuracy of the utility plans. After completing the training, I have a much more cautious approach as plans can be inaccurate and may not include all services. I recommend this course 10/10 for safety. There are people’s lives at risk.

Ipswich City Council

Infrastructure and Environment Department
I found the Webinars very informative and Adrian’s presentation was excellent throughout. I will definitely be recommending it to other colleagues.

Abergeldie Complex Infrastructure

Group HSE Manager
I found the webinar informative and it has opened my eyes on the fact that services aren’t always where they are reported to be and also the levels associated with location accuracy, never knew how important the letters D,C,B,A in relation to services locations, on the plan were before… and the importance of using Certified Locators to keep my people safe. I will definitely be spreading the word!

Vassallo Constructions Pty Ltd

Safety Advisor
Adrian’s knowledge of legislative obligations and techniques and procedures for working safely around subsurface utilities was exceptional. The Course content was practical with real examples of what can go wrong if adequate preplanning is not implemented. Great Course, highly recommend it.

ADCO Constructions Pty Ltd

HSE Manager
We have put 115 Project Managers, Engineers, Foreman and WHSQ through the course. The feedback has been resoundingly positive. Some of the most positive feedback we got from the training was: relevant, practical, and very well presented. I know it will help a great deal in helping us reduce service strikes on our sites.

Shadforth Civil

Compliance Manager
A well structured course that will benefit our engineers and supervisors.

BMD Constructions

Group Safety Manager
As CEO of a LG Council I will encourage all of our key staff to undertake this webinar. The whole process and importance of undertaking a DBYD assessment before undertaking any works and how to read and interpret the information was valuable. It was a professional presentation and the presenter had a great understanding of all the topics. The webinar showed very good examples and consequences of failing to gain proper information and/ or understanding the information.

District Council of Elliston

CEO