Grant Piraine
Mar 15, 2018
Each year, the National Day of Mourning reminds us that too many workers do not make it home. Behind every statistic is a person, a family, and a loss that could not be undone.
In Ontario alone, hundreds of workers are killed or seriously injured each year as a result of workplace incidents. Within ground disturbance and excavation related work, buried utility infrastructure continues to present one of the most underestimated and misunderstood sources of risk. Despite increased awareness and regulatory effort, damage incidents and near misses continue to rise.
The uncomfortable truth is that safety is often treated as something that exists outside the worker. Procedures are written. Locates are requested. Paperwork is completed. The assumption follows that risk has been managed.
Yet serious incidents continue to occur on projects where all required steps were technically followed.
This gap exists because compliance does not equal understanding.
Many hazards are obvious. Working at heights without fall protection is unsafe. Handling chemicals without proper protective equipment is unsafe. These risks are visible and intuitive.
Ground disturbance risk is different.
A buried gas line, electrical conduit, or communications facility does not announce itself. Workers are often asked to trust that the information provided to them is complete, accurate, and sufficient. Too often, they are not trained to question discrepancies, identify limitations, or recognize when something does not make sense.
Knowing when to stop work is a safety skill. Understanding locate information, surface indicators, and the limits of locating systems is a safety skill. Recognizing that not knowing is itself a hazard is a safety skill.
These skills are not innate. They must be taught.
True safety in ground disturbance work depends on three foundational elements.
First, education and training. Workers at every level, from management to field personnel, need practical, role specific training that explains not just what to do, but why it matters. Training builds awareness, confidence, and judgment, all of which are necessary to make safe decisions in dynamic environments.
Second, clear health and safety policies and procedures. Organizations must have documented processes that reflect real world conditions, not ideal assumptions. These policies demonstrate due diligence, guide consistent behavior, and provide a framework for decision making when uncertainty exists.
Third, incident investigation and learning. When a damage or near miss occurs, the goal should not be blame. The goal should be understanding. Lessons learned must be shared and integrated so that the same conditions do not repeat themselves.
At Own Your Safety, we believe safety is not something provided to workers. It is something that must be understood, questioned, and actively owned. Systems and regulations support safety, but they cannot replace individual and organizational responsibility.
On the Day of Mourning, and every day after, the most meaningful way to honor those who have been lost is to ensure that others are better equipped to recognize risk before it becomes tragedy.
Knowing what is below ground is not optional. It is the foundation of every safe decision made in ground disturbance work.
Safety is not assumed. Safety is owned.