For greater safety when working on utility lines.

Every year in Germany, damage to utility lines and facilities caused by construction machinery amounts to hundreds of millions of euros. It is essential to raise awareness among the personnel carrying out this work in order to prevent damage to property and injury to people, as well as supply outages. The qualification is part of the cross-sector set of rules “Construction Companies in Underground Pipeline Construction – Minimum Requirements” (e.g. DVGW GW 381) and is often required by clients in tenders as part of a voluntary self-commitment.

Safety when carrying out construction work in the vicinity of utility and disposal facilities fundamentally concerns everyone involved in the construction project.

The seminar is aimed, on the one hand, at workers and supervisors who carry out machine-assisted activities in the immediate vicinity of utility lines and facilities. This also includes machine-assisted work in agriculture, forestry, and landscaping. Workers and supervisors in these fields should therefore also receive regular training including an exam.

Obtaining complete plan information, fully preparing risk assessments, and verifiably instructing personnel all contribute significantly to how safely the work can be carried out. For this reason, those involved in work preparation should also receive regular training and take the exam.

The GW129 seminar is also recommended for workers carrying out non-machine-assisted activities in the immediate vicinity of utility lines and facilities. This applies especially when they are assisting machine operators.

The online seminars can be booked with binding effect for the respective date. Simply enter your participants into the booking form on this website. You will then receive a booking confirmation by email with all the important information for taking part.

The participation fee must be paid no later than 1 day before the training begins. If a participant is unable to attend on the day of the seminar, they can rebook onto another public online seminar. Sending a substitute is also possible and comes with no additional cost.

On the day of the training, participants log in via the ZOOM software approximately 30 minutes before the start of the training, using their full first and last name along with the password provided. Once attendance has been checked and participants have been briefed, the online seminar begins.

Using practical case studies and a touch of humor, the relevant topics are conveyed clearly and concisely. Over a period of around 7 hours, several 10-minute breaks and a 30-minute lunch break are held, and the online exam (multiple-choice test) is completed. Participants can ask questions at any time during the training, either verbally or via the chat function, and the trainer is happy to answer them.

After attending the seminar and passing the online multiple-choice test, participants receive their certificate as proof of qualification by email. Upon request, the certificate can also be sent by post for a processing and shipping fee of €10.00 plus VAT.

The online exam takes place directly after the seminar and consists of 20 questions. You will receive your personal access link to the exam along with your booking confirmation. No prior registration is required.

We offer the theoretical training and exam with a 3-year validity period and Schaufelmann certificate to all interested parties who have already completed a 5-year and/or 3-year training course with an exam.

Theoretical training and examination may be completed a maximum of two times in a row. After that, it is necessary to complete training and an exam that includes a practical component with a 5-year validity period at a training facility with an excavator damage demonstration system (BSDA).

Interested parties who have not yet attended a GW129 seminar should complete their first training and exam at a training facility with a BSDA.