Gold Seal Credits: 8
Licensed Residential Builder CPD Points: 24

Comprehensive Earthworks Estimating: From Quantities to Risk Control | Live, ONLINE

This advanced course looks at how reliable earthworks estimates are built when ground conditions, excavation depth, and site access start to shape the entire approach. It builds on the fundamentals and shows how geotechnical findings, groundwater behaviour, environmental limits, and project location influence quantities, methods, and unit costs.

4 days, 6 hrs each day

$989.99 excl. GST

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Details

Description

The course works through excavation and backfill planning for both shallow and deep cuts, including scenarios in congested or restricted areas where productivity and equipment choices shift. It also covers material handling and haul logistics, haul route optimization, slope protection and stability considerations, dewatering needs, and the ground improvement techniques commonly required on civil and infrastructure projects.

Participants will develop productivity-based crew and equipment models, assess indirect costs, and perform risk-based contingency modeling. Emphasis is placed on understanding how sequencing, site access, material source location, and environmental restrictions affect both costs and schedules.

Who Should Attend?

This course is attended for construction professionals involved in civil and infrastructure works who contribute to earthworks estimating. It suits estimators and cost engineers responsible for complex earthworks scopes, along with project managers and construction managers who oversee daily earthworks operations. it also suits field engineers and superintendents whose site experience guides quantity development, sequencing decisions, and realistic productivity expectations.

What Will You Learn?

Learning Outcomes:

The learning outcomes are centered on understanding what the geotechnical reports, site surveys, and tender specifications are telling you and using that information to build solid earthworks quantities. They include calculating cut and fill volumes, using mass haul diagrams, and pricing excavation, backfill, slope protection, and dewatering in a consistent and straightforward manner.

The course also covers selecting equipment for realistic productivity modeling, identifying points where cost risks may surface, and comparing estimates with benchmarks, previous project records, and current market conditions to confirm the numbers are reliable.

Hands-on Application

Participants will prepare a complete earthworks cost estimate covering excavation, backfill, slope protection, and dewatering. A case study project will be used to model haul distances, adjust productivity for site constraints, and examine alternative methods for cost efficiency. Each estimate will be checked against market data and refined to reflect identified risk factors.

Course Instructors

Doina Dobre, P.Eng., GSC | Emerald Group

Doina Dobre has worked in Canada’s construction industry for close to three decades. She started her career in the field and carried that experience into estimating and project planning, where she has spent most of her time. Her background includes heavy civil, infrastructure, energy, and institutional projects, and she has worked with contractors of all sizes across the country.

She has taken on senior estimating roles, reviewed estimates for accuracy, and supported projects as a consultant. Most of her work has been Canadian, although she has also been involved in a number of international assignments that added a different perspective to her practice.

Through this foundation, Doina has developed an approach to training that is direct and grounded. She focuses on clarity and structure, while linking estimating skills to the larger process of delivering a project. Her sessions draw on real experience and open discussion, providing knowledge that carries into daily practice across the industry.

Mandatory Prerequisites

- basic blueprint reading skills

- basic excel use/proficiency

- familiarity with construction methodologies