Most comprehensive national report on damages to underground facilities to-date indicates that total U.S. damages increased 20 percent from the year prior amid a rise in construction spending and activity. Common Ground Alliance (CGA) announced findings from its comprehensive 2016 Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT) Report in August. The report, which is the sum of …
Trenchless installation of coated pipeline segments is an attractive option for construction areas that include wetlands, congested areas, and road crossings. Trenchless installation is predominantly carried out using Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD), a versatile form of utility construction that has experienced enormous growth the past two decades. This technology works well for installing pipelines and …
In the first part of this series which ran in the Summer Issue, the latest advances in spatial technologies with important implications for industries such as construction and utilities were discussed. In this second part, recent applications of these technologies in these industries are presented. Mixed reality is beginning to be used in real-world construction …
Geospatial Technology Innovation is Transformative (part 2) Read More »
Preventing damage to underground infrastructure via excavation can be very complex. For some, it’s about finding a conflict between a proposed work area and the infrastructure and then telling the operator how to dig safely around it. The industry calls this a “truck roll.” Others are able to compare their infrastructure to the proposed dig …
Alternate Locate Agreements: How Ontario Incentivizes Safe Excavation Read More »
Leaders are not people pleasers by nature. There is a difference between pleasing and growing. There is a difference between pleasing and knowing a new direction is needed in order to experience progress on your goals and objectives. Yet, in the face of a need for political correctness, when employees learn to work the system …
Meet Lauren Harper. She and her father, Terry Harper, have been working together nearly every day for about eight years, and Lauren says they make a great team. It’s not every day you meet a woman operating heavy construction equipment, but it just came naturally to Lauren. “After a few years of college, I ventured …
Damage Prevention Hero – Lauren Harper – Yes, she Can… and Does Read More »
Damage prevention is very complex. It is an appreciation of this complexity that led me to explore and, later after being asked, to serve on the Board of Directors of Gold Shovel Standard (GSS). GSS is an evolution of a previous program started by PG&E. A group of industry professionals, both buried asset-owners and leading …
Gold Shovel Standard: More Important Now than Ever Before Read More »
It has been about six weeks since millions of people were affected by Hurricane Harvey’s devastating rains and winds in Texas and Louisiana. Hundreds of thousands of people across the country showed their support emotionally, physically and financially as those impacted by Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath began storm cleanup efforts. 811 played a critical …
