“In the last issue, I recounted a story about one of the rare occasions on which my small private locating company had been called to look at a damaged facility after having marked a site for private facilities. Having struck an unmarked electric line, the excavator (who had paid approximately $150 for his locate four …
Safety, accuracy, and poor weather conditions are some of the most frustrating issues damage prevention professionals face today. The consequences for hitting an underground asset at an excavation worksite can be high, including the loss of thousands of dollars, lost time due to needed repairs, and even injury or death. State-to-state legislation inconsistencies can also …
Augmented Reality (AR) Can Improve Communications Around 811 Transactions Read More »
A question that is often asked in our industry is “What does a locate cost?” The answer to this simple question varies from stakeholder to stakeholder and from publicly to privately owned utility lines. For the sake of this conversation, a public utility is a facility owned and/or operated by a utility company or municipality …
Understanding The Cost And Value Of Good Public And Private Locates Read More »
Excavation damage – incidents occurring when digging equipment strikes an underground gas line or other infrastructure – are a dangerous and costly problem in our industry. The Common Ground Alliance (CGA) estimates that there were more than 91,000 such dig-in incidents in 2016, leading to numerous fatalities and more than $1.5 billion in repair and …
March 26-28, 2019 | Tampa, Florida Zero Damages. Reaching the Goal Together. Register by January 10 for Early Bird Pricing CGAconference.com | 866.279.7755 Benefits of Attending The CGA 811 Excavation Safety Conference & Expo is the premiere international event dedicated to providing educational content and resources to help protect buried assets. This conference is the largest event …
2019 CGA 811 Excavation Safety Conference & Expo Read More »
A consortium of gathering pipeline operators in North Dakota has initiated a program called “iPIPE” (ipipepartnership.com) to develop and demonstrate new and emerging technologies that hold promise to improve leak detection and prevention in gathering pipelines in America’s oil fields. The four-year program is investing several million dollars toward this effort. Led by founders Hess …
Tips to get the most out of your data! Ground penetrating radar (GPR) is a complementary tool to electromagnetic (EM) pipe and cable locators for locating buried utilities. GPR can locate both metallic and non-metallic structures and provide more complete locates in situations where there are non-locatables, either due to lack of tracer wires or …
Every day in the U.S., about 700 water pipes burst, causing damage and disruption and costing millions in repair and replacement. Utilities react quickly and effectively, but the damages to property, roads and the utility’s image can be significant. In addition, these disruptions often cause lost business in the area of the break. Worker productivity …
Preventing Pipe Burst With Artificial Intelligence Read More »
News BRIEFS • The Nevada Public Utilities Commission added requirements to the state’s “Call Before You Dig” rules in October for both commercial and residential work. Existing rules called for individuals and businesses to call 811 before digging in order to prevent damage to underground utilities. Those rules have now been amended to require anyone …
Thanks to the Common Ground Alliance (CGA), the 811 processes has become more efficient, effective and productive. However, there is always room for improvement and all stakeholders can do more to better the process. Underground utility safety and damage prevention is truly a “shared responsibility” as set forth by the CGA. Only when all stakeholders …
