Digging into DIRT: Building a knowledge base

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” 
― Benjamin Franklin

Has your company registered with Alberta Virtual DIRT? Any ground disturber or operator of buried facilities in Alberta can report damage incidents or near miss events.

DIRT is the Damage Information Reporting Tool introduced by the Common Ground Alliance in 2003 and brought to Alberta by the Alberta Common Ground Alliance (now Utility Safety Partners) in 2013. It is a critical tool for collecting information about the root causes of damages to underground infrastructure.

The DIRT tool is focused solely on the collection of relevant data used to understand why damages occur and to provide guidance on where training and prevention resources will have the most effect on eliminating damages. The source of the information is kept confidential to encourage the most honest and accurate reporting about the details, and data is never used to determine fault or liability.

The Common Ground Alliance has published an annual DIRT report every year since 2004. The report includes an analysis of data from all regions, including Canada, and by reporting events occurring in Alberta, we can target areas of concern specific to our digging community. 

Register today. Help identify trends and causes so we can put an end to damages to our underground infrastructure and make excavating in Alberta safer than it ever has been.

To register as a DIRT user, go to www.cga-dirt.com, click on “register” then select “Alberta Virtual Private DIRT.” After your registration has been approved, you will be able to report single events or upload files containing multiple events.

Joe Rosenberg – Contact Centre Manager, USP