USP Industry Recognition Awards – 2023 Winners

Sher Kirk, Operations Director, Utility Safety Partners

On Feb. 26, 2024, Utility Safety Partners presented the inaugural USP Industry Recognition Awards for Excavator of the Year, Locator of the Year and Member of the Year at a gala awards dinner at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. The dinner and ceremony were part of Utility Safety Partners’ 40th Anniversary and Safety Conference.

USP introduced the awards in early 2023 to recognize Albertans in the damage prevention industry who demonstrate USPs core values of safety, advocacy, and engagement. We want to shine a light on those who believe that damage prevention is a shared responsibility, who engage with others to drive continuous improvement, and who raise the bar for others.

Award recipients are selected from a pool of candidates nominated by their peers. We believe stakeholders should decide on the leaders and difference makers to be celebrated in their industry. USP facilitates the process by publishing the minimum criteria, posting and collecting nomination forms between Oct. 15 and Dec. 31, screening the initial list of candidates for eligibility, then providing the nominee information and scoring matrix to selection committees comprised of industry peers in each category. The nominees scored the highest by the committees are declared that year’s recipients. Going forward, the awards will be announced and presented during Dig Safe Month (April) each year. Award recipients are acknowledged on the USP web site and social media. To review the Industry Awards Process or to submit a nomination next year, see our website.

	2023 EXCAVATOR of the YEAR CANADIAN FIBER OPTICS (CFOC) Nominated by an industry partner who worked with CFOC throughout 2023 who noted: “This company went from small to large virtually overnight. They engaged the ALA process with the Consortium because their projects were so big and over a number of locations. They initiated a one call screening program for internal monitoring. They are damage prevention focused.”
	2023 LOCATOR of the YEAR MATT ETHERINGTON (EM Utility Locating) Nominated by an industry peer (and competitor) who wrote: (Matt) offers free education presentations over the month of April in support of dig safe month. He always offers locators met in the field to call anytime if they have questions about the industry or for problem-solving techniques. Matt believes in industry collaboration and not competition. Participates in the CAPULC Education and Standards committee and USP Best Practices Committee.
	2023 MEMBER of the YEAR IAIN STABLES (ATCO Gas and Pipelines) Nominated by a group of colleagues who told us: Iain has over 20 years of experience with locating, the utility industry, and the damage prevention world. He is great at building relationships and is a go-to for leading or supporting any initiative he is tasked with. Most recently he has been the leading force for the new Alternate Locate Provider (ALP) process being introduced this year. This is one of the most significant and revolutionary ideas within the last decade, that will change the ground disturbance and damage prevention industry.

Congratulations to our 2023 award recipients and all nominees. Thank you to those who participated on a selection committee. We look forward to learning more about the leading members and safety partners of USP in 2024!