By Mike Sullivan, President, Utility Safety Partners
Alberta One-Call Location Corporation began providing services October 1984 — almost 40 years ago. Back then, promoting the advent of the service was accomplished through traditional media, newspapers, trade magazines and radio. The internet was still 15 years away and social media another 10 years behind that but word got out just the same and the very first locate request Alberta One-Call received and processed is a testament to the promotion in those very early days. It didn’t come from a major pipeline transmission company or even a distribution utility — it didn’t even originate from one of our founding members! It came from a local plumbing contractor in the City of Calgary, Hansen Plumbing.
The importance of that first locate request, from a contractor, captures everything Alberta One-Call was meant to achieve — a service to coordinate, consolidate and simplify notification to buried utility owners of proposed ground disturbances in the vicinity of their buried assets. Once notified, those buried asset owners triage the information to determine the best course of action to prevent damage to their buried infrastructure. When you boil it down, it’s a very simple concept and one that was absolutely needed in Alberta.
I recently had the opportunity to meet Ryan Hansen who took over the family business when his dad, Kent, retired. He was surprised to learn Hansen Plumbing was the first party to submit a locate request all those years ago. “This is amazing!” Ryan replied when he learned of the honour.
Since then, Alberta One-Call Corporation (now operating under its legal tradename, Utility Safety Partners) has received and processed over 10 million locate requests and notified its members of proposed ground disturbances over 40 million times. Without this service, there would have been countless damages, service disruptions, loss of revenue, environmental damage, injuries and even fatalities.
And it all started with one locate request.
Ryan will be one of our honorary guests at Utility Safety Partners’ 40th Anniversary and Safety Conference at the Banff Springs Feb. 26 to 28.
USP President, Mike Sullivan, and Ryan Hansen, owner of Hansen Plumbing holding ticket #1 submitted by Ryan's father, Kent, in October 1984.