We are just four weeks away from the Utility Safety Conference – Utility Safety Partners’ first in-person event since the unification of the Alberta Common Ground Alliance, Alberta One-Call, and the Where’s the LINE? campaign. Alberta’s damage prevention stakeholders have been busy improving and enhancing damage prevention practices and are excited to share information about new initiatives and goals.

Don’t cry for me because I’m already dead…dead tired that is.

Red-eyed, with slurred speech, grasping weakly to find purchase on the table to try and not slide out of my chair, I emerge like a dishevelled butterfly from the first couple weeks of interviewing prospective Spring Agents and collapse on the couch shortly after.

This one-day program will cover the problems and issues that most locate staff encounter on a daily basis. We will help attendees recognize the contributing factors to the problems they encounter, and more importantly, learn what steps to take to solve them. This seminar is not just a discussion forum, but a hands-on solution to make for better locating!

A few weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to attend the Ontario Regional Common Ground Alliance (ORCGA)’s Damage Prevention Symposium in Windsor, Ontario. ORCGA was the first regional CGA partner in Canada, and this year marks their 20th anniversary. Over 300 stakeholders and industry partners attended the Symposium where we celebrated two decades of working together through advocacy, education, and engagement to reduce damages to buried infrastructure. 

As we head into the dead of Winter some people could use a refresher on how to survive in emergency conditions during inclement weather. Some people- but we’re Canadians right?! We know all the usual tips and tricks (keep a first aid kit with winter survival gear in the car, wear layers, stock extra food/water in case of a power out, etc.). But we already know all this so let’s focus on some not-so-well-known tricks to make your winter as safe as it can be!

After completing another successful year, the Training Standards Committee (TSC) wants to express its gratitude to everyone who continues to support the integrity, dedication, and growth of published Training Standards developed by our committee. 

You can literally find a podcast on any topic today and when a big part of your business is promoting awareness, just dipping your toe in the expanding ocean of podcasts isn’t enough. Doug Downs convinced me of that.

I recently had the honour of attending the Global Excavation Safety Conference (GESC) hosted by Infrastructure Resources, the folks that developed and hosted countless previous conferences under a different name (but that’s a whole different story for another day). The Infrastructure Resources crew is simply the best there is! Not only do they know and immerse themselves in the content of every element and aspect of the conferences they create and host, they treat every single person who attends like royalty. And at this event, a “crown” of sorts was to be presented to the 2022 Damage Prevention Hero of the Year.