Utility Safety Partners (formerly, Alberta One-Call Corporation) has been providing the Call and ClickBeforeYouDig communication service between ground disturbers and our members for forty years. During that time, USP has processed over 10 million locate requests and generated over 100 million notifications to our members initiating a damage prevention process to identify, locate and mark buried energy and utility assets in the vicinity of the proposed ground disturbance. It’s a simple process that works extremely well – providing, of course, it gets initiated by a locate request.

In episode 56 of the Safety Moment Podcast, Mike Sullivan sits down with Dr. Kevin Rindal, a renowned sports medicine expert and former chiropractor for the U.S. Olympic Swim and Women's Ice Hockey Teams. The conversation dives deep into the realm of workplace safety, particularly focusing on the utility energy sector, and uncovers how principles from athletic performance can significantly reduce workplace injuries.

The British North America Act (BNA Act) was created Canada on July 1, 1867 and the following year on June 20, 1868, Governor General Lord Monck signed a proclamation requesting all Her Majesty’s subjects across Canada celebrate July 1. It wasn’t until almost 10 years later, though, in 1879, that a federal law made July 1 a statutory holiday as the Anniversary of Confederation, which was later called Dominion Day.

I’m waiting for the mail to arrive and expecting a letter from the UCP government with their latest feedback on Utility Safety Partners’ (USP) quest for comprehensive damage prevention legislation. If you’ve been following the story for the last few years, you’ll know why it’s being pursued and the general gist of it. But if you don’t know, the objective is fairly straightforward.

Each year for the past 10 years or so, the Canadian Common Ground Alliance (CCGA) releases its Damage Information Reporting Team (DIRT) Report and each year, I can’t help feeling we’ve just updated the date on the cover page from the previous years’ report. The root cause of damage is almost always the same – or very close within a few points.

Excavators working on large projects should make efforts to divide the work area and date of locates to limit the number of relocate requests required. Good planning ensures the most current and accurate locates are available during the work and reduces the burden of multiple relocate requests that can cause locate delays and increased costs to both excavators and asset owners.

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Since the unification of the Alberta Common Ground Alliance, Alberta One-Call, and the Where’s the LINE campaign in 2021, Utility Safety Partners' working committees have been busy.

June is a month for stopping, taking stock, and ensuring that you still have all your important (and less important) bits. Head? Check. Brains? Slightly scrambled, but check. Heart? I left it in San Francisco, but I’m sure it’s fine. Looking around what would normally be a smouldering wreckage, this June I see a well running and confident Contact Centre humming along without much issue relative to year’s past.