Excavation projects, vital for development and infrastructure, often encounter a lurking menace beneath the surface: ‘Ghost’ Utilities. These are the elusive, forgotten, or abandoned facilities that pose a substantial threat to safety and efficiency during excavation processes. The 2022 DIRT Report recorded 477 unique damages due to abandoned facilities, which isn’t a lot in view of all the other damages, …
Excavation projects, vital for development and infrastructure, often encounter a lurking menace beneath the surface: ‘Ghost’ Utilities. These are the elusive, forgotten, or abandoned facilities that pose a substantial threat to safety and efficiency during excavation processes. The 2022 DIRT Report recorded 477 unique damages due to abandoned facilities, which isn’t a lot in view of all the other damages, …
The CGA Fall Committee Summit was a great event this year and worthwhile for any stakeholder involved in damage prevention and infrastructure safety. Gathering over 160 passionate professionals in the field, this years summit was an epicenter of innovation, collaboration, and forward-thinking strategies. One of the standout features was the dedicated focus on leveraging precise mapping and timely locates to …
Drone GPR has been hailed as the “next-gen” solution for underground utility mapping and locating. The promises are alluring: the ability to rapidly survey vast areas without any ground contact. However, beneath the sheen of innovation lie significant drawbacks and potential pitfalls that demand our attention. [There’s a few people on LinkedIn that I follow closer than others. Jan Francke …
I recently shared a video from the Barstool Sessions, where Jemmie and Mike engaged in a thought-provoking conversation. The central focus of their discussion revolved around the current state of the 811 locate process. In particular, they delved into the pressing issue of the significant shortage of staff in comparison to the ever-increasing number of locate requests. This discussion shed …
The locating and excavation industries like any industries are only as effective as the people which are in them. While technological advancements have improved performance and safety measures, there’s another vital factor that often goes unnoticed: the psychology of the workers. In this article, I’ll focus on behavioral science and its potential role in reducing accidents and protecting critical infrastructure …
Everyone’s heard of BitCoin and cryptocurrencies but the technology behind them is still somewhat under the radar. It’s called blockchain and it is really a means of sharing and protecting data in a very secure way. In the world of utility data management, the reluctance of companies to share their valuable data has long been a major hurdle. This hesitancy, …
I was reading an article with Tilson CTO Jason Burns about his technology stack and that inspired me to put together a list of apps and solutions which I think could help your damage prevention processes. NearMap AI Nearmap provide geospatial content as a service and their AI tool is a powerful option for providing addiotnal info on top of …
I’m in Louisville, KY right now for this year’s Utility Expo. It’s great to be back amongst 19,000 of our peers and discuss damage prevention. I’ve been lucky to make some great friends within the industry and so this inaugural Shane’s Scooparticle is the product of some of the different discussions I’ve been having here at the show mixed in …
Regulations for regulations sake aren’t a good thing, but I tried to come up with a lean list of regs that could amend or be added on without giving locators and excavators any more headaches. These regulations would aim to enhance communication, increase awareness, and promote responsible excavation practices. Here are some examples: Mandatory Positive Response: Implement a requirement …