February 2017 Vol. 72 No. 2
Features
Many Positives From Common Ground Alliance DIRT Report
The latest Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT) report released in October 2016 by the Common Ground Alliance (CGA) contained the good news that efforts to reduce accidental damage to the nation’s underground utility infrastructure and build awareness of the free 811 service are making significant progress.
Damages to underground facilities decreased 9 percent, and One-Call locate requests increased 8 percent from the previous year. These improving numbers are even more impressive considering they occurred during a period when construction activity was up – housing permit activity increased 15 percent, and construction spending on infrastructure increased 4 percent – thereby raising the opportunity for accidental utility hits.
These statistics are based on solid research. CGA’s DIRT program encompasses every aspect of damage prevention, gathering and analyzing critical information in order to make specific recommendations to industry stakeholders about how to best protect buried facilities.
For the first time the 2015 Report matched and weighted multiple data submissions pertaining to the same event, often submitted by two or more stakeholders. This new methodology, along with a record number of event submissions (more than 363,000), and a higher Data Quality Index score than either the 2014 or 2013 reports, makes the 2015 DIRT Report the most comprehensive and accurate account of the state of damages to underground infrastructure ever compiled.
“The expanded methodology of the 2015 DIRT Report represents a new benchmark in damage prevention,” said Bob Kipp, CGA president. “The volume and quality of DIRT data increases every year, strengthening the insights we glean from the report. The data science points in our 2015 analysis are the most comprehensive picture of how and why damages occur across the country.
“For the first time ever, damage prevention stakeholders will also be able to use the data analysis and visualization platform Tableau to examine the DIRT data sets most relevant to their type of work, location, root cause or other variables.”
The interactive 2015 DIRT Dashboard powered by Tableau is accessible to the public through the CGA website (commongroundalliance.com) and contains seven individual dashboards that can examine 2015 data through the lens of a specific element, such as damage characteristics by state, root cause analysis, etc.
Each dashboard visualization allows users to sort information through additional filters, giving damage prevention stakeholders a powerful tool for looking in-depth into where they can have the biggest positive impact.
The key to its success, said Kipp, has been acceptance by stakeholders that accident information they submit is absolutely confidential. Stakeholders today are comfortable in providing information.
Since its establishment in 2000, CGA has become the leading organization in gathering research and developing programs to prevent damage to North American underground infrastructure by promoting effective damage prevention practices through shared responsibility among all stakeholders.
CGA is a member-driven association of 1,700 individuals, organizations and sponsors from every facet of the underground utility industry. Its 16-member board of directors represents each stakeholder group in the association.
Among the organization’s many accomplishments is the annually updated CGA Best Practices Guide to damage prevention, and its role in establishing the nationwide call-before-you-dig number, 811. The DIRT program was established in 2003.
Although significant progress is being made to limit damage to buried infrastructure, much remains to be done. Even with declines in incidents during a period where construction activity was up, the 2015 DIRT report also estimates there were approximately 317,000 damages in the U.S. in 2015.
The three primary root causes were:
- Notification practices not sufficient
- Excavator practices not sufficient
- Locating practices not sufficient
However, the industry and CGA are clearly on the right path to address these issues.
“Through 2016, the 811 numbers all are heading the right way,” said Kipp. “One change is that One-Call centers are steering users to the internet, and that is improving access and balancing of workloads.”
To make the internet more useful for One-Call, more apps are becoming available – to access locate information on smart phones, for example. Also, the number of people using Best Practices is increasing.
“Our advocacy committee makes information, documents and studies readily available at no cost, and that’s important for states that don’t have the funds to do their own studies,” he pointed out. “Public information and educational programs are effective, and Cox Utility Services will unveil an 811 hot air balloon at our annual meeting in March.
“Participation of sponsors remains strong, and that’s in spite of the economic downturn for those in the energy sector. Much of our funding comes from those companies, and there have been a lot of mergers, yet their support still is there. Many One-Call centers are limited in financial support they can provide, but they are making up for it by sponsoring educational events.”
A positive development, according to Kipp, is the launch by a separate not-for-profit entity of the Gold Shovel Standard, which certifies and monitors a contractor’s excavation safety performance. Under the program, a utility provider would require an excavating contractor to have Gold Shovel Standard Certification to do work for the company.
Kipp believes the next steps to limit damage to underground facilities will be regulation and enforcement.
“Some states have limited regulations regarding excavation, and in many cases there is no enforcement of regulations that are in place,” he said. “Chapter 7 of our Best Practices deals with compliance. Our members approved these Best Practices more than 15 years ago and believe in their effectiveness. States with effective enforcement programs have lower incident rates than those who don’t.”
Kipp, the only president CGA has had, will step down when Sarah K. Magruder Lyne takes over Jan. 23. He will remain for a three-month transition period with his term officially ending on April 30, 2017.
Kipp Leaves Strong Legacy For CGA
In 2001, Bob Kipp left his position as president and chief executive officer of BCI Inc., a telecom firm, to take charge of a new organization dedicated to preventing accidental excavation damage of underground utility infrastructure, the Common Ground Alliance.
Prior to that, Kipp had been in the telecommunications industry in Canada.
To achieve success at CGA, Kipp brought together the varied stakeholders with vital interests in protecting buried infrastructure, and led CGA to the position of North America’s leading organization in planning and coordinating efforts to reduce damages to North America’s underground infrastructure.
Therefore, Bob Kipp deserves a tip of the hard hats from all those who provide, build and maintain the underground utility infrastructure.
Comments