Damage Prevention Download

Last year, CGA conducted a member survey to determine the tools and resources members needed to best reach their professional and general public audiences with the 811 safety message. As a result of this research, as well as damage data from recent Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT) Reports, CGA has developed a new 811 tagline to reflect the ongoing evolution of the damage prevention industry, and reinforce the importance of consistent use of 811 for every project.

CGA is pleased to share a new case study detailing how member TransGrid, an Australian electricity network, implemented FiberSense DigitalAsset™ technology to enhance the safety of a high voltage underground cable. The case study, titled “Fibersense - DigitalAsset: Protecting High Voltage Underground Assets,” highlights how TransGrid leveraged this technology’s accurate, real-time monitoring of underground assets to enhance its threat detection capabilities and improve workforce efficiency.

CGA’s Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT) helps our industry understand the root causes of underground utility damages and develop actionable solutions that make communities safer. We encourage you to submit your 2022 damage and near-miss data to DIRT by March 31 to help uncover and address persistent challenges facing the industry.

CGA will host a webinar on Thursday, March 2 at 1:30 p.m. ET focused on CGA’s new video series, “Tips for Effective Use of 811.” The series, created by CGA’s Educational Programs & Marketing Committee, consists of stakeholder-specific videos and accompanying materials that detail the simple, actionable changes that excavators and facility owner/operators can make within their organizations to make the 811 system more effective and efficient.

CGA’s Next Practices Initiative is pleased to share a new living case study that details how CGA member Gopher State One Call (GSOC) partnered with the Minnesota Geospatial Advisory Council to improve the 811 process through ticket-level visualizations of underground facilities.

The case study, titled “PILOT: Improving Efficiency and Reducing Damages by Providing Ticket-Level Visualizations of Underground Facilities to Designers, Locators and Excavators,” highlights the efforts of the Minnesota Utilities Mapping Project (MUMP). Led by GSOC and the Minnesota Geospatial Advisory Council and in partnership with key facility owner/operators, locators, software providers and other stakeholders, the MUMP sought to produce a first-of-its-kind tool that revolutionizes underground utility mapping for damage prevention stakeholders by leveraging widely accessible technology.