Monthly Update July 2020

Feature

Save the Date: CGA Conference & Expo, March 2-3, 2021

Author: Khrysanne Kerr, CGA Vice President of Marketing & Outreach

We are now less than eight months away from the 2021 CGA Conference & Expo in Orlando, Florida! Make sure to mark your calendars for March 2-5, 2021 when damage prevention decision-makers from across the country will come together to Break New Ground. Attendee registration will be opening soon, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, the exhibit floor of our inaugural Conference & Expo is filling up – do not delay in securing your space today! Sponsorships are also available.

For more information on exhibit space and sponsorships, visit our website or contact Khrysanne Kerr at [email protected]. We look forward to seeing everyone in Orlando next March!

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Register Now: Virtual Summer Committee Meetings (July 20-22)

Author: Sarah Magruder Lyle, CGA President & CEO  

We are looking forward to holding the CGA Summer Committee Meetings virtually in less than one month on Monday, July 20 through Wednesday, July 22! The meetings will be condensed with a focus on facilitated roundtable discussions, key program updates, and task team reports. On the final day of virtual meetings, the CGA will host an all-committee webinar that will include co-chairs’ updates on committee progress and provide an opportunity for cross-committee dialogue.

The summer virtual meetings will be facilitated on the GoToWebinar platform, allowing committee members to interact, view the webcams of up to six members at a time, utilize the chat feature for committee discussions, take advantage of polling, and incorporate meeting handouts.

Please visit the event webpage on the CGA site to view the daily schedule of meetings/webinars. Click on “register” for each of the virtual meetings you plan to attend. Unlike in-person committee meetings, you will receive a response directly from GoToWebinar with details on each of the virtual meetings with a unique link to join the meeting on the day of the call.

We look forward to seeing you all virtually in the coming weeks! Feel free to reach out to CGA staff with any questions or issues at [email protected].

News Brief

Underground Safety Alliance And 4iq Solutions Announce Software Partnership

Author: Mary Patricia Kindt, Underground Safety Alliance

The Underground Safety Alliance (USA), the umbrella not-for-profit organization for Indiana 811 and Kentucky 811, and 4iQ Solutions, a developer of call center software and cloud-based services, recently announced a partnership to bring 4iQ’s leading software platform to USA’s 811 notification centers. The software platform, Exactix, will help provide the call centers with a geocoding engine to define safe and accurate excavation notification areas. For more information about the partnership, click here.

 

Dig Safely New York Maintains Appropriate Response Times During Covid-19

Author: Devin R. Negrete, Dig Safely New York, Inc.  

Despite the current environment of COVID-19, Dig Safely New York (DSNY) has been able to maintain appropriate response times for incoming calls. The staff has answered location requests, worked with its utility members on any issues they may have had, and continued the process towards launching its new software platform, Exactix.

Although reduced office occupancy and working from home for staff is not permanent, the organization is taking steps to comply with the State and Federal COVID-19 regulations by purchasing what is needed for the office. For example, DSNY have CDC-approved reusable face masks designated for employees and disposable masks for all visitors who enter the building without a mask. Employees have also been asked to take certain precautions before entering the building such temperature checks. As they grow closer to reopening our facility, DSNY will mandate new regulations. This will not only protect visitors, but also employees so everyone can all stay safe together.

Member Tool & Resources

Share Your 8/11 Plans

Author: Khrysanne Kerr, CGA Vice President Of Marketing And Outreach

What does your organization have planned for August 11 (8/11) Day this year? Share your planned activities and events (virtual or otherwise) with damage prevention industry peers on CGA’s Engage platform.

Toolkits from previous 811 Day commemorations are available on the CGA website. New materials and resources, including infographics and social media messages, will be posted in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for more details.

Data & Technology

Technology Report Webinar And Presentation Slides Available For Download

Author: Erika Lee, CGA Vice President

Last month, the CGA Technology Committee held a webinar to discuss the third annual Technology Report, “Technology Advancements and Gaps in Underground Safety 2020,” to help the damage prevention industry understand the importance of technology used to prevent damages, protect assets and increase overall safety. The webinar also highlighted the three case studies featured in the report from CGA members SeeScan, Pacific Gas and Electric, and Leica Geosystems.

For those that were unable to attend or would like to go back and relisten to the webinar and view the presentation slides, click here. You can also download the full report here

Association News

Call 811 Generates Awareness At Belmont Stakes

Author: Khrysanne Kerr, CGA Vice President of Marketing & Outreach

Call 811 was back in the saddle at the 152nd Belmont Stakes! The CGA partnered with USA North 811 to bring the national call-before-you-dig number back to horseracing with the sponsorship of jockey Junior Avarado as he rode Modernist. The nationally televised and livestreamed event brought safe digging awareness to a large viewing audience across the globe.

For the first time in history, the Belmont Stakes was the first jewel of the Triple Crown with the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes postponed until later this summer. Stay tuned for more horseracing news and how your organization can get involved.
 

Cga Launches Next Practices Initiative

Author: Sarah Magruder Lyle, CGA President & CEO

We want to ensure members saw the recent announcement regarding the launch of the Next Practices Initiative which brings together damage prevention leaders to identify and support new industry practices and solutions to dramatically improve public safety. This concept was formed during CGA’s Inaugural Damage Prevention Roundtable, which brought together leadership across CGA’s 16 stakeholder groups to discuss challenges and solutions that can help reduce damages to critical underground infrastructure. The Next Practices Initiative will be overseen by an Advisory Group made up of leaders from these stakeholder groups.

For more information about the Next Practices Initiative, click here.

 

Cga Announces Program To Expand Dirt Submission Options Via Third-Party App Integration

Author: Sarah Magruder Lyle, CGA President & CEO

The CGA recently announced it is launching an effort to expand options for stakeholders to submit their damage incident and near miss data into the Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT). To achieve our collective damage prevention goals, it is critical that we have accurate and timely data from all damage prevention stakeholders and DIRT plays a central role in this effort.

The initiative will focus on enhancing options for companies submitting data directly into DIRT and will formalize a process for data submission through third-party app integration. The effort will address two goals of CGA’s Data Reporting & Evaluation Committee: to expand data submitted into DIRT across all stakeholder groups; and increase the “completeness” of data submitted into DIRT as measured by DIRT’s Data Quality Index (DQI).

For more information about this new program, please contact the DIRT team at [email protected].

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