USP Industry Recognition Awards – 2024 Winners

USP Industry Recognition Awards – 2024 Winners

Utility Safety Partners presented the USP Industry Recognition Awards for Excavator of the Year, Locator of the Year and Member of the Year at our Safety Conference in Edmonton on April 14th.

The ‘USPY’s” (as we affectionately call them) shine a light on those who believe that damage prevention is a shared responsibility, who engage with others to drive continuous improvement, and who raise the bar for others.

2024 EXCAVATOR of the YEAR

VOLKER STEVIN

One of the largest excavation companies in Alberta, Volker Stevin impresses with its safety record and commitment to safety excellence from the highest executives to every boot on the ground. Management consults regularly with the Safety Team to foster continuous improvement in policy and procedure.
Every crew is trained in Ground Disturbance and review and confirms locates before starting any job. They also conduct regular testing of their Line Hit – Emergency Response Procedures to ensure they know the plan in the case of an accidental line hit.

Volker Stevin is actively engaged in the committee work of USP and participate in keeping Best Practices current.

Shaun Hubbs accepts the Excavator of the Year award on behalf of Volker Stevin.

2024 LOCATOR of the YEAR

KEITH BARTLETT (EM Utility Locating)

Keith has provided locates, training and audits in the Edmonton area for 11 years and is driven to improve locating standards and processes for both locators and their clients.

Keith brought innovation to locating in Alberta by implementing the use of drone technology to deliver accurate locate diagrams.

He participates on the Training and Standards Committee at CAPULC and is joining USPs Training Standards Committee in 2025.

 

Keith Bartlett accepts the Locator of the Year award.

2024 MEMBERS of the YEAR

ASTEC SAFETY and GLOBAL TRAINING

This year's co-recipients are well-established as leaders in the damage prevention industry in Alberta. While they are competitors in business, these two companies routinely set aside that competition to lend their expertise to improve the process and safety outcomes. Without their willingness to collaborate, the Alternate Locate Provider program could not have been launched last year.

Both companies 'walk the walk' when it comes to USP membership and promoting, supporting and improving damage prevention processes. The actively support USP by steering the Training Standards Committee

Debbie Shelley (Global Training) and Jeff Mulligan (Astec Safety) accept the Members of the Year award.

CONGRATULATIONS to our 2024 award recipients and all nominees. Thank you to those who participated on a selection committee.

About the Industry Recognition Awards
USP introduced the awards in early 2023 to recognize Albertans in the damage prevention industry who demonstrate USPs core values of safety, advocacy, and engagement. Award recipients are selected from a pool of candidates nominated by their peers. We believe stakeholders should decide for themselves who are the leaders and difference makers to be celebrated in their industry.

USP facilitates the process by publishing the minimum criteria, posting and collecting nomination forms between October 15 and December 31 each year, screening the initial list of candidates for eligibility, then providing the nominee information and scoring matrix to selection committees comprised of industry peers in each category. The nominees scored the highest by the committees are declared to be that year’s recipients.

The awards will be announced and presented during Dig Safe Month (April) each year. Award recipients are acknowledged on the USP web site and social media.

To review the Industry Awards Process or to submit a nomination next year, see our WEBSITE.

Sher Kirk – Operations Director, Utility Safety Partners