Are Your Underground Assets Registered?
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As we move full steam ahead into the 2025 digging season, many asset owners are realizing that their databases with Utility Safety Partners may not be up-to-date. These realizations often come when a utility must be manually added to tickets at the excavator’s request, when asset owners recognize they did not receive a request for an area where they have underground lines, or, in the worst cases, when a line is struck by excavation. This often results in utility owners questioning why the database with Utility Safety Partners does not match what the asset owners see on their side. Utility Safety Partners does not subscribe to outside sources of data such as AbaData or the AER. This means that if a member does not explicitly tell USP that a database update needs to be applied, then no update is done in the system, possibly resulting in missed requests, damages and/or injuries. We rely on our member companies to update us when changes to their underground infrastructure happen. Not updating maps with USP can be disastrous!
As a utility owner, what can you do?
Ensure that your map is updated whenever new assets are added, or old assets are removed. There is a 14-day turn-around for maps to be applied in the system. This means that should you discover missing assets; it still may take up to 2 weeks to become live in the USP system. If a member realizes that lines are missing, we cannot usually accommodate same-day updates. Planning is essential!
Utility Safety Partners is here to help!
Speaking of planning ahead-Every year in January, Utility Safety Partners sends out a notice to members who have not updated their maps in the past year, reminding companies of the importance of submitting changes in a timely manner.
Promptly registering and submitting databases is the responsibility of each utility owner, but Utility Safety Partners can assist with any questions that may arise.
Should you require a copy of what is currently registered in the system, instructions on how to update databases, or have general inquiries about maps, please reach out to info@utilitysafety.ca
Tasha Hunter - Member Services, Utility Safety Partners
