From the Boiler Room: A Peek Into the USP Committee Collaboration Engine

Ben King, Administrator, Stakeholder Relations, Utility Safety Partners

If there’s one thing I’ve learned working with USP’s committees, it’s that collaboration is the fuel to the damage prevention engine. Each committee brings its own strengths to the table; Education & Awareness gets the word out, Best Practices sets the bar high, and Training Standards ensure the STANDARDs live and breathe in the real world. But when these groups start talking to each other? That’s where things get even more interesting for me.

My role is a bit like tending the engine room between committees, keeping the lines open and the ideas flowing while we all drive the same mission, preventing damage and keeping Albertans safe around buried utilities. Whether it’s E&A promoting the Homeowner Edition of the Damage Prevention Process (developed by Best Practices), or TSC making sure the base knowledge equilibrium reaches the digging community at large. Collaboration keeps our work consistent and grounded, relatively undisturbed, haha, get it?

Behind the scenes, a lot of what I do is help ideas travel, I'm sort of like Kamaji from Spirited Away (the old man in the bottom of the bath house) of ground disturbance improvement. Turning committee conversations into coordinated efforts and making sure good ideas don’t stay in one silo. We all share a common goal, and it doesn’t matter which committee you sit on, you’re part of the same mission.

At the end of the day, USP committees are proof that teamwork really does make the (damage prevention) dream work. Every document, discussion, and decision adds to one big collective push to protect Albertans and the infrastructure we all rely on. 
 
It might look like organized chaos sometimes, but every moving part has purpose and together, we’re keeping the spirit (and safety) of collaboration alive.