Utility Safety Partners presented the third annual USP Industry Recognition Awards for Excavator of the Year, Locator of the Year and Member of the Year at our AGM Luncheon in Red Deer on April 22.

Are you a Damage Prevention Professional? How can you be sure? That uncertainty is exactly what we’re working to solve. At conferences and workshops across the country, the idea of certifying Damage Prevention Professionals has sparked strong, consistent support. Industry voices are aligned: formalizing this role is overdue, and the time to act is now.

Submitting a locate request is a critical first step in any excavation project. Working with Utility Safety Partners (USP) helps ensure underground utilities are identified before digging begins, but the effectiveness of that process depends heavily on the quality and detail of the information you provide. Taking time to prepare to submit your request properly can prevent delays, reduce risk, and improve overall safety outcomes.

With Dig Safe Month here and the season ramping up, things are getting busy again. Out in the Edmonton area, you can see how quickly conditions are changing. New installs are happening regularly, projects are increasing, and what was accurate even a month ago may not reflect what is currently in the ground.
That is where a lot of the risk comes from.

April marks Safe Digging Month - a timely reminder that what lies beneath the surface can hurt you, your crew, and your schedule if not properly managed. In Alberta, working around live utilities such as gas lines, electrical cables, and fiber optics is not only a best practice - working safely around live utilities is a shared responsibility.

This month, USP launched the Look Up and Live map – a tool for Albertans to use when planning work near overhead energy and utility lines. Contacting overhead energy and utility lines can cause serious injury or even death. Despite being visible, there are hundreds of contacts with overhead power lines each year in Alberta. Most of these incidents involve large pieces of equipment being operated near overhead power lines...

Spring is here – and for many homeowners and contractors, that means it’s time to get outside and start digging into home and yard projects. April traditionally marks the start of digging season, when landscaping, fencing, and other improvement projects ramp up. Each year, more than 11,000 damages to buried infrastructure are reported nationwide, averaging over 45 damage incidents every workday. These incidents can lead to serious safety risks, service disruptions, environmental harm, and costly repairs. In many cases, they’re preventable.

That’s why April is Dig Safe Month.

Spring has sprung, maybe.

It sure is taking its sweet time however.. 2024 was very dry and somewhat warm, while 2025 was a little all over the place, and 2026 is committed to continuing this tradition by being completely unguessable. While ground crews (bless ‘em) work rain (or snow) or shine, Homeowners tend to wait for a few days of sun and the first buds to pop out before deluging us with calls. While we haven’t seen volume explode quite yet (though we are very close), we know that it is coming.

Attending the annual Utility Safety Partners AGM is always a great chance to catch up with others in the industry, chat about new and changing things and see what USP has completed in the last year as well as where we are heading in the next year. The digging season flies by in a flash...