In January 2022, Alberta One-Call (AOC) will replace its long-standing notification-based revenue structure with an Annual Member Fee (AMF) to stabilize revenues in relation to operations. Since 2015, AOC has experienced a decline in notifications to members because of changes to member data registration, user optimization and system improvements.

Spring is a time of promise, a time of renewal, and most importantly, a time of planning. The digging season lies just ahead of us, like a giant stirring from a months-long slumber it looms large on the horizon. Excavators are drawing up plans for coming developments, homeowners are budgeting in anticipation of various maintenance projects, and Alberta One-Call begins its annual process of vetting, hiring and training new staff to shore up our barracks.

With spring just around the corner, the DigSafe ambassadors are gearing up for another season of cruising around the Calgary and Edmonton areas.The ambassadors have extensive knowledge and expertise about damage prevention in Alberta and are eager to share news and updates about recent industry changes, including the unification of the ABCGA and Alberta One-Call and incorporating overhead power line safety into the locate request process and our awareness campaign. Raising awareness about working safely near underground and overhead facilities is crucial to protecting workers and preventing damages to these facilities.

The Training Standards Committee currently has two different training standards: the Ground Disturbance 101 Standard and the Ground Disturbance 201 Standard. When taking an endorsed training program, you can be sure the content you are acquiring is consistent, accurate and endorsed by all stakeholders. Both of these standards were developed to identify the minimum content that anyone on a ground disturbance site should know and understand in their roles.

The tangled web of industry rules, regulations, standards and guidelines can cause confusion for many in the field trying to navigate a project safely. How is that web of information to be deciphered in the "real world" of an excavation site?

It helps to understand rules and regulations as a hierarchy so the relationships between the pieces becomes clearer.

Last month, Alberta One-Call (AOC) awarded ZGM Modern Marketing Partners with a contract to rebrand its 37-year-old damage prevention notification service – and it’s a tall order!

Do you have questions about requesting a locate online? Sign up for a free webinar to learn more about this process! Before You Dig Partners is hosting a webinar series to review the ticket submission process and recent software changes, and help system users address any hurdles they may have encountered while using the Pelican software.

Since October 1984, the message of “Call Before You Dig” (and more recently, “ClickBeforeYouDig™” and “Where’s the Line?”) has become a common mantra for homeowners, utility operators and the contractor community. These phrases encourage people to arrange for the locating and marking of buried facilities and overhead lines before their ground disturbance and construction activities are initiated.  While essential for the safe completion of projects big and small, have you considered that the damage prevention process may include other steps?