The Alternate Locate Provider (ALP) Program (expected to be available at the start of the 2024 digging season) is a new option for how locates can be delivered in Alberta.  Development of the program started almost 2 years ago, when shallow utility owners began workshopping a locate and marking standard . Asset owners knew that increasing the pool of locators authorized to locate their assets would be necessary to maintain the integrity of the damage prevention process.

As the calendar rolled over into another year, I had a chance to review USP’s activity in 2023 while we plan and gear up for new challenges in 2024. We will soon release a year-end report for stakeholders, and here are some of the highlights.

The ability to communicate with one another has evolved considerably over the last two decades but the desire to get our point across, whether we were sending smoke signals across mountain ranges or messages by carrier pigeon across greater distances, has always been there. 

As we head into the dead of winter, some people could use a refresher on how to survive in emergency conditions during inclement weather. Some people — but we’re Canadians right?! We know all the usual tips and tricks (keep a first aid kit with winter survival gear in the car, wear layers, stock extra food/water in case of a power outage, etc.). But we already know all this, so let’s focus on some not-so-well-known tricks to make your winter as safe as it can be.

How do the various integrity personnel interact with one another: employees, contractors, consultants, and vendors? Each has data, experience, expertise, and opinions to contribute. How do these come together in making decisions?

Utility Safety Partners’ Damage Prevention legislation objective continues to move forward – and I have a favour to ask.

Concentric Public Affairs created a microsite dedicated to all things legislation, providing a fact sheet, backgrounder, narrated presentation of our legislative journey, and electronic version of the proposed legislation.

The holidays are done and gone, and we’re all back to the grind. Last year, we saw a pretty relaxed and mild winter (from a Contact Centre perspective — the weather was actually so cold that we fielded very few calls!), but in 2023-24 we’re seeing a yo-yo of a winter, with weather being extremely warm in December, to being devastatingly cold in January (and then back to warm again)! The Contact Centre has been buzzing along as a result, and we’re busy as Ds! (D…PAs that is).