The following are the 2018 Fall Geographic Council Meetings:

Toronto - December 4

Oshawa - December 6

Thunder Bay - December 14

If you didn't receive an invitation for a GC that you'd like to attend, contact Ashleigh Fehr:  ashleigh@orcga.com

Join us for the 2019 ORCGA Damage Prevention Symposium, February 13-15, at Sheraton on the Falls‎, Niagara Falls, ON.

This event is a signature event for the ORCGA, attracting more than 250 damage prevention management professionals and decision makers from across Ontario, including stakeholder groups such as oil and gas, municipalities, telecommunications, emergency management, electrical transmission, surveyors and provincial regulators.

Meet with colleagues to exchange industry information, focus on public awareness initiatives for damage prevention and expand stakeholder knowledge on provincial efforts to protect essential infrastructure.

The 2019 ORCGA Damage Prevention Symposium sponsorship opportunities have been greatly enhanced for this year; there are many new opportunities!

Symposium sponsorship is your opportunity to:

• Increase visibility for your organization.
• Develop relationships with new prospects and strengthen ties with existing clients.
• Differentiate your products and services from your competitors.
• Increase sales and build your customer base.
• Demonstrate industry leadership to delegates and decision makers.
• Align your brand with professional development and technology sessions.

Questions about sponsorship? Please contact Vicki Husome:
952.428.7982 vicki@emailir.com

The Damage Prevention Technician, DPT® program provides instruction on the fundamentals of locating based on locating processes employed by specific industries. Click here for the brochure. 

Click here for the DPT course schedule.

The Damage Infrastructure Reporting Tool (DIRT) Report plays an important role to reduce damages to underground infrastructure.

DIRT is a completely secure online database that allows damage prevention stakeholders to anonymously submit information about damages and near-misses, which in turn helps create an industry-wide picture of opportunities to improve safety. Facility owners, municipalities and contractors are among those who voluntarily submit data to DIRT.

By identifying damage and near miss data such as root cause, type of excavator, equipment and work performed, as well as the geographic regions, the Dig Community can assess both risk, opportunities to improve, and success stories.

The ORCGA has extended the deadline for accepting papers for the 2019 ORCGA Damage Prevention Symposium, Feb 13-15, 2019 at Sheraton on the Falls, Niagara Falls, ON.

The new deadlne is January 15, 2019.

Alectra Inc. was formed through the merger of three electricity distribution companies, Enersource Hydro, Horizon Utilities, and PowerStream, and the acquisition of Brampton Hydro, all within the Greater Golden Horseshoe area of southern Ontario.  This consolidation has resulted in Alectra becoming the second largest municipally-owned electricity utility, by customer base, in North America.

Effective March 2019, Ontario One Call will be moving any requests with more than a single civic to the web. Any requests that contain more than one civic, or have no civic associated will not be processed over the phone.

Click the link to find out what is changing, what doesn't change, and how you can prepare for the change.

Are you a user of Ontario One Call services? If you have contacted Ontario One Call by phone or by web in the past few months, this December 2018 training video is for you!

https://youtu.be/NNBupdGuiw8

Webinar Sessions are currently being planned for March 2019. Ontario One Call is taking suggestions as to what members and excavators would like to see. Please email Jeff at JHitchcock@ON1Call.com with your topics of interest.

This chart shows hydro excavating vs mechanical digging with regards to:  weather, job site disruption, safety, property damage risks, environmental sensitivity, and labour & cost.

The importance of traffic protection for road workers cannot be overstated. According to the Infrastructure Health & Safety Association (IHSA), over the past decade, there have been more than 8,200 roadwork-related injuries across Ontario. It’s imperative for all companies who work in and around roadways to ensure that traffic protection is a top priority and that an adequate training program is in place. Here are a few tips for ensuring road safety on the job.

***ALERT Commercial Property Owners*** Do you know the role you play in the public and private locate process when someone is digging on your property? Are you aware of the steps you need to follow to reduce the risk of damages near the buried utility infrastructure that you own?

If you are looking to make contributions to the damage prevention industry through best practices, reporting and evaluation, or events and education, the ORCGA committees are looking for your input.

Events and Communication Committee meeting: Dec. 7, Jan. 16

Reporting and Evaluation Committee meeting: 2019 ORCGA Damage Prevention Symposium

Best Practices Committee meeting: 2019 ORCGA Damage Prevention Symposium

Contact Jennifer by email or call 905.328.7063.