Canadian Common Ground Alliance
On September 26, 2011, the CCGA filed its response with the CRTC relative to the comments it received for its application for joint use of 811. At this time, the CCGA posts this summary of the response for interested parties.
The 811 Chopper, commissioned by One Call Concepts, was unveiled in the U.S. today.
Click HERE to see the photo!
Senator Rod Zimmer presented the Common Ground Alliance with "811" Winnipeg Jets jerseys in recognition of the contribution to public, worker and community safety across North America. Senator Zimmer, who is from Winnipeg, made the presentation at his Ottawa office on Parliament Hill on Thursday, October 27, 2011 with Mr. Steven Loney, a representative of the Manitoba Common Ground Alliance.
Click HERE for the full story.
CSA Standards has just published CSA S250 Mapping of Underground Utility Infrastructure. This new standard has its origins from long established mapping best practices and internal utility company mapping standards. It has been developed by a committee of nationwide industry subject matter experts, regulators, general interest and user groups, all with a vested interest in improving the overall quality and consistency of mapping and records information.
Until recently, accurately identifying and recording the positional location of utility infrastructure was not formally required nor was it carried out in a consistent manner. Today, there are thousands of kilometres of underground pipes and cables whose locations have never been accurately mapped or recorded.
One of the key benefits of CSA S250 will be improved accuracy and reliability and more confidence in the location and properties of underground infrastructure. This Standard also promotes better record keeping that will improve the safety of company and contractor employees, the environment, as well as the public by reducing the utility hits or strikes. The Standard establishes accuracy levels that set tolerances for the spatial accuracy of as-builts. It also specifies the utility attributes (e.g. colours, naming conventions, symbology) to be used for describing and depicting underground utility infrastructure. The goal is to encourage consistency when data is shared and reviewed. The standard also requires a more structured approach and governance to mapping utility records by establishing procedures for improved mapping accuracy and a uniform format for utility feature descriptions, as well as processes for notification of mapping errors and practices when sharing data.
CSA S250 can be purchased at www.shopCSA.ca.
Mark Goldberg, one of Canada's leading technology and telecommunications bloggers, published a blog post today, October 12, 2011 about the CCGA's application to the CRTC to broaden the assignment of 811.
Please see Mark's blog post, Finding Common Ground.
Minister of Natural Resources Canada, Joe Oliver, proclaimed support to broaden the assignment of the 811 dialing code in a speech delivered to the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association's annual dinner on September 29, 2011 in Calgary, Alberta.
"I know that you are doing your part in maintaining your safety record. I know you fully understand that a good track record in safety and environmental performance helps to create a distinct competitive advantage. This is why we support your campaign to create an “811” number for Canada’s “Call Before You Dig” program. Protecting Canada’s underground utility network is of paramount importance and making that phone call could save lives and avoid accidents."
The application filed by the CCGA in July requests the CRTC to broaden the assignment of the 811 dialing code to include "Call Before You Dig" services.
The CCGA's application attracted 200 letters of support from a wide spectrum of buried utility, damage prevention and safety stakeholders from across Canada.
The Canadian Common Ground Alliance (CCGA) filed its response to comments on its application to broaden the assignment of the 811 dialing code with the CRTC earlier today.
To view the CCGA's response to the CRTC, please click the link below.
CCGA Response to Comments (filed September 26, 2011).
Damage Prevention is a Shared Responsibility
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