Get the Earthmover & Civil Contractor Magazine free!

 
You are here: Home → News → 2010 → Newswire Archives → August → August 26th → Other Top Stories → NY Stock Exchange promotes Call Before You Dig

NY Stock Exchange promotes Call Before You Dig

— filed under: ,

Representatives from John Deere Construction & Forestry, the Common Ground Alliance and the US Department of Transportation, rang the ceremonial closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, to promote awareness of underground utilities through the use of the national 811 call-before-you-dig phone number. Because of harsh winters, much of North America is excavation unfriendly, from late November to at least April.

  

So it is April when the Common Ground Alliance, a national association created to prevent damage to underground utility infrastructure, puts in its spoke for publicising National Safe Digging Month. Though awareness and use of 811 has significantly decreased the number of underground utility strikes in the US, the fact that there are still fatalities and damages from hitting gas and utility lines underscores the need for a continued safety campaign.
“It’s not enough that the number of strikes has decreased in each of the last five years, because even one strike is too many,” CGA president Bob Kipp said on Friday.
In 2004, it was estimated that there were 450,000 instances of damage from striking underground lines. However, as a result of the work of CGA and its many supporters, that number has decreased by more than 60% to 170,000 damaging incidents in 2009.
To further encourage safe digging, John Deere is sharing portions of safety videos on YouTube beginning next month. The first featuring excavators will be posted at www.YouTube.com/JohnDeere.
The Federal Communication Commission-designated 811 number, was launched in 2007 by the CGA, the equivalent of Australia’s 1100, to eliminate the confusion of multiple call-before-you-dig numbers that were being used across the country. As a result homeowners, farmers and contractors can call one easy-to-remember number to have crews mark a requested site for underground lines prior to any excavation.
Deere helped spread the word when the 811 number was first established in 2007 and has also been a driving force behind National 811 Day (each August 11) and the Safe Digging Month awareness campaign each northern spring. In addition to including information about 811 on its website, the company has featured the 811 logo prominently in its advertising and as part of its booth display during some of the construction industry’s most prominent trade shows.


Weekly Top Stories

Document Actions