The BC Common Ground Alliance is a non-profit organization established to lead development of consistent practices and coordination of activities to ensure the highest possible standards of worker safety, public safety and damage prevention in connection with underground infrastructure.
The BC Common Ground Alliance is a unique consensus-driven organization with a direct conduit to regulatory innovation. It is open to any individual or organization with an interest in safety and underground infrastructure. The BC Common Ground Alliance considers that all involved with underground infrastructure or disturbance are responsible and accountable for the safety of their own procedures. It acknowledges, however, that it is in everyone’s best interest to work together to develop safe and consistent practices.
The BC Common Ground Alliance works to offer practical tools and to foster an environment in which anyone resident or doing business in British Columbia is aware of and compliant with best practices in regard to underground infrastructure or disturbance in order to ensure the safest possible environment for the citizens and workers of the province.
Vision
Damage Prevention is a Shared Responsibility.
Mission
To prevent damage to underground Infrastructure by developing consistent practices and coordination of activities to ensure the highest possible standards of worker and public safety awareness.
What We Do
BC Common Ground Alliance is coordinating working groups to develop and deliver:
- Best Practice Guidelines for Safe Excavation
- Safety Recognition – City of Excellence Award
- Education – Safe Digging Workshops
- National level priorities
- Advocacy for the use of the DIRT tool (statistical database of hits)
- Networking and collaborating
- Improving stakeholder engagement
- Responding to calls for input into regulatory amendments
- Circulation of relevant information regarding safety and industry practice
Why You Should Be Involved
How will you benefit?
Discover how you can experience BC Common Ground Alliance Membership…
Be Connected –
- Connect and dialogue with members.
- Share information with underground stakeholders and regulators.
- Network with various industry experts across North America.
Be Involved –
- Participate, volunteer and attend/ present at events.
- Participate in developing damage prevention Best Practices for British Columbia.
- Provide input into regulatory development and enforcement.
- Influence the work being done by CGA committees.
Be Educated –
- Increase your understanding of damage prevention issues.
- Gain exposure to new technologies in research & development.
- Peer educate and learn.
- Attend workshops, sessions and industry specific conferences.
Be Proactive –
- Demonstrate due diligence in the event of an incident.
- Reduce working days lost to accidents or work stoppage.
- Demonstrate your commitment to damage prevention.
- Stay on the forefront of new industry safety and practice.
- Promote safety and practice to the general public.
Be Recognized –
- Recognize those that have made contributions to the Alliance and receive recognition for your own successes.
- Demonstrate leadership in safety and damage prevention.
Be Safe –
- Demonstrate your industry’s commitment to safety.
- Lower the risks and the number of incidents associated with underground infrastructure.
- Create consistency and standards across industries.
- Improve worker and community safety.
- Save lives.