DIRT

Damage Information Reporting Tool

In BC, quantifying hits to underground infrastructure has been uneven at best. In some cases, statistics have not been maintained. As a result, stakeholders have not been able to effectively determine how many damage events occur each year, the causes of these events or the circumstances surrounding, causing or preventing these events. The Damage Information Reporting Tool allows the BCCGA to generate a high-level picture of safety and damage prevention in relation to excavation practice and the protection of underground infrastructure. This, in turn, should help all involved improve worker and public safety and protect underground infrastructure in BC.

BCCGA data collection is built on the Common Ground Alliance USA’s (CGA) Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT). Since 2003, DIRT has been the North American standard for data collection and reporting of underground damage information. It is a secure web application that allows users to remain anonymous and submit damage/ near miss reports, browse files by the user’s organization, and submit feedback and questions. Anyone involved in underground facilities can contribute to and generate information from the DIRT tool.

In 2011, the BCCGA purchased Virtual Private DIRT. This has allowed us to provide a data collection tool that is tailored to the needs of British Columbia.

For a collection of hits in North America, please see our report titled Sample of Incidents Involving Underground Infrastructure in BC and Canada 2008 to 2012.

Purpose of Data Collection

The primary purpose in collecting underground facility damage data is to analyze data, learn why events occur and determine what actions by industry can prevent them in the future, thereby ensuring the safety and protection of people and infrastructure.  The use of BC Virtual Private DIRT will allow the BCCGA to identify root causes, perform trend analyses, and ultimately help educate all stakeholders so that damages can be reduced through more effective practices and procedures.

Getting Started

Any company or excavator doing business in BC can submit data by registering at www.cga-dirt.com and selecting the British Columbia Virtual Private DIRT.

DIRT Reports

The CGA publishes annual DIRT Reports that can be accessed from their website.

The 2022 DIRT report for Canada was published in November 2023: National DIRT Report 2022 – English

Previous Reports:

CGA DIRT Presentation ~ October 2011

Krysanne Kerr of CGA attended our October 2011 Member meeting and gave us a presentation of the value of the DIRT tool.