Last Word: Gold Shovel Standard More Important Now Than Ever Before
Damage prevention is very complex. It is an appreciation of this complexity that led me to explore, and later, after being asked, to serve on the Board of Directors of Gold Shovel Standard (GSS). It is a program that promises to enhance safety and damage prevention more now than ever before.
GSS is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit advocacy group dedicated to increasing public and workforce safety during excavation activities, and committed to continued improvement of all stakeholders through transparency in underground safety and damage-prevention performance.
GSS believes significant reduction in damages can be realized when all responsible stakeholders, including buried-asset owner/operators, excavators and locators, continuously improve their safety and damage prevention programs. We also acknowledge that reliable measurements underpin continuous improvement. Several high-profile entities, Kinder Morgan, PG&E, SoCalGas, Xcel Energy, Quanta Services and Miller Pipeline, among them, agree with this assessment.
How Does Gold Shovel Standard Do It?
A core principle of GSS is fair and transparent metrics. Fair and transparent metrics have become a staple in other areas of the business world, and are a very effective means of driving continuous improvement. Our data-driven environment now uses metrics in determining everything from hospital patient safety to car safety and efficiency. Why should safety and damage prevention stakeholders settle for less?
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Developing broadly-deployed damage prevention metrics for buried asset-owners, excavators and locators is key to a dramatic increase in public and workforce safety. Though most of us put safety first, some stakeholders do not put safety first – who do anything to get the job done and who do not worry about their impact on the areas they work in and the people that live there. A program like GSS is a natural evolution in the 811 Process that should be continuously improving.
I’m Introduced to Gold Shovel Standard
I was initially skeptical about the GSS program and the achievability of its goals. There are many organizations that have worked to move the needle on excavation safety and damage prevention. GSS has filled a void where no official mechanism existed for identifying those who embrace safety and keeping damages to vital facilities at a minimum.
GSS had a rocky start in terms of program implementation and miscommunication with stakeholders involved. But over the last six months of seeking the advice and counsel of people in the construction industry – and getting buy-in from both buried asset owners and the contractor community, GSS has started the process of introducing data into excavation safety and standards. In the past few months, GSS has created an Excavator Metrics Committee that is comprised mostly of contractors (70 percent), and they are working to create a system of reporting that results in a series of combined metrics that are perceived as fair and transparent by excavation contractors.
GSS continues to work hand-in-hand with all stakeholders, and seeks to keep the program nimble and responsive to the challenges we face. GSS recognizes that all stakeholders care about safety, and seeks to put that concern front and center.
GSS also acknowledges the two-way road that is underground utility safety and damage prevention. Utilities have to take responsibility for their buried infrastructure and also take ownership of the primacy of the need for good and cautious contractors who follow safety protocols.
Conclusion
GSS believes that no significant reduction in damages will be obtained unless all responsible parties (operators, excavators, locators) continuously improve, and measurements underpin continuous improvement.
RELATED: Last Word: National Safe Digging Month Reminds Us Why 811 Is Critical
Metrics remains a key part of the GSS mission, and we will continue to explore using them to enhance and improve the 811 Process. The absence of metrics to measure the performance of individual companies in damage prevention is a glaring gap in our ability to continuously improve.
The promise of GSS is to expand opportunities for stakeholders, particularly excavators, in an era of booming construction. The excavating community is filled with good players and well-established players, as well as people new to the industry. We invite any interested party to reach out directly to the program for the latest and most up-to-date information and we will be happy to connect anyone directly with peer companies to hear from them how the program is working.
