Damage Prevention & Safety
Unusual Sliplining Solutions Developed on Los Angeles Project
Rehabilitating or replacing large-diameter sewer lines in heavily populated areas always is a challenge: heavy traffic complicates work and causes disruptions and traffic delays, creating a ripple affect extending far beyond the construction zones.
National Safe Digging Month Highlights Importance of Calling 811
(UC) - As the calendar turns to April and spring temperatures arrive, home improvement and construction work steadily increases. Since these projects often require digging and excavation, it is appropriate that April is designated as National Safe Digging Month. This nationwide public safety initiat..
Miami-Dade Almost Out of Money for Federally Mandated Sewage System Upgrades
Miami-Dade County, Fla., is on the brink of running out of money to pay for federally mandated upgrades to its outdated sewage system. This revelation comes just days after more than 700,000 gallons of sewage dumped into Biscayne Bay from the last remaining pump station yet to be scheduled for repairs.
Avanti International Celebrates 40 Year Anniversary
Avanti International is proud to announce that the company has reached a milestone, celebrating 40 years as an industry leader.
AUCSC 2019 Offers Underground Corrosion Training
The 64rd annual Appalachian Underground Corrosion Short Course (AUCSC 2019) will take place May 7–9, 2019 in Morgantown, W.V. , covering topics that include instrumentation, corrosion surveys, cathodic protection, pipe coatings and miscellaneous methods of corrosion control.
Ansonia Sewer Authority to Pay Cost of Sewer Collapse; Chairman Walks Out
A heated dispute over who will pay for the massive sewer pipe collapse in Ansonia, Conn., ended with the apparent resignation of city's Water Pollution Control Authority chairman after his commissioners authorized paying the bill.
Call or Click for Safe Digging
Calling 811 before any digging begins starts the process of identifying and marking buried utility lines in the United States and preventing the damage, service disruption, injuries, potential fines and costly repairs that result from unintentionally hitting them.
Revamped CGA DIRT Report Estimates Increased Damage to Buried Utilities
Common Ground Alliance (CGA), the stakeholder-driven organization dedicated to protecting underground utility lines, people who dig near them and their communities, recently announced its findings and analysis of utility damage and near-miss events in the 2017 Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT..
Nearly 36 Miles of Pipeline Replaced after Mass. Gas Explosions
BOSTON — The utility company involved in last month’s explosions and fires in Massachusetts said it has replaced nearly 36 miles of main pipeline in the area. NiSource subsidiary Columbia Gas said it’s 80% through work replacing 45 miles of main pipeline, and about halfway through its work replacin..
Using Risk to Drive Pipeline Integrity Programs
Jennifer Steffens, P.E. | NASSCO Pressure Pipe Committee The management of critical infrastructure is a major challenge for water and wastewater utilities as populations increase, available resources decrease, and pipelines need to be maintained, since wholesale replacement of these assets is not..
Safe-T-Stik Protects Workers, Equipment, Job Site (1)
Safe-T-Stik is a magnetic tag line safety tool for moving heavy, unwieldly, unforgiving and potentially hazardous steel objects at a job site. Comprised of fiberglass, machined aluminum and stainless steel, Safe-T-Stik is lightweight, but its custom-built neodymium magnet has a tested pull force of..
Safe-T-Stik Protects Workers, Equipment, Job Site
Safe-T-Stik is a magnetic tag line safety tool for moving heavy, unwieldly, unforgiving and potentially hazardous steel objects at a job site. Comprised of fiberglass, machined aluminum and stainless steel, Safe-T-Stik is lightweight, but its custom-built neodymium magnet has a tested pull force of..
Utility Worker Fatally Shot at Job Site in Kansas City
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City police are investigating the shooting death of a utility worker at a job site. Police say 23-year-old Johnathon Porter, of Appleton City, was shot Monday morning. He was working at the construction site for InfraSource, a contractor for Spire Energy. T..
API, Union Establish Pipeline Construction Safety Training Program
The American Petroleum Institute (API) and North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) have established a Pipeline Construction Safety Training Program. This landmark program will combine the best practices of both the building trades unions and the natural gas and oil industry into a foundationa..
New York City Celebrates National Work Zone Awareness Week
New York City recently held a ceremony recognizing the importance of keeping public works and utility employees safe in honor of National Work Zone Awareness week, April 9–13. The event took place along the Grand Central Parkway in Corona, Queens. “The men and women of DEP who build and maintain t..
Sewer Worker Dies After Machine Hits Power Line; 2 Others Hurt
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) — One worker was killed and two others were injured when a piece of machinery being used to repair a sewer hit an overhead power line in Pennsylvania. Cambria County Coroner Jeffrey Lees says a 30-year-old man died Thursday after being electrocuted at a work site in Johnst..
Common Ground Alliance Seeks Data Submissions for 2017 DIRT Report
Common Ground Alliance (CGA), the stakeholder-run organization dedicated to protecting underground utility lines, people who dig near them, and their communities, today released a statement urging damage prevention stakeholders to submit data from 2017 underground excavation damages and near miss ev..
OSHA Fines Company After 2 Employees Die at Sewer Station
PETAL, Miss. (AP) – A federal workplace safety agency has fined a Mississippi business nearly $28,000 after two men died while working on a sewer lift station. The Hattiesburg American reports that the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration initially proposed fines of $43,000 against Sc..
Proposed Standard Aims To Reduce Plastic Pipe Production Contamination, Costs
A standard proposed by ASTM International’s plastic piping systems committee aims to use best practices to prevent contamination in manufacturing polyethylene pipe and fittings. Manufacturers could use the WK56697 standard to prevent contamination from virgin resin, reprocessed pipe (rework) and oth..
CUES Releases PICS Cross Bore Inspection Camera
The new CUES Pullback Inspection Camera System (PICS) 2-inch to 4-inch bore hole inspection camera helps eliminate cross bores in directional drilling operations. Its robust inspection capabilities provide a powerful way to inspect, assess, mitigate, record and manage HDD operations. PICS is compat..
Holehat
With falls accounting for the greatest number of fatalities in the workplace, and fall protection being the most-violated OSHA standard, Jeremy Haskins, P.E., created Holehat to eliminate this hazard when maintenance, cleaning and inspection work is done via the utility manhole. Placed into open 24..
Flint-Area Worker Trapped Under Water in Trench Dies
BURTON, Mich. (AP) — Police say a 33-year-old Flint-area man has died after being trapped underwater for about 20 minutes when a water main burst during construction work. Burton Police Detective Don Schreiber tells The Flint Journal that 33-year-old Curtis Duane Hollingshead of Davisson died..
Pipeline Contractor Achieves Safety Milestone
Blackeagle Energy Services today announced the company has achieved a safety-performance milestone when it recently exceeded 2.5 million man hours without a lost-time incident. “At Blackeagle, it is an expectation to work safely,” said Mike Walker, Blackeagle’s Safety Manager. “Working 2.5 million ..
Authorities ID Victims in Western Michigan Trench Collapse
WYOMING, Mich. (AP) — Authorities have identified the man killed in a trench collapse in western Michigan and say the man who was rescued was his father. Wyoming firefighters said Tuesday the collapse killed 30-year-old Christopher James Godfrey, who was completely buried by dirt. Firefighters res..
1 Worker Dead, Another Rescued After Trench Collapse
WYOMING, Mich. (AP) — Authorities say a trench collapse in western Michigan has left one worker dead and one rescued. Wyoming Fire Chief Chuck Lark said firefighters were called about 2 p.m. Monday to a residence where the collapse occurred. He tells The Grand Rapids Press that when they arrived, o..
In Allo’s Rapid Digging, Lincoln Encounters Growing Pains
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Allo’s massive digging operation has unearthed a series of public safety and business challenges in Lincoln as its crews hustle to provide high-speed internet citywide. Predictably, contractors installing Allo’s fiber-optic cable have been the main contributors to a surge in th..
Water District Recognized for Commitment to Safety
Illinois American Water has announced the company’s Cairo District has gone 18 years without experiencing any lost-time accidents. According to Michael Brown, Illinois American Water Cairo District’s Operations Superintendent, ensuring employees complete every job safely requires a daily commitment..
Illinois American Water's Pekin District Celebrates 7 Years of Safety Excellence
Illinois American Water announced the Pekin District has gone over 7 years without experiencing any lost-time accidents. “Safety is on our minds every minute of every day,” Cord Crisler, Illinois American Water’s Operations Superintendent, said “There is nothing more important than ensuring our emp..
Cross Bore Analysis Review of Best Practices And Changing Trenchless Market
Since the first cross bore discovery in Kenosha, WI, in 1976, investor-owned utilities and municipalities have completed substantial research and discovery into cross bore prevention, trenchless construction innovation and safety awareness. As trenchless technology has improved, the ability of the c..
GLTA Announces Annual Meeting Plans
The Great Lakes Trenchless Association (GLTA) is partnering with MISS DIG 811 for the 2018 Annual Membership Meeting, Conference & Expo on March 15 – 16. The event will be held at the Soaring Eagle Casino, Resort & Waterpark in Mt. Pleasant, MI. This convention will consist of four educational sess..
- Trench collapse kills one construction worker in Houston, Texas
- Intrepid Fiber breaks ground on fiber optic network in Superior, Colo.
- Excavator collides with I-95 overpass in Henrico, Va., causing multi-vehicle crash
- Shrewsbury, Mass., expands sewer inspections and cleaning efforts
- Construction worker killed in trench collapse near Prosperity, S.C.
- Final construction phase kicks off for Indianapolis deep rock tunnel
- Texas contractor penalized by OSHA for repeated trench safety violations
- Trench collapse kills one construction worker in Houston, Texas
- WES tunnel boring machine retrieved from Oregon river after seven-month project
- Illinois overhauls Peoples Gas pipeline program, mandates focus on high-risk pipes