AEM, CGA Partner to Expand 811 Safety Messaging Across New Equipment Sold in US

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The Association of Equipment Manufacturers and the Common Ground Alliance have partnered to advance safe digging awareness, support consistent industry guidance and promote best practices for contacting 811 before digging and operating equipment around underground infrastructure. As one of the first tangible actions under the shared principles, AEM and CGA are recommending that non-highway equipment manufacturers add an 811-reminder decal to equipment that may unintentionally dig into underground utilities. Such contact can cause power outages, utility service interruptions and lead to serious injury or death of the operator or innocent bystanders. The decal reminds operators to contact 811 to have […]

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Patent-Pending Tech May Help Prevent Hazardous Underground Utility Strikes

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The Common Ground Alliance estimated in 2019 that the annual total social costs of underground infrastructure damage in the United States reached approximately $30 billion. With that in mind, Purdue University engineers have developed a patent-pending method to decrease hazardous strikes to underground utility pipes during construction projects. Engineers are improving upon traditional ground-penetrating radar data to better estimate the location, orientation and radius of underground utility pipes with new technology that could lower related financial losses, service disruptions, injuries and fatalities. The research uses a Bayesian framework to quantify uncertainty in estimating underground pipe depth, horizontal position, orientation and […]

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Survey Data: More than 60M Plan to Dig this Spring

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In observance of National Safe Digging Month in April, Common Ground Alliance announced results from a new national survey. Nearly three in four American homeowners plan to tackle an outdoor project involving digging in the next 12 months, translating to an estimated 60 million households breaking ground this year. Yet an estimated 10 million plan to skip contacting 811 – the designated call-before-you-dig service that helps prevent dangerous and costly utility strikes. Striking an underground utility line – whether gas, electric, water, sewer or communications – can cause serious injury, service disruptions for entire neighborhoods and repair bills that could outpace any DIY savings. […]

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CGA DIRT Report Highlights Concerning Levels of Damages to Buried Utilities, Signals Need for Industry-Wide Changes

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Common Ground Alliance recently published its 2024 Damage Information Reporting Tool Report. The latest analysis reveals that the CGA Index, which measures year-over-year damage trends, rose from 94 in 2023 to 96.7 in 2024, signaling that the industry is moving in the wrong direction in reducing damages to buried utilities. The annual DIRT Report provides the most comprehensive accounting of damages to buried power, water, fiber, natural gas and other utility lines in the U.S. and Canada. This year’s report analyzed 196,977 unique damage reports from 2024, finding that despite organization-level success stories and sector-specific improvements, the industry is not […]

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Survey Finds 46% of Americans Plan to Dig Without Calling 811, Risking Utility Disruptions, Hazards

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In observance of National Safe Digging Month in April, Common Ground Alliance has announced results from a recent national survey which found 27.2 million Americans planning digging projects in the next year will not contact 811, putting themselves and their communities at risk. Digging without knowing the location of underground utilities can lead to service outages, costly fines and repairs, and even serious injury or death. Accidentally striking gas, electric, communications, water or sewer lines can cause significant disruptions to homes and businesses. A free 811 request is available by calling 811 or submitting a ticket online. A dig request […]

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