Dear Damage Prevention Stakeholders,
The Common Ground Alliance is pleased to publish its fifth annual Technology Report. The Technology Committee’s work focuses on highlighting innovative ideas and incentivizing the next generation of damage prevention technology. The 2022 Technology Report does just that, not only by showcasing exciting new technology applications, integrations and insights with damage prevention stakeholders – but also by underscoring key barriers to more widespread adoption of available solutions. I encourage you to explore the links on the following pages for additional details on featured technologies and share them with your colleagues. CGA has also created a new Technology Hub, where members can explore more in-depth damage prevention technology information year-round.
In both our professional and personal lives, the ever-increasing speed of technology development is truly stunning. In this Report, you will read about case studies submitted to the CGA Technology Committee featuring leading-edge damage prevention technology applications that are driving real-world successes. But you will also read some important insights about challenges to technology integration and adoption within the damage prevention industry that are preventing us from meaningfully driving down the annual rate of damages to buried infrastructure in North America.
A primary theme from CGA’s 2021 Report was the gap between the extensive range of existing technologies and the damage prevention industry’s utilization of some of those solutions. To meaningfully reduce damages, it will be important for all stakeholders to consider how their investments in technology and technology integration can make a more significant impact on the efficiency and effectiveness of damage prevention.
CGA surveyed damage prevention stakeholders about technology topics and priorities in June 2022, revealing a 43% enthusiasm gap among respondents’ ranking of their company/organization’s highest priorities when comparing safety and technology/innovation: 73% of respondents indicated safety is the highest priority while 30% indicated technology/innovation is the highest priority. It’s important that we consider technology investments and integrations as essential tools for helping us reach our goal of zero damages.
The case studies featured in this year’s Report showcase the power of integration, and a key takeaway from both CGA’s Next Practices Initiative and this Report is that ensuring our information systems talk to one another can prevent more damages and save more lives. For example, the industry’s willingness to share facility map data in particular – and the ability of locating technologies to integrate directly with facility maps – has begun to shift in the last few years, creating a significant opportunity to systemically reduce damages. We look forward to seeing the industry work more collaboratively, with the shared responsibility philosophy of damage prevention at the forefront.
In addition to reading this Report and our 2022 Technology Case Studies, please share it with key stakeholders within your organization. CGA members can also help strengthen our annual Technology Report by joining the Technology Committee or submitting new technologies for the Committee’s consideration.
Stay safe,
Sarah K. Magruder Lyle
CGA President and CEO