WorldWide Drilling Resource

17 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® FEBRUARY 2014 Common Ground Alliance Launches Damage Prevention Database Adapted from a Press Release by Common Ground Alliance Common Ground Alliance (CGA), the stakeholder-run organization dedi- cated to protecting underground utility lines and the people who dig near them, recently announced the launch of a new comprehensive online utility damage prevention technology infor- mation source called VAULT. The data- base, at www.cga-vault.com , can be used to identify technologies that help reduce damages to the more than 100 billion feet of underground facilities in the United States. VAULT is an easy-to-use, search- able database that provides product specifications, equipment capability, and company representative contact information for each technology listed. Damage prevention technologies are searchable by technology category, CGA Best Practices, related root caus- es, and/or stakeholder group. Anyone with internet access can use the VAULT database, and companies offer- ing damage prevention technologies are encouraged to submit their products. A project of CGA’s Technology Committee, and developed by damage prevention software company KorTerra, VAULT was created to further the com- mittee’s goal to stimulate awareness and promote use of technologies that support CGA Best Practices, and miti- gate risk of damage as identified through Damage Information Reporting Tool data analysis. It also supports the com- mittee’s technology research strategy by collecting and circulating scientific and technical information that may pro- mote, improve, or advance damage prevention of underground utilities. “We are continual ly working to connect damage prevention stakehold- ers with al l avai lable resources for reducing the number of damages to underground faci l ities,” said CGA President Bob Kipp. “VAULT is a pow- erful tool that associates damage pre- vention technology solutions with our Best Practices, applicable Root Causes, and more. The VAULT database puts valuable information right at the finger- tips of anyone hoping to better protect buried utility lines.” VAULT wi l l be overseen by the Technology Committee, with technolo- gy companies managing information about their damage prevention prod- ucts and resources. “America is not a land of money, but of wealth; not a land of rich people, but of successful workers.” h Henry Ford