Northern CBYD Program announced in Marathon

by Karina Hunter

Minister Northern Development Mines & Forests Michael Gravelle hears from White regarding the program, right Larry Joy, Executive Assistant to Gravelle.

April 23^rd Keith White, Business Development Manager, DigNORTH, presented the
company’s innovative Ontario Call Before You Dig program to municipal leaders attending the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association (NOMA) 2010 Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Conference in Marathon. 

The program will see a utility locate notification  centre established in Northern Ontario providing a one-call solution to safe excavation. Homeowners or contractors will make one call to the CBYD utility locate notification centre which then notifies all of the utilities under the geographic footprint of the intent to dig.  Anyone who has undertaken the tedious process of attempting to identify buried infrastructure, even in their own backyard, knows of the stress uncertainty can bring when calling local utilities; the cable provider, hydro, municipal public works, natural gas, and wondering – Did I miss anyone? The days of putting your shovel in the ground with fingers crossed in the hopes that you’ve called all potential
sources of buried infrastructure are coming to an end. 

Left to right NOMA President and Mayor of Dryden Anne Krassilowsky, Minister of Northern Development Mines and Forests the Hon. Michael Gravelle, DigNorth Business Development Manager Keith White and CEO Mike Rauseo.

White explained to attendees of NOMA that DigNorth’s CBYD (Call Before You Dig) service has provided one number, 1-888-ONT-CBYD, to service all of the North. A dedicated service for homeowners and contractors, in which they place the call for a utility locate request via a single point of contact eliminating stress and reducing risk by ensuring all utilities have been notified, and that it is safe to dig. It is the intention of DigNORTH to have contractors become members of the CBYD program; recently,at the Infrastructure Health and Safety Association (IHSA) Water & Sewer Forum in Thunder Bay, White presented to 140 contractors who were unanimous in their proclivity to purchase annual memberships with CBYD.  

With their unique, program specific number Dig NORTH emphasizes making one call and one call only.  White has been traveling Northern Ontario extensively and next week will introduce CBYD to dignitaries attending the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM) 2010 Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Conference in Kapuskasing; there he will present the concept of having a single point of contact to ease the process of due diligence when preparing to dig to municipal leaders whom he believes will see the value of the CBYD program and how it protects buried infrastructure and helps to bring workers home safe.  

Northern Ontario was a natural choice for establishing the call centre explained White, “Currently, there is no service of this type operating in the North; it will be a service for the North, from the North”.    

Following the presentation at NOMA, an official ribbon cutting took place outside the Moose Hall with NOMA President Anne Krassilowsky, Minister of Northern Development Mines and Forests the Hon. Michael Gravelle, DigNorth Business Development Manager Keith White and CEO Mike Rauseo outside with the CBYD
Portable Training and Awareness Unit vehicle. 

 DigNorth believes that as more residents and contractors use the Ontario Call Before You Dig service, CBYD is becoming a household name. Northern Ontario
will, through CBYD be recognized as the field leader in damage prevention, creating the model to be expanded to the rest of the province and eventually, on a National basis – great news for a region seeking industrial and economic diversification.