Data-backed Damage Prevention

This blog is from our weekly #MovieMonday LinkedIn newsletter that you can subscribe to here.

This is my 50th edition of the #MovieMonday blog! Man, how time flies…

For my quinquagesimal (a word I just learned and am not 100% sure I am using correctly) issue, I couldn’t ask for a better topic to talk about than the most recent DIRT Report, released a little over two weeks ago by the Common Ground Alliance (CGA). For those of us in the damage prevention world, the DIRT Report is more than a publication, it’s the pulse of our industry.

This year, I’m featuring a video I recorded a year ago that talked about how a Complete Damage Prevention System is designed to address the top three root causes of damages:

1. Failure to request a locate
2. Excavator error
3. Locate error

The message still holds up perfectly as the top three root causes in the DIRT report haven’t changed.

The only thing that didn’t age well is me! Let’s just say I’m not nearly as tan or as slender as I appear in last year’s footage (kudos to my wife for also pointing that out!)

Key Takeaways from the 2024 DIRT Report

The 2024 data confirms that damages remain stubbornly high, with 196,977 unique damage reports and the CGA Index climbing from 94.0 to 96.7, a step backward from the industry’s 50-in-5 goal (a 50% reduction in five years).

The report highlights:

• Utility work dominates: Water/sewer and telecom work were tied to nine of the top ten root causes.
• Top causes persist: 85% of damages stemmed from the same entrenched issues — especially failure to notify 811, excavation mistakes, and locator errors.
• Late locates matter: Excavators faced a 38% chance of delays due to incomplete locate responses, undermining trust in the 811 process.

Data Driven Marking Decisions

These findings demonstrate how the design of a complete damage prevention system is backed by data, and it addresses public awareness, locator accuracy, and excavation practices together is a proven way to help mitigate risk to your underground assets.

That’s why we built our 3D environment, to show how a complete system of tools addresses these challenges from every angle:

• Above ground markers like marker posts, marking flags, and surface markers increase public awareness. They send the message that “something important is buried here,” reminding everyone from homeowners to contractors to call before they dig!
• Tracer wire, test stations, and connectors increase locator accuracy and efficiency. When the wire signal is strong and the connections are corrosion-proof, locators can confidently map and mark underground facilities. Locators are overworked and underpaid, so any tools you can deploy to help make their jobs easier will go a long way!
• Underground warning tapes provide a last line of defense against excavator error. Even if someone starts digging without following proper protocol, these tapes serve as a critical visual warning before a shovel or backhoe hits something dangerous.

A preview of a complete damage prevention system for a telecom utility.

I encourage you to explore our 3D environment and see how these products work together to form a complete system.

And the best part? Trident Solutions is your one-stop shop for all of it — markers, tracer wire, connectors, tapes, and more. One vendor, one purchase order, one comprehensive solution for damage prevention.