The Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT) Report from the Common Ground Alliance’s (CGA) confirmed the importance of making a free call to 811 to reduce excavation-related damage to underground utilities.The report released by the CGA on Aug. 11 analyzes the 2014 data submitted anonymously and voluntarily by facility operators, utility locate companies, and one-call centers, contractors and regulators.For 2014, a total of 273,599 events were submitted, about 49,000 more than for 2013. “It is the committee’s belief this increase is the result of several positive factors,” says Bob Kipp, CGA president, in the report. “First and foremost, construction activity in
