Hello, and thank you for your support through 2023!
My name is Lisa Kosolofski and I am the new Director of
Sask 1st Call.
As we look back on the year that was and prepare for the upcoming 2024 digging season, I'd like to share a few highlights with you and some exciting plans we have for the digging community this coming year.
2023 Highlights:
Perhaps the biggest change since incorporation in 2003,
Sask 1st Call began a new chapter in June when — after two decades of running the service — SaskEnergy transferred ownership to the Saskatchewan Common Ground Alliance (SCGA).
Sask 1st Call is now a non profit corporation with a separate Board of Directors governed by volunteers from industry, of which SaskEnergy, SaskPower and SaskTel each have a permanent Board seat. The transition of Sask 1st Call from SaskEnergy to SCGA was seamless, with minimal disruption to subscribers, locate requestors, and the Saskatchewan public.
A diverse Board of Directors from a variety of sectors was formed and met for the first time in September.
The Sask 1st Call Board of Directors and Officers are:
James Cameron, Crescent Point Energy, Calgary - President
Shawn Fairman, SaskEnergy, Regina - Vice-President
Bryan Abel, BH Telecom/Flex Networks, Kitchener - Secretary-Treasurer
Kyle Schmalenberg, SaskTel, Regina
Kevin Lalonde, SaskPower - Saskatoon
Jodi Long, Kingston Midstream - Estevan
Kim Brady, Whitecap Resources - Weyburn
Jennifer Wilkinson, City of Weyburn - Weyburn
Another highlight of 2023 was the change to locate expiration, extending the expiry date from 10 business days to 30 calendar days. This change aligns Saskatchewan with other provinces and jurisdictions that already had a 30-day window for line locates. For more details, click here.
While this change has been well received, it makes it more important than ever to ensure you are properly utilizing the "Job Start Date" when submitting a locate request through
Sask 1st Call.
Selecting the appropriate date will help ensure that your locate is done in a timely manner, as close to the date you will begin ground disturbance as possible. This will greatly reduce the potential that the locate materials could be removed or tampered with. Just a reminder, not everyone is a subscriber to Sask 1st Call. It is up to the excavator to find and contact those unregistered facilities by contacting owners through land titles, municipalities, cities and towns.
Our online usage continues to slowly increase. This year, 73.09% of Sask 1st Call locate requests were places using the online platform (an increase of 1.09% from 2022). By continuing to educate users and promote the "Click Before You Dig" message, we will see these numbers rise, keeping operating costs down. It's important to note that submitting a request online (versus phoning in the request) has shown to improve the accuracy of your locate, particularly when it comes to mapping.
In 2023, Sask 1st Call welcomed eight new subscribers, ending the year with 124 active subscribing companies. The importance of mapping and protecting underground facilities continues to grow and we are excited to reach more potential subscribers in 2024.
2024 Initiatives:
We have already started the year with a bang! A major software update to the Sask 1st Call locate site was rolled out on January 24, 2024 and brings with it many improvements, including updated mapping, a responsive and more mobile-friendly site, and a new and improved dashboard. For more details on these changes, click here.
As we gear up for the 2024 digging season, the promotion of
Sask 1st Call services and Click Before you Dig messages is a top priority.
Sask 1st Call encourages subscribing companies to plan to attend a free SCGA Dig Safe Awareness Breakfast in a community near you. We will see you there!
Sask 1st Call contact information:
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Member data updates, tickets inquiries, notification changes, etc
Email beforeyoudig@sask1stcall.com
Phone 1-866-828-4888 option 3
Email distributionaccounting@saskenergy.com
Email beforeyoudig@sask1stcall.com
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