[00:00:23] Speaker A: We're on camera.
[00:00:24] Speaker B: Oh, we are. I'm very nervous.
[00:00:27] Speaker A: Professionals.
You'll do fine. You'll do fine.
[00:00:33] Speaker B: James, have you ever been to Canada before?
[00:00:36] Speaker A: Yeah, I got here last night.
[00:00:38] Speaker B: So yesterday was your first time?
[00:00:40] Speaker A: It was. Absolutely.
[00:00:42] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:00:43] Speaker A: How about you?
[00:00:44] Speaker B: This is my third time. I've been to Calgary before I've been to Vancouver. I shouldn't say. Probably my fourth time. If you talk about the boundary waters that separate Canada from the United States, I may have allegedly crossed those into Canada decades ago. Allegedly.
[00:01:03] Speaker A: I gotcha. I got you. I'm following. No, I've never got the chance to be here. Today's or. This trip's a first for me, Jimmy. It's a kind of a neat story if we go back and time a little bit and talk about how we even got here.
[00:01:20] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:01:20] Speaker A: Like, it's so neat to be here in Canada, but about what? Um. On cue.
[00:01:27] Speaker B: I know.
[00:01:28] Speaker A: Like, I'm telling the story, Jerry. Probably about eight months ago, ten months ago, something like that. Mike Sullivan and I talked, I think, after CGA last year, so almost twelve months ago. Yeah. And he reached out and we were on his show. Remember the safety moment?
[00:01:48] Speaker B: Yes, absolutely.
[00:01:50] Speaker A: And we connected there, and he told us about this event coming up. And then let's go back in time a little bit earlier, too.
Last year, April, when we acquired damage prevention academy.
[00:02:04] Speaker D: Sure.
[00:02:05] Speaker A: And Jay and Carolyn told us about this event, but we didn't really put.
[00:02:11] Speaker B: Two and two together.
[00:02:13] Speaker A: There's a lot of events in this world, right?
[00:02:15] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:02:15] Speaker A: And so when we realized it was the same event.
[00:02:19] Speaker E: Yeah, it was kind of.
[00:02:20] Speaker A: Kind of cool. And so we. We clicked with Mike Sullivan and was on his podcast, and then we came back and said, man, what if we brought our podcast to Canada? Is there room for two podcasts there?
[00:02:33] Speaker B: I. Wait, is Mike doing it here?
[00:02:35] Speaker A: I don't think so.
[00:02:36] Speaker D: I don't think so either.
[00:02:36] Speaker A: I think he just. He just bowed out. Gave it, gave us the floor. No, he's. He's amazing. We. He was the first person we saw when we got out of the car.
[00:02:46] Speaker B: Literally, like ground zero within 3 seconds.
[00:02:49] Speaker A: Like a welcome party.
[00:02:50] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:02:51] Speaker A: Now a great group. For those that don't know, we're at the United safety. Nope. Utility safety partners.
[00:02:59] Speaker B: Utility safety partners 40th anniversary and safety conference.
[00:03:06] Speaker A: So usually this would be a utility safety conference. This is their 40th year. Absolutely. Formerly Alberta 811, if you knew that before.
So that gives a little bit of a history of. You're like, wait, nope, that goes back a lot further. So 1984. Right.
[00:03:25] Speaker C: Thank you.
[00:03:26] Speaker A: So much 1984, this group got started. What a cool place to be.
[00:03:31] Speaker B: Yeah, it's unbelievable. And again, a couple cool things. One, being in Calgary, again, I would dare say Edmonton, Calgary, kind of the energy capital of Canada, which is wonderful. So being there, but also then taking the trip over to Banff, which is probably one of the most picturesque places I have ever seen ever in my life. I mean, it is. It's at the top of the Rockies.
[00:03:57] Speaker A: Gorgeous.
[00:03:58] Speaker B: So it's canadian Rockies, and it's nestled in here. And the mountains are just breathtaking.
[00:04:04] Speaker A: Yeah. The ride up was amazing. So we met up with our counterparts from DPA, Jay and Carolyn, and they drove us up.
[00:04:14] Speaker C: I'm glad.
[00:04:15] Speaker A: Yeah. I don't think we would have made it.
[00:04:17] Speaker B: We would not have made it.
[00:04:18] Speaker A: We would still been driving, I think, because there was a little bit of weather and, you know, we're just. We're not built for it anymore. No. No.
[00:04:24] Speaker B: Not from Florida, not from Texas. We're not used to ice and snow in a rental. In a rental.
And again, the other thing, too. I mean, Jay's a great driver.
[00:04:34] Speaker C: He did wonderfully.
[00:04:35] Speaker B: But I keep looking at the speedometer. I'm like, he's going 100 miles an hour. He's going 100 miles an hour. I said, this is bad. Then I'm like, oh, wait, it's kilometers.
[00:04:43] Speaker A: Is that worse? What?
[00:04:45] Speaker B: No, it's better. I think that's probably like 55 or 50 to 60, something like that. Anyways.
[00:04:50] Speaker C: And I felt a little bit better.
[00:04:51] Speaker B: When I realized that. But I really glad that people that, again, have the knowledge, skills, and ability to drive in this weather drove us over.
[00:04:58] Speaker A: So that was good. Yep. So, uh, we're here all week, but all week's only a couple days here.
[00:05:04] Speaker B: It's a fast one.
[00:05:05] Speaker A: Yeah. But, uh, it's jam packed. We've already talked to a ton of people before we headed up here to, uh, that wanted to be on the show, which is like, you know, how weird it is to come to another country and walk in and meet four or five or see four or five people that, you know, walk in and see, see Scott land this first thing.
[00:05:25] Speaker B: Well, I see what you're saying.
[00:05:27] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:05:27] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:05:27] Speaker A: I mean, as a whole. And then to put faces to names.
[00:05:31] Speaker E: Yeah.
[00:05:32] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:05:32] Speaker A: Because there are a few people that have reached out to us along the way, and this was the first time we're getting to see him.
[00:05:37] Speaker B: Yeah. Tony. We saw Tony today, and we've only known Tony from PSMS group on LinkedIn. Shout out.
[00:05:44] Speaker A: Shout out.
[00:05:44] Speaker C: As well as other things.
[00:05:45] Speaker B: So all of a sudden he walks up. He looks just like his picture.
[00:05:47] Speaker A: So we saw, we saw. Mel already has promised to sit down with us later. Will be speaking, I think, tomorrow as well. We're supposed to sit down with the cookie.
[00:05:59] Speaker C: The cookie.
[00:06:00] Speaker A: You know, only so many people could go by one name in this world. But then cookie is another level, right? Yeah, I'm thinking of changing my name. Snack cake.
[00:06:12] Speaker B: Okay, snack.
[00:06:14] Speaker A: I don't know, maybe we go by cookie and cupcake. We'll see.
I don't know what we're doing here, but. But we are here, nestled in Banff, the foot of the Canadian Rockies.
[00:06:27] Speaker B: In a castle.
[00:06:28] Speaker A: Yeah, in a castle. Literal castle. Yeah, here at the Fairmont. Man, we're getting spoiled on these Fairmont trips.
[00:06:34] Speaker B: Two for two. Within two weeks, we went from Hawaii Fairmont to Banff. And this one is totally different. I tell you, the service level is in back of all pub. And again, just looking out the windows, we are in a place that postcards.
[00:06:49] Speaker A: Are made of, calendars are made of.
We've been itching to get outside, but we got a job to do, so here we are. But we're going to get out there and really look around, hopefully over the next couple days and hopefully that ride back in. Oh, the sun is shining on Wednesday.
[00:07:07] Speaker B: Then we can stop maybe a little bit.
[00:07:09] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:07:10] Speaker B: Get some views in Jimmy.
[00:07:12] Speaker A: It's one after another.
[00:07:14] Speaker B: That's good. We're blessed to do what we do and bring back messages. I think I, as well as probably the audience, I'm looking forward to understanding what different regions, different countries, different entities are doing in the damage prevention space.
[00:07:27] Speaker A: All utility space, natural gas, all of it. So neat to talk to somebody like Kevin Nishimura ten days ago, you know, practice Hawaii gas on the big island while we were there talking with him. And, and then here we are this morning, you saw somebody locating right outside in the snow.
[00:07:48] Speaker B: I did. It was three degrees.
[00:07:50] Speaker A: I looked out the window.
[00:07:51] Speaker B: It was 68 in my hotel room, and I felt chilly till I looked at that professional out there and marking snow. So they were actually marking on top of the snow. So I want to go back and see how soon they dug after that because they were literally putting flags in as best as they could, as well as them marking on the snow.
[00:08:09] Speaker A: So what happens when you white line in the snow? Oh, that's what I want to know.
[00:08:16] Speaker B: That's a question. You know what, though? We are in the right area for AOC's in that environment again, when they deal with half their world up here in the sub zeros, it's a good thing to find out. We're going to find that out, James.
[00:08:28] Speaker A: We're also going to hopefully get Jay Stevens on from damage prevention academy. He's going to tell us a little bit about the history here, because he's been involved here a long time on some of the committees and things that have really affected change here. And I know he's excited about being here, him and Carolyn. So we're hoping to have him on so he can break this event down and why this is so important.
[00:08:50] Speaker B: It's going to be a great, great conference. I said that to every conference we go to. And again, if we take away one thing that we could share with one person to help their life be better, more productive, and most of all, safer, we've done our job, James.
[00:09:03] Speaker A: Amen. Well, stick around. Follow along on LinkedIn and also on Tick tock. Did you know that tactic? Hey, we'll be back. You're a professional. You know this. You know these things. We were.
[00:09:17] Speaker B: We were on your podcast.
[00:09:18] Speaker D: That's right.
[00:09:19] Speaker A: That's how this all started.
[00:09:21] Speaker D: Is it?
[00:09:21] Speaker A: I think it was a LinkedIn message.
[00:09:23] Speaker D: Yes, it was.
[00:09:24] Speaker A: Yeah, I'm sure. I was at an event and Mike put something out. And when would that have been? Maybe CGA or global?
[00:09:34] Speaker B: I went to Global and Tampa last year.
[00:09:36] Speaker D: Yeah, I was there.
[00:09:36] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah.
[00:09:37] Speaker A: Maybe after that. But at some point, we synced up.
[00:09:40] Speaker B: CGA is when we had a really big coffee presence.
[00:09:44] Speaker D: So I wasn't at CGA, but, yeah, right after that.
[00:09:48] Speaker A: I'm sure some of our content overlapped there. And. Wait a second.
[00:09:52] Speaker D: Yeah, maybe Doug reached out to strategies.
[00:09:55] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:09:57] Speaker D: That cross pollination of our podcast, it was cool. It was fun.
[00:10:01] Speaker B: Yeah, it was really good.
[00:10:02] Speaker A: And I remember I sent an email. I told the story in the intro, but I sent an email to Mike and I said, is there room for two podcasts?
[00:10:11] Speaker B: And bam.
[00:10:13] Speaker A: Yeah. And more manifesting it right than anything, but as a joke. And he was like, come on.
[00:10:19] Speaker B: Yeah, because you're not in the podcast.
[00:10:21] Speaker D: No, I be walking around. I have a mic.
Yeah, I have a, you know, Doug's like, okay, I got a mic for you, for your iPhone, and take some interviews. I just haven't had time.
[00:10:31] Speaker B: No, no, no.
[00:10:34] Speaker D: So, Doug, if you're watching us, I.
[00:10:35] Speaker A: Haven'T had time, but we've done it, and we've captured so many people already. Good.
[00:10:40] Speaker D: What's the feedback?
[00:10:42] Speaker A: No, wait.
[00:10:44] Speaker B: Feedback about.
[00:10:47] Speaker A: We're kidding.
[00:10:48] Speaker B: Well, the show's great feedback about us.
[00:10:50] Speaker A: Is they said the venue, you know.
[00:10:53] Speaker D: Better next time, right? I mean, if they just hide some.
[00:10:55] Speaker A: Drapes or something, maybe they'll add on for us.
[00:10:58] Speaker D: Have you looked outside? I mean, is the sun shining today in those snow peaks in the Rockies?
[00:11:02] Speaker A: We're going speechless. So this is beach. This is one of the last things we're doing in this lunch hour kind of timeframe. Sorry, boss, we're playing hooky, but we're gonna go out there and we haven't.
[00:11:14] Speaker D: Been able to do anything.
[00:11:15] Speaker C: No.
[00:11:15] Speaker A: Right. I mean, we just got going.
[00:11:17] Speaker D: It's a little chilly. I hope you guys are.
[00:11:19] Speaker A: We got big parkas.
[00:11:21] Speaker D: It's -21 -19 in Calgary, so it means probably a -22 here, something else. But if the sun is shining, it's not that bad.
[00:11:29] Speaker A: Yeah, and we got parkas we can't prepare.
[00:11:31] Speaker B: It's a dry cold.
Or is that a dry heat? It doesn't make a difference. It's all in the mindset.
[00:11:37] Speaker D: I'm a guy from back east in Quebec, Montreal, and very humid. This cold out there, you're dying.
[00:11:45] Speaker B: Yeah, I grew up in Chicago.
[00:11:48] Speaker A: It was the same. There you go.
[00:11:49] Speaker B: Yeah, well, that was that. Oh, it would cut through. Yeah.
[00:11:53] Speaker A: Getting back to this, let's do feedback.
One thing we've heard over and over is, number one, the staff here, and just as a whole, is rockstar rock stars. We saw some of the intro this morning and some of the stats you put up about all that's going in. You know, I think sometimes people just think, oh, it's a call center or, you know what I'm saying? Like that type of mentality with some of these folks, or that's what they're used to, something like that. And to see all the initiatives behind the scenes that are going on there, you've got to be proud. I am.
[00:12:30] Speaker D: You know, I mean, it's. Let's face it, what it comes down to is the people. And I get the opportunity to work with some really good people and they don't just know their stuff, they own their stuff. They really have that sense of ownership and to move it forward. And not just the people who are. This is their job, but those who are offering their time and volunteering to lead committees and chair committees, to be on committees. I mean, you saw the people that won these awards last night. I mean, they have a job to do, but then they go above and beyond. And that's what we're trying to recognize is those who literally go above and beyond. And you start reading through, for example, Matt Etherington or Ian stables reading through what they do beyond their day to day, as I even said, do you see a pattern here? I mean, they have such ownership to improve what we do today to make it better tomorrow and then make it better the next day. Better the next day.
You can't bottle that, but you can certainly recognize it.
[00:13:34] Speaker C: Sure.
[00:13:35] Speaker A: Our industry is good at that, I think. Right. We were just talking as a group, it's not hard to find people to sit down at the micro. Yeah. Damage prevention ground, you know, because we're such advocates. It's built into what we do. A lot of us were called here, you know, in a way we didn't know we were going to be doing this. Yeah, here we are. We have stories, we've got tales that's consistent with the people that we're seeing here. Is they, like you said, they own it. It's not something they take off at 05:00 or, you know, on the weekends. It's just a name.
[00:14:10] Speaker B: It's ingrained. It really is.
[00:14:12] Speaker D: Yep. I don't know what that. What is that essence of the. Whatever it is that we do that captures our attention and holds it? You know, you can hear a song that you really like and then you forget about it. But when we do every day our job and it becomes a passion and we just can't let it go. I don't know what it is. I used to work with railways right before I came to the pipeline world and linear rights of way. Rail or pipeline. It was very similar to rail industry. Everybody had this passion, whether it was the trains, I'm not sure, but in the pipeline industry, the same thing. It seemed to be this passion for what they do. And in the damage prevention industry, it's there too. I've never seen it anywhere else.
[00:14:55] Speaker B: It's pretty awesome.
We talk about when purpose and passion collide. You get things like this and it's amazing. James and I have been to a lot of conferences at coffee. Jim and. James. James around the country is now, and we've interviewed so many people in that common theme, especially in the DP damage prevention world where people, again, they live, eat and breathe it. And it's not. It's not even a job to them. It is their way of life. Yeah, it's a truly.
[00:15:26] Speaker D: It is.
[00:15:27] Speaker A: We're sitting down with Mike Sullivan from utility Safety partners. We just kind of jumped in.
We did. This baby is yours for now. Yeah, yeah.
[00:15:38] Speaker D: The porch was that. The torch was passed to me a while ago and I'm holding it for now, until the next guy comes along or next gal comes along.
[00:15:44] Speaker A: Well, if the show doesn't go well.
Have you talked to Jim shower lately? No.
[00:15:50] Speaker B: Do I need to live in Alberta?
[00:15:53] Speaker D: Well, you know, it's a privilege, right? I mean, when I, when I was accepted to take on this role years ago, it's a privilege.
[00:16:00] Speaker C: And I recognize that you serve at.
[00:16:01] Speaker D: The pleasure of the board. And as long as I've been doing this for over twelve years. And you know, it's funny, when I, when I came into the role, I figured I'd do it for five and then, you know, do something else. Maybe I'll go back to the pipeline sector or something like that. And it just got so interesting. And we were making some real interesting changes to how things were being done. And I got to work with some of the brightest people that were so engaged, beyond engaged, what I've ever really seen before, it wasn't, it was intoxicating and addictive. I mean, to working with them. So we tried to improve each other along the way. And all of a sudden ten years went by. I said, well, you know, I just gonna stick around because it's still interesting. And, you know, I'm not ready to leave yet, but I am starting to think at some point, you know, that I am gonna pass that. To pass that torch. Exactly. And I just hope that whoever comes along after me has that same, or has that finds that same spark to ignite that passion within them and, and see the opportunity to work with such great people. And I've been very lucky to do that.
[00:17:11] Speaker B: This, don't keep looking at me that way.
[00:17:14] Speaker A: This is really one of those. I mean, what's neat about what I've seen and really, we've only been here a day.
[00:17:21] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:17:22] Speaker A: It feels like we've been here forever. But is this is really an international event? Almost?
[00:17:29] Speaker D: It is.
[00:17:30] Speaker A: I mean, it is, but you know what I mean, we're from out. We're not here of, we're not from Canada. We sat down with Mel and Cookie yesterday, obviously. Amazing. So many folks.
[00:17:42] Speaker C: Yep.
[00:17:43] Speaker A: We've come all the way up here. There's about five or six people that we could have drone drove about an hour and a half and saw, you know. And here we, and we walk in and go, what?
[00:17:52] Speaker D: Why are you here?
[00:17:53] Speaker A: Yeah, it's such a funny thing, but you've got a. Is that, is that a neat feeling to see it?
[00:18:00] Speaker D: It is.
[00:18:00] Speaker A: I mean, I know it's about.
[00:18:02] Speaker D: Yeah. And Alberta has always been. And thanks to my predecessors, you know, Bob Chisholm and Scott Henley, they had a immediate connection. You saw perhaps in my, in my history presentation yesterday, there was an immediate connection with the US. Pennsylvania 811 ran the contact center for the better part of three years when we started. And you know, Bill and Ellen Kiker are still connected today and you know, they're still going and effective and engaged and passionate. So there was always that Bob was connected with the one called Systems International. It was highly.
[00:18:42] Speaker E: Yeah.
[00:18:43] Speaker D: And so, yeah, we're Alberta, we're canadian, but we've always been with the US. And you know, it's a big family and I mean, yeah, I'm canadian, but I also have a lot of us family as well. So for me it's just. It just makes sense. We have the excavation safety alliance here as well, working with us because we work with them so many times before. It's like, well, you can't do this without ESA. So let's do with essay. And to me that's important. This is, yes, we have a job to do, but as you know, it's about relationship building. And if things are working great, then you keep going. Just keep going.
[00:19:22] Speaker A: This is a result of that very thing right here. Right. I mean that, that relationship that, that we struck up and here we are sitting together advocating finally on the Internet. Right? Yeah. So cool to see. Well, we've been impressed. We still got another day's worth. Really? Yeah. Today, tomorrow. Are any of the topics to you? I know there's great content front to back. Yep. But we're sitting with a guy that. Yeah, I want to know the answer to. Right. Is there any sessions that just are like, this one's the home run.
[00:19:57] Speaker D: Well, what really interests me these days is we've kicked off the overhead assets notification process and where any person excavating when they submit their locate request for buried utilities, if they are also working near an overhead utility which has been mapped with us, they will receive a notification directly to them immediately saying you're working near Enmax or EpcoR or Fortis, Alberta for sure. And, you know, stay 7 meters safe. Here's the information you need to know to keep yourself safe.
[00:20:30] Speaker B: That's an interesting aspect of the week.
[00:20:32] Speaker A: We were talking to Cookie.
[00:20:33] Speaker B: Yeah, we're talking to cookie about that.
[00:20:35] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah, we're doing that right now. So this is. Yeah, so this is the other part that I'm really excited about is, okay, we're doing that notification process right now. And since November 1, we auto notified 10,000 plus have gone out notifications to the digging community.
There's no way that's not going to save people's lives. You know, there's no, no way it can't work because it's information into the hands of people that are working there right now.
What cookie has done with look up and live. I am very hopeful that those members that have overhead assets that are registered with us, they'll take a real deep dive, look at that and see the benefits. Now imagine if we have look up and live and those assets are mapped into the look up and live app. And I'm Joe Baco and I go in to look up and live and I say, okay, I'm doing work right here. Oh, these utilities are owned by this overhead assets company, Energy. They're energized.
Here's the kilovolts, here's the contact information. Here's the limits of approach.
Great. Now if I want to do anything more beyond that, I mean, I've got all this information I didn't have before. I can plan my work accordingly. And if I need assistance, I can literally contact that company through the app. There's no, it takes the mystery out entirely. So again, technology is making things safer and that's the part of what we're doing today that really energizes me. You know that the electrification, so proud right now.
[00:22:12] Speaker A: You're like, man, you stole my pond.
[00:22:14] Speaker D: Yeah, but it really, it's important. And, you know, when we merged Alberta one call the Alberta Common Ground alliance, and where's the line together. That was the part was like, okay, how are we going to make this work? And over time we're finding ways to make it work with the existing process for to submit a locate request to make it seamless.
[00:22:35] Speaker A: And that's the important part where it reminds me of something, right? I mean, it's continuous improvement. Our industry is always built around continuous improvement and learning from others what they've done. Good, bad, ugly, right? And then taking that, all of this sounds very reminiscent, like that.
[00:22:55] Speaker B: Continuous improvement, it never ends. You never get to the end.
[00:22:58] Speaker A: It's always, there's always a data point you could add and increase and move that.
[00:23:03] Speaker D: We're never satisfied.
[00:23:04] Speaker A: One more last poll.
[00:23:05] Speaker D: No, we're never satisfied with that and we shouldn't be.
But at the same time, I don't want to lose sight. And one of the challenges, I think, and it was brought up in this, the session I was just in, one of the challenges is, okay, we've moved the vast majority of locate requests online. We're doing great work with the overhead assets to bring that process in. So it's simplified online and, you know, well, let's say it's simplified, put it that way. And yet, okay, we have about 12% of all of our locate requests are coming in by phone. And I just heard in that last session that some people are having a hard time with going online. We still have the phone. You can submit a locate request online by phone and. But they want to do it online, but they're frustrated because. Why? Well, if I'm a homeowner, I'm gonna dig maybe once every ten years, maybe once in a lifetime.
[00:24:00] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:24:01] Speaker D: And I have to go in and put my information in, my name, my address, my email address, my phone number, all this information.
[00:24:09] Speaker B: They want the easy where they.
[00:24:12] Speaker D: Okay, so I think, you know, of course, we still accept locate requests by phone, and that's not disappearing. But you. We have to adapt with time. We can't forget those who, you know, are not ready to go online and may never be ready to go on.
[00:24:28] Speaker C: Sure.
[00:24:29] Speaker D: And we do our best to put tutorials out there if they want to try. We have agents that do chat to help people online, and they're busy, so we know they're working.
[00:24:38] Speaker A: Right. It's.
[00:24:39] Speaker D: The process is working, but there are some people that just. That they are. They have a hard time with it. And so it's humbling when I come to a session like this and I hear that and there's a level of frustration there, and I want to build that bridge to meet people so we can help them out. We don't want them to circumvent the process. But, you know, at the same time, they can't. Those who are having an issue with it, they can't say, what you're doing is wrong. We know it's right. The data tells us it's right. But data is a funny thing, right, if sometimes it leaves you a little bit blind to some realities, and. But the realities could be a minority, but it's still a reality, and we're here as a service. We have to work through it with everybody, for sure.
[00:25:27] Speaker A: Well, I know I can speak for both of us about how.
How cool this event has been.
Cool.
[00:25:37] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:25:38] Speaker C: No, no.
[00:25:38] Speaker B: It's been cold. It's been cold minus ten.
[00:25:41] Speaker A: I feel like we've got a whole experience, though. You know, I was talking to my mom before I headed up here, and she said, I've never been in the winter. We. We were scared to do it on our own.
[00:25:54] Speaker D: We were scared.
[00:25:54] Speaker B: Yesterday.
[00:25:57] Speaker A: Someone drove us up, luckily, but being here in this amazing venue.
40 years. Tonight we're gonna celebrate. Yep.
[00:26:07] Speaker B: Oh, it's gonna be a big bash.
[00:26:09] Speaker A: Yeah, the eighties bash.
[00:26:10] Speaker B: Were you born in the eighties or not?
[00:26:12] Speaker A: I was a 79.
[00:26:14] Speaker D: Oh, you're close.
[00:26:14] Speaker A: Very low.
But I live. I did some living in the eighties.
[00:26:19] Speaker B: You know, as a young.
[00:26:21] Speaker A: How about you? Are you in your prime?
[00:26:23] Speaker B: I was in my prime in the eighties.
[00:26:25] Speaker A: Was your hair longer?
[00:26:26] Speaker B: Always long. I had almost like parted in the middle, like a mullet, you know, flowing.
[00:26:30] Speaker E: You can.
[00:26:31] Speaker A: What was Mike Sullivan in the.
[00:26:33] Speaker D: Was in my teens, my mid teens in the eighties. Yeah, it was a. Yeah.
[00:26:38] Speaker A: Rock and roll. Yeah.
[00:26:39] Speaker D: Yeah, it was. Yeah. Playing. Playing music, playing sports and.
[00:26:44] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:26:44] Speaker D: Having a good time. Yeah. Eighties, I never even knew what a bird utility was. And at the time, I didn't care.
[00:26:50] Speaker A: Yeah, same, right. That's awesome. Well, Mike, we appreciate you inviting us out. Glad you're here. Thank you. Special for us. It's been neat just getting to put faces to names and shake people's hands. There's some value in that. There is, yeah.
I'd be remiss if we didn't ask. You know, there's some folks out there that maybe haven't made it out to one of these, have not, or maybe aren't as involved, you know, as they should be in damage prevention. What would you say to those folks maybe listening or watching on LinkedIn or somewhere.
[00:27:26] Speaker D: Everybody has something to offer, you know, that's really what it comes down to.
We've been lucky with our unification of these three entities that we don't need more financial engagement to meet our objectives. What we need is that meaningful engagement.
[00:27:43] Speaker A: Right?
[00:27:44] Speaker D: That's what we need. We need this. We need people to come out and share their views and work towards solutions.
You know, it's. It can be easy to throw darts and say, you're doing this wrong and doing that wrong. Okay, well, help me and do it right. And that's the hard part. Well, I don't have time. Well, then, you know, we're going to have a hard time creating the solution on our. In a bubble. We need the assistant to do that. And again, you know, when we have that, those people recognize that last night, those are the ones who get it, and they're. They offer themselves beyond what is the normal call of duty to. To move that needle and every day to move it better. So I think everybody has something to offer, and if they can find the time, that's all we're looking for.
[00:28:31] Speaker B: Mike, drop on that one.
[00:28:32] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:28:33] Speaker D: Thank you very much. Guys, thank you for being here.
Take lots of pictures.
[00:28:39] Speaker B: Oh, we're taking lots of pictures.
[00:28:41] Speaker A: Yeah, true. Hey, we'll be back.
Are we. Oh, you busy?
[00:28:45] Speaker B: No, no, I'm just answering. It never ends. The emails never end. That's what I love about our world, changed when we got that thing called originally the BlackBerry. Then it went to the iPhone and, you know, we're always connected.
[00:28:58] Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:29:00] Speaker A: Like it or not, you know, at.
[00:29:03] Speaker B: Times it's a blessing. At times it's a curse, isn't it?
[00:29:05] Speaker A: I work while I work. You know, it seems like we're here and working somewhere else.
[00:29:12] Speaker B: Quick story. 2004, when I got my first BlackBerry, 2005, I said, this is really cool. So does it turn on at 08:00 in the morning and turn off at 05:00 p.m.
[00:29:21] Speaker A: I said, no, no.
[00:29:22] Speaker B: It's a beautiful thing. It's always on. And my world forever changed.
We're not here for. Go ahead.
[00:29:28] Speaker C: No, I was gonna say, like, it's. You have to be meaningfully. You have to, like, disconnect from that damn thing, man. Like I tell you, because it's a bit of an addiction. It is, right? It's a quick thing to reach for when you need something.
[00:29:38] Speaker A: Just little dopamine. Yeah.
[00:29:41] Speaker C: Instead of thinking for a second, you.
[00:29:43] Speaker A: Know what I mean?
[00:29:43] Speaker C: Like, taking a moment to reflect. So I'm working a little bit on that, too.
[00:29:46] Speaker B: So, you know, that's a good thing.
[00:29:48] Speaker A: What a great place to do it.
[00:29:50] Speaker C: Right?
[00:29:51] Speaker B: In Banff.
[00:29:52] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh.
[00:29:52] Speaker C: If you can only just hang out, like, sit outside and just contemplate life and decisions and all the things, I mean, that'd be great.
[00:30:00] Speaker A: One's a place to do it.
[00:30:02] Speaker B: Like the Zen capital of everywhere.
[00:30:06] Speaker A: Canada.
[00:30:07] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:30:08] Speaker A: Very nice. Well, we're sitting here with J. Stevens.
[00:30:11] Speaker B: Yes, we are.
[00:30:12] Speaker A: Image prevention Academy.
I got a memory.
[00:30:16] Speaker B: Oh, boy, here we go. I got a memory, too.
[00:30:18] Speaker A: Three or four days ago, I was in Galveston. My wife said, look, you were in Galveston. And my brain went, okay. And it was the last event.
[00:30:31] Speaker C: It was Texas a.
[00:30:32] Speaker A: Right before the pandemic.
[00:30:34] Speaker C: Right.
[00:30:35] Speaker A: I mean, right there. And it's when Jay and I met.
[00:30:40] Speaker C: It is true. Excellent event.
[00:30:42] Speaker E: Right?
[00:30:42] Speaker B: And we met before that, but we met in. I don't know if you remember this one. Do you remember?
[00:30:47] Speaker C: I don't know where.
[00:30:50] Speaker B: We're in Irvine, California, for the 2000.
Was it 18 or 19? Common ground.
[00:30:56] Speaker C: Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
[00:30:57] Speaker B: Because I have a picture of you, me and Jim Bob Sims.
[00:30:59] Speaker C: Yep. That's. That is correct. That, and actually, I don't know if it was even that long.
[00:31:02] Speaker D: I mean, you're right.
[00:31:02] Speaker A: It was Jim Bumps.
[00:31:03] Speaker C: I think that was 2022.
[00:31:05] Speaker A: I was gonna say that was after.
[00:31:07] Speaker B: Because was it after 2021 or 2022.
[00:31:10] Speaker A: When I met Jay? Here's. Here's the thing. They don't know how to do it. We have.
[00:31:18] Speaker E: I couldn't resist.
[00:31:19] Speaker C: It's so much fun.
[00:31:20] Speaker A: So when I met Jay, I remember I was sitting at the bar.
[00:31:24] Speaker B: You met him first.
[00:31:25] Speaker A: Yes. That's what we were saying.
[00:31:26] Speaker C: Right?
[00:31:27] Speaker A: I was sitting at the bar, and it was later at night, walks in, and it's like, it reminded me of the first time I met you. You walked in, and it was like a movie star walked. Everybody's like, damn. Yeah, same thing. And I was like, who is this guy? Right? And he had this epic beard.
[00:31:45] Speaker C: Look at it.
[00:31:46] Speaker A: I mean, come on. And so I was like, what is going on? And I was hanging out with Jim Bob at the time.
[00:31:52] Speaker C: That's right.
[00:31:52] Speaker A: And I was like, who is this guy? Well, look, with much fanfare, of course, now we know him. And of course, everybody loved him, but it was the first time you had made it there.
[00:32:02] Speaker C: That's correct.
[00:32:03] Speaker A: Working with Texas eight one.
[00:32:04] Speaker C: It was the very first time.
[00:32:05] Speaker A: And that's. It was a big deal. Right.
[00:32:08] Speaker C: It had been years since we had started with that group. And a phenomenal organization. They are, is just.
And we were small. I call ourselves like a monpa shop. Right. So we didn't have the resources to travel as much. We're very strategic about what we did and where we went and trying to be mindful of how we do that. So it was the first time I got an opportunity attend, and I met some great folks that I talked to him a thousand times, seen him in video meetings. But then I met you. Right. And it was the whole hat, the hat exchange, which I still to this day remember, which, thank you very much.
[00:32:41] Speaker A: I just brought him three more. I kept them this whole time.
[00:32:45] Speaker B: You guys switched hats there.
[00:32:46] Speaker C: I didn't have any hats.
[00:32:47] Speaker A: You know the big hat with the big. The first pat.
[00:32:50] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. With the bright colors on it. Yeah, yeah.
[00:32:54] Speaker A: He was like, whoa, what's. What's the hat all about? And I think I might have gave you the one off my head, or I had another one in the room.
[00:33:01] Speaker C: And so I grabbed.
[00:33:02] Speaker A: We didn't have a boo.
[00:33:03] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:33:04] Speaker A: Like I was there speaking.
[00:33:05] Speaker B: Ah, gotcha.
[00:33:06] Speaker C: And so I remember, because then we got back, pandemic hit. And then in 2021, our family got tired. We ended up back in Dallas. Yeah, right. So we took a vacation. Nobody in Canada was traveling outside of Canada. Was driving around. So we're like, not. We're leaving Canada. We came to himself, and we rented a house in Dallas. Phenomenal. And that entire time, I was wearing that hat, and it was like. It was like.
[00:33:28] Speaker B: How long were you there?
[00:33:30] Speaker C: Like a couple weeks.
[00:33:32] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:33:33] Speaker C: Not long enough. Not long enough. We were trying to connect, but, you know, it's still at that times for us as Canadians. Traveling pandemic, fully vaccinated. We're wearing masks everywhere we go.
[00:33:42] Speaker E: Oh, yeah.
[00:33:42] Speaker C: It was a. And. But it was a phenomenal experience for us. Just loved it. So, I mean, that's kind of the memory I have to. Of that hat, specifically. That memory.
[00:33:50] Speaker A: Yeah.
So those hats are long. You know, that's vintage stuff.
[00:33:56] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. Where'd you find those?
[00:33:58] Speaker A: So. So we had a ream of them left, and we stumbled across them. They were in the back of this closet where we keep all of our hats. And Scott found them and was like, dude. Because, really, all of them. You can imagine, I'm sure, what yours.
[00:34:13] Speaker B: Looks like, and their old logos.
[00:34:15] Speaker A: So, I mean, what are we gonna do with these? And I was like.
And he told me how that was his favorite hat. It's always been his favorite hat. So I kept them, and I still have probably eight at my house.
[00:34:29] Speaker C: Oh, yeah.
[00:34:30] Speaker A: I think you got the last white one, which was the one.
[00:34:32] Speaker C: Yeah, was.
It's actually in still pretty good condition. I have so many going out. But the reality is both stepping out step. Well, you don't have this problem because you still got this majestic head of hair on.
[00:34:44] Speaker B: Oh, those days are gone.
[00:34:46] Speaker C: So from. For James and I. I mean, you know, I. If a specific type of hat that I wear, it'll leave a mark right here.
[00:34:52] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:34:53] Speaker C: Right. But that hat. No mark. That's why that hat is vintage.
[00:34:56] Speaker A: I hand sewed them. It was the thing.
[00:34:58] Speaker C: Plus, you guys are from, you know, Texas, and there's mountains on that, so that's what. That's what capture me. Mountains. Pipeline.
[00:35:06] Speaker A: Yeah. This is.
[00:35:07] Speaker C: These are my type, and they do.
[00:35:08] Speaker B: They are reminiscent of these mountains right outside of our back door.
[00:35:11] Speaker A: It does. It looks very much like some of those pictures. And, you know, fast forward.
J met
[email protected] yeah. Which is another big event, and the rest is history.
[00:35:24] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:35:25] Speaker A: Here we are. And here we are in your backyard, which a fine backyard you keep.
But I think that's a great place to start because we're here. Yeah. We met Mike Sullivan and connected with him and so forth. But I know you have a long history here, you and your dad both, right? And I'd love to kind of peel that back a little bit, catch people up a little bit of why we're here along with, I mean dPA and ew in both.
[00:35:59] Speaker C: So I'll try to keep the story as short as possible. My dad, John Stevens Sr. So he was, worked with a company called Calgary Power back in time. So power generation, you know, overhead power lines we've been talking about all day today saw a lot of accidents, injuries, deaths. That company then became a larger organization called Transalta Utilities and he was an executive there. Same things. Dealing with overhead line strikes all the time.
So when it came time when, you know, people were talking about what to do, this is back in 1984, my dad was one of the first signing directors that signed into the corporation of Alberta one call. So he was there from the start, one of the pioneers to help push it from a power generation side and.
[00:36:42] Speaker A: Just, just some context for those that don't know Alberta, one call is essentially the event we're at celebrating 40 years, right.
[00:36:51] Speaker C: 40 years, four years to the, to the day. And you know, to be here, it's a bit of an emotional journey for me because he would be so proud to be standing here to see what we have done with DPA. Right. And our group that we're doing with damage mention, but also what the industry has done just to see things like where's the line now being cooled in like a line located because you, these are things that they were like trying to push for 40 years. Right. And so it strikes that emotional core for me. So I'm happy to be here, happy to be back in this market because a decade ago I sat on the Alberta Common Ground alliance training Standards committee who created the ground disturbance training endorsement program. So to be back now on that committee again is pretty, pretty special for me.
[00:37:38] Speaker B: Bring me up to speed on dPA. When did that begin? Was that yours and Carolyn?
[00:37:43] Speaker C: Correct? Yes.
[00:37:44] Speaker B: Okay. And how did you guys come up with that entity?
[00:37:48] Speaker C: Well, so at the time back, like I said, about ten years ago, they were doing that here in Alberta. There was a couple of, I think there's maybe one online or two online providers of that program here in Alberta. There's only a small amount of endorsed providers that can, they can actually deliver the training like it's legally would be a tough word to say. But, and we looked at it even though this is our home market, even though as an expert in there, I, you know, I did take the ground service supervisory level instructor program. So that's what I was planning to do. I wanted to go out and teach it all over the place in the oil field and that was my mission. But realizing the advent of technology and listening to the oil field operators, the contractors out there saying this is just taking 8 hours out of our day to take a closer classroom program at, we look, got to travel somewhere. It costs the company money, it cost them time and energy. Employees are out of the, it's, you know, time lost at work.
[00:38:43] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:38:43] Speaker C: We started talking about like developing our own online program which is like, okay, do we, do we go into what wasn't a saturated market here? But, you know, it was tight. We're like, okay, well, let's go somewhere where there isn't anything. Let's go somewhere and do something different, where there's a large amount of utilities, a ton of damages, where we can make a greater impact. And that was Texas, so that's how. Right. So what we did. And interesting enough, I'm not sure if you guys know this story, but Jim Bob Sims loved that guy. Like, did Jim Bob love you, man.
[00:39:10] Speaker A: We still see him all the time. I see him twice in the next month.
[00:39:14] Speaker B: I saw him in Louisiana last month.
[00:39:16] Speaker C: That guy, like, I swear that can put. That guy can put a smile on my face in a second. I'm the worst.
[00:39:21] Speaker A: And it's crazy. He's from New York City police.
[00:39:27] Speaker B: Jim Bob didn't come out of my mouth. That was James.
[00:39:29] Speaker C: I don't believe it.
[00:39:30] Speaker A: He loves it.
[00:39:31] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:39:32] Speaker C: But it was, it was a challenge because he was really our ambassador to try to get this program approved through the board of directors of Texas eight one, which again, is a challenge. And so basically we're like, our idea was, okay, well, we just got to give, we got to give Jim Bob the football. Okay. Get it to the, get it to five. Hand him the football and tell him to run across the end zone. That's what he did. So it took a long time, but rest is history. So that program is now still in operation. We partner with 13 different states and multiple regulatory agencies as well. And so we're pretty fired up. And again, looking back at my dad, he never even saw me do any of this stuff, right, achieve any of these things. And so I think, like, I look up and I know he's smiling down and like I said, it's an emotional time for us.
[00:40:18] Speaker A: That's wonderful. Especially here, like you said, some of that long work, this being the 40th anniversary, that's a big, big celebration today.
That's an incredible body of work. Right? You think about that 40 year old tree had you planted it, right? This is what it looks like. Very cool. Well, I know a lot of people back home are wondering, you know, why. Why should I get involved here at USP or some of these events like that? What would you say to motivate some of them?
[00:40:54] Speaker C: Well, and I'll say this from my own perspective, because it's how I feel currently, is that it's the first time I've really gotten back in, like, really dived head first into it and getting, like, taken in every session I possibly can, talking as many people as I can. Because sometimes you get so bogged down with, like, the work you gotta do.
[00:41:11] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:41:12] Speaker C: Right. And for me, you just. You have to. Well, you. First of all, you need to understand, like, what's happening, because a lot of people look from the outside, and they're like, oh, this is. But there's so much opportunity for all people to be able to come in here and make a difference. And so I want. I want people to be. Get to get involved in damage prevention in general. And so I applaud you guys for going out there and really pushing that and trying to help facilitate that, because, like, we need, we need, we need. I wouldn't call it fresh blood or more youthful folks coming into this so we can actually, you know, charge them with, like, taking the knowledge that we have.
[00:41:46] Speaker A: He just called us youthful.
[00:41:47] Speaker C: Yeah, well, that was me. I will take more gray hair on this than the two you combine.
[00:41:52] Speaker A: Just because I can't grow my beard that long.
[00:41:54] Speaker B: I've been growing mine for 20 years.
[00:41:56] Speaker C: But get involved, make a difference, and the industry is here to support everybody, because I think people look at it like this. Not necessarily the greatest, maybe career path, but the ability to start and stay in this industry and be there until you retire is there. Right. There's opportunity for everybody here, too.
I don't know if that answers the question.
[00:42:21] Speaker A: We're gonna see each other several times this year.
[00:42:24] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:42:25] Speaker A: Which is more than we ever have.
[00:42:27] Speaker C: Right?
[00:42:27] Speaker A: I know. Later. Oh, next month, we're gonna be like, yeah, well, you're not.
[00:42:33] Speaker B: I won't be sorry.
[00:42:34] Speaker C: Taking that one off.
[00:42:35] Speaker B: Ashley's, um, I'm at fingo, Florida Natural association. We have a huge spring summit at that.
[00:42:41] Speaker A: So that means Ashley will be there, and then we'll be at common ground. We will all be, all three of us. Amazing with you guys. So, yeah, a good time to sync up. I know there's a lot of exciting stuff going on at DTA. Always is. Anything you want to foot stomp while you got a microphone.
[00:43:00] Speaker C: Well, you know, I got lots of footsteps. I mean, you know, one of the, one of the greatest things that we're almost actually through the endorsement process to get our ground disturbance program up and running here, here in Alberta, which is a fully endorsed program that is basically.
I can't think of the word at the moment, but it's basically recognized by the utilities. So credible you have to have it. You can't dig. We're gonna be rolling that out in obviously the other two provinces here this year as well. So that's pretty cool. So that'll be in BC and Manitoba.
Then obviously we just launched two more spanish programs, which is wicked. So we've got an excavation program in Missouri which is now available in Spanish. And then the enforcement program in New Mexico which is a proactive and a reactive enforcement model to have in Spanish as well because they're, you know, the predominant amount of folks there that are hidden utilities don't necessarily speak English as the first language. So it's a good opportunity to help them, you know, not have a repeat offense and have some big fine. So we're pretty excited about those two. And then we got more. But I could go on for.
[00:44:05] Speaker A: We'll save a little bit for the next. You're gonna be on two or three times in the next month every time.
[00:44:11] Speaker C: The expectations are working.
[00:44:14] Speaker A: Yeah, well you're always, you're always working.
[00:44:17] Speaker C: Trying to. Yeah, trying. Trying to work smarter, I think it was. I appreciate that.
[00:44:21] Speaker A: Yeah. One last thing. And Jim's been talking about it a lot here at these last couple of conferences has been, you know, when we come to these shows, we're here, let's say two, three days, right, tops. And we pull in as much as we can and then that show ends. Right. But you, you mentioned it earlier about all these sessions you've been attending, right. Just picking up nuggets here and there and all the initiatives going on.
You want to talk about the other 360 days of the year where you have to. I mean it's our jobs, your job to turn around and share all that.
[00:44:59] Speaker C: Right.
[00:44:59] Speaker A: I mean we're the experts. We're the lucky ones that get to come out.
[00:45:03] Speaker C: Right.
[00:45:04] Speaker A: What's. Do you think that's vital to what we're doing?
[00:45:07] Speaker C: Yeah, I do. Because, you know, when we say it a lot, if you look around at people that can attend events like this or Louisiana or like that, you're not talking about the audience that we typically serve. Boots on the ground. That's really what we're. What we're doing is we're trying to get those guys trained and home safe to their families. And so it's great for us to come here and talk about it. We gotta carry that torch down to those guys. We really need to bring that message to them. And so I wish, you know, my. If I had a saying it, I would be trying to get more of those. That community more act like, is all. You'll just see the big. Bigger fish.
[00:45:42] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:45:43] Speaker E: Right?
[00:45:43] Speaker C: Bigger excavation companies. Whereas there's these medium and small guys out there that are just working, work, work. So we can take that message.
[00:45:51] Speaker A: They don't have a safety guy.
[00:45:52] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:45:53] Speaker A: Training guy.
[00:45:54] Speaker C: But they don't have the time or resources to get here.
[00:45:56] Speaker A: Right. Somebody's got a word.
[00:45:57] Speaker C: Yeah. And so what we. What I would like to focus on in some way, shape or form is how do we. How do we more efficiently get that message to them and help support them from the things that we learn at these conferences.
Beautiful, gentlemen.
[00:46:12] Speaker B: Appreciate.
[00:46:12] Speaker A: Thank you.
[00:46:13] Speaker C: You guys are the rock stars here.
[00:46:15] Speaker A: We appreciate you.
[00:46:16] Speaker B: We'll be right back.
[00:46:18] Speaker A: Some people are meant to find each other.
[00:46:20] Speaker B: I think you two were.
[00:46:22] Speaker A: We've decided already, Cookie, that I'm gonna go buy cupcake for the whole rest of the show.
[00:46:29] Speaker B: Cupcake, cupcake and cookie? What am I. Jim? Let me just be very clear. I'll be. Jim. I can't.
[00:46:37] Speaker A: Like, I feel like we're sitting with a legend, though.
[00:46:39] Speaker B: We are.
[00:46:40] Speaker A: He's either famous or infamous. Could go either way. We're gonna find out today.
[00:46:46] Speaker B: You know, I think it's more famous. I mean, we're absolutely blessed be friends now that we're friends that we've met. I mean, I guess you're friends if you're online, but once you beat, absolutely.
[00:46:57] Speaker E: You know, I'm very much a face to face guy, so.
[00:47:00] Speaker B: Yes, so am I.
[00:47:01] Speaker E: To get, you know, all the way to Canada.
[00:47:05] Speaker B: Halfway around the world means a lot.
[00:47:07] Speaker E: And just walking in here, I've met ten different people exactly like yourselves going, hey, Cookie.
You know, so it's awesome to be acknowledged for what I've been doing in Australia, but it's also been recognized internationally, which is awesome.
[00:47:26] Speaker A: Very cool. Well, Cookie, for those that don't know you, please introduce yourself for the people back home and who you're with.
[00:47:32] Speaker E: My name is Glenn Cook. Everyone calls me Cookie. So I'm a gummies prevention specialist, I suppose. In Australia, I've also done a few talks like this. So I've got three talks tomorrow, okay. Around what we've been doing in Australia and the lookup and live app. We can have a little chat about that. But primarily I'm more about overhead power line safety. So I've been involved in several, more than several fatalities where people have accidentally contacted overhead power lines.
[00:48:03] Speaker C: So.
[00:48:04] Speaker A: Sure.
[00:48:04] Speaker E: So I was an electrician by trade.
[00:48:07] Speaker B: Is that where you began?
[00:48:08] Speaker E: Is that electrician? And then basically moved on to a trades person. So on the tools, climbing poles, digging holes, putting power lines back up.
[00:48:17] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:48:18] Speaker E: So I've done over 300 shock investigations personally as well. I end up being a senior inspector, which means I sort of help mentor other younger blokes coming through. So I've done thousands of those. But unfortunately, part of that role is investigating fatalities. And I've also been the first responder to numerous fatalities with people that overhead power lines. So that's why I'm so passionate about this. Until I started the role, I didn't realize that I'd sort of done more than my fair share in this area with fatalities like that and then to see what was happening as a whole as part of my business, because we pretty much do the whole of Queensland, which is one of the largest states in Australia, on the east coast.
And what I was finding was it was happening like four or five times a day where someone would hit a power with, you know, non electrical workers in a piece of agricultural equipment or an elevated workplace crane.
You know, they're not all fatalities, but they've all got the potential, to be sure. So, you know, anecdotally in Australia, we'll see ten accidental contacts with power lines a day.
So if we're seeing that in Australia, imagine what you're seeing in the US. Canada, I've got some stats that I'll talk about tomorrow.
In the US, there is two fatalities every single week with non electrical people hitting overhead power.
Two every week. That's how often it's happening.
[00:49:50] Speaker B: Yeah, we don't hear about those that much.
[00:49:53] Speaker A: Yeah, a lot of our utilities have moved underground, for one. Yeah, but we. We may just not be hearing about consciously incompetent.
[00:50:07] Speaker E: Even in Australia. So when I first started this role, the more I started looking into it, it's just that the power line owners, you know, we're very concentrating on our own business and what's happening in.
Whereas when I was employed, I was like, you know, and that I didn't even want to be in safety. Right. I wasn't the safety guy.
[00:50:26] Speaker A: And that you probably talked trash about the safety guy.
[00:50:29] Speaker E: I'll talk a bit more about tomorrow. I was involved in another incident. Next time I had the safety people ringing me saying, you should come and work for us. And I'm like, no one likes the safety guy.
[00:50:37] Speaker B: Yeah, make things up.
[00:50:40] Speaker A: Except you, safety guy.
[00:50:42] Speaker E: Make things worse. I said, oh, tell me the name of this role you want to call it. They said, oh, community health and safety advisor. And I went, that sounds like you're hand condoms out at the hospital.
No, thanks.
I'll stick with what I'm doing, you know, I'm good. And then, you know, just to see that it was happening so often. And then when I was given the role, they said, we don't even know what we want you to do. What we want you to do is try and reduce incidents from occurring. So I very much put myself in the construction sector, and I went and spoke to a lot of pilots doing crop dusting and in agriculture. So I know a lot. I know so much more about cotton as a crop than I ever wanted to know. So understanding what machinery people are using and what will impact overhead power lines, know how to talk to that industry. So I'm very much an advocate for construction, agriculture and aviation to help them get my business to do more. Right. So just how to contact us, how to get information, how to get that, you know, simple information out there to work safely around power. So that's my role.
[00:51:54] Speaker B: Let me ask you a quick question in regards to that. In your knowledge sharing and helping the folks learn, do you find that a lot of them know what's right and what's wrong, but maybe do things just to save time? Or do you think people really don't understand?
[00:52:10] Speaker E: People don't understand how dangerous overhead power.
[00:52:13] Speaker D: Sure.
[00:52:14] Speaker E: Say, who would put a high voltage, say, 13,000 volts, uninsulated power line on a stick?
[00:52:24] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:52:24] Speaker E: If it was unsafe, yeah. If we were to redesign power lines today, say, if electricity was just invented, we had all the technology we had today, probably wouldn't put anything on overhead power lines, but we cannot retrofit the world. You know, new power lines that go in, they go underground. You know, I built up city or built up area power lines end up going underground. They have a limited lifespan as well. But overhead power lines are cheaper.
You need less metal. Like, for example, a power line size of my finger. When it's in the air, it's air cooled.
Once you put a covering on it, it's no longer air cooled. So you need twice as much metal for that power. Line to carry just as much current or much flow of electricity. Once you put it on the ground, need double again because it's no longer air cooled. You've got four times as much metal.
Carry the same amount of electricity as opposed to one. Yeah.
[00:53:28] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:53:28] Speaker E: So it's bigger, thicker and you don't. And damage as well. So, yeah. The reason why damage prevention is so prevalent in all our countries is for underground. Underground damages cost a lot more money to fix and a lot longer to fix. Right. Whereas overhead, when it gets damaged, we can fix it within a couple hours.
[00:53:50] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:53:51] Speaker E: And it's only a pole or a cross arm or a bit of wire joint. It's done very quickly and, you know, and then we have the fatalities and stuff.
[00:54:01] Speaker A: Just makes sense.
[00:54:02] Speaker E: People just, you know, the power one company owners, they don't pay someone that's working unsafely. Overhead power line. So that's what I found when I fell into damage prevention or safety. I spent. People are not understanding that this is happening because in Queensland I found when I first started, 25 to one. Did I say that already?
[00:54:24] Speaker A: No.
[00:54:25] Speaker E: Yeah. 25 overhead power lines to one underground. That's the ratio we see in Queensland.
We've managed to manage to reduce that a lot. Little bit. But most power line companies in Australia will see at least ten to one over overhead power lines. To underground, that's just power. Right. So if you're looking at, you know, gas and comms and water and sewerage, it's probably nearly equal. Right, so interesting. So the overhead and underground.
So that, that's how I come up with a look up and live at concept. Right. What I was finding was, number one, they're not aware that overhead power lines are dangerous, but they're also not planning for it because workers go on site and they'll say, all right, we'll do your risk assessment. You know, there's a tick box that says power lines. Tick. That's not a plan. Right, right. So people not actively planning. Whereas if they can't see something under the ground, they'll do an 811, I'll do a one, I'll do it before you dig. But for overhead, they just go, you'll see it. And every person I've spoken to in, you know, twelve years have been doing this. They all have a very similar story. They go, Cookie, I 100% year to power line was there. I just didn't see it until I hit it.
[00:55:42] Speaker A: Yeah, interesting. It is.
Cookie, I know a big part of your role is going out and advocating going out and training.
Where does that come from.
[00:55:58] Speaker E: The passion is knowing that they're all 100% avoidable. This isn't like getting cancer or COVID or. It's avoidable because I've seen it firsthand, and I understand that, you know, getting face to face makes a difference.
Doing Zoom meetings and podcasts just isn't.
[00:56:18] Speaker A: As good part of it.
[00:56:21] Speaker E: So when you get up in front of people, you've got their attention 100%, and you're able to tell that story, because us humans, we actually like talking to each other. We do.
[00:56:31] Speaker B: And interacting like we just said, you.
[00:56:33] Speaker E: Know, meeting someone face to face, you've got a bond for life, right? Whereas, yeah, okay, LinkedIn and all that. Yeah, you've got a bit of a bond, but it's not like you've actually met. So when I can get out there and speak to these workers face to face and do a bit of a presentation, I don't really even talk about the laws and the legislation. I talk about how they won't see a power, and I convince them, or they convince themselves, and I say that they won't see a power line. One of the biggest questions I asked that makes people think I go, so who here on their drive has seen a power line this morning? And everyone looks at each other and go, how does Krippy know? I didn't see any power lines.
I go on holidays. I've been taking nonstop photos of power. A little bit weird, I suppose. But, hey, that's the industry I'm in. I see them.
I'm sure you guys go out and see the gear that everyone else is using. You know, you notice that the industry you're in, that's what you see. I see power lines. People in agriculture, construction, they don't see.
[00:57:33] Speaker B: It's interesting, and I think some of the people that do see them. I was actually talking to him, neighbor, when I lived in Houston, Texas one time. We were talking about the power lines, and he was not from the energy sector. He was from another medical field. And he said, those aren't dangerous lines up there. I'm like, what do you mean they're not dangerous? He's like, well, birds land on them all the time, and the birds are living. And I. I said, well, there's the thing about grounding. And then we got into this conversation. So I think I enlightened him a little bit, but I truly believe that he was. At first, I thought he was pulling my leg. I really did. And then I was like, no, I think he's being serious. And I think about that just the educational aspect of it, of helping people to do that, even at a grassroots level, at a neighbor level, the urban.
[00:58:18] Speaker E: Myths are just a killer. Sure, people absolutely think you can touch a power line and don't get hurt. And the worst thing is we've got our utility workers out there working on the lines. So they see us working the lines, whereas they don't realize that we're working in a very safe environment.
Elevated work platforms, time of the poles, a lot of procedures, you can do it safely, right? But if you're in a spray rig or, you know, an excavator or a crane, all bets are off, man. You touch that power line, someone is dead, someone is devastated, or you're just extremely lucky. There's only three things that are going to happen, and usually people are extremely lucky. But the devastated column is getting much higher these days because our emergency services, if you hit a power line in a built up city area, the emergency services get there so quick and they can give you painkillers because, like, burns. But when you contact an overhead power line, high voltage, you'll cop 30,000 degrees celsius. That's how hot electricity is when it goes through your water, you know, cup of coffee, like we've got here, it's like 60, 70, 80 degrees, right?
30,000, the surface of the sun is 5000 degrees. That's how hot it is. It just burns you instantly and continues to burn until they can slow that down. So you've got to be able to cool that down and it just takes you. And if they can get painkillers into, you can save your life, because if you don't get those painkillers in people going to shop and die, then you've got the amputations, right? So once you get to the ICU or the burns unit, they start to amputate. So there's a lot more people that are surviving these contacts, but they're severely damaged.
[01:00:15] Speaker A: Well, cookie, we are here in Banff. What do you think so far?
[01:00:21] Speaker E: I'm very impressed. Yeah, I'm gorgeous, guys. I've never seen snow before. I come from a part of the world where snow does not exist.
[01:00:29] Speaker B: So really, this is your first time seeing snow? This last week when I saw you on LinkedIn, you're all bundled up.
[01:00:34] Speaker A: That's it.
[01:00:35] Speaker E: I was freezing.
[01:00:37] Speaker B: I was like, can I bring my. Hey, dudes, my shoes, golf shorts and a fishing shirt?
[01:00:42] Speaker E: No, I had a bit of jet lag. And Mike Sullivan text me. He goes, oh, you been joining? It's snow today. And I woke up and I've gone, what? Opened the curtains up? There's snow. So I jumped all my gear on, ran out there trying to catch it in my mouth and stuff. So. Yeah, but I tell you what, I was only out for about 15 minutes and I ran back to my room.
I'm coming from plus 30 degrees celsius.
[01:01:07] Speaker A: Yeah.
[01:01:07] Speaker E: And then what is it -19 here today?
[01:01:10] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah.
[01:01:11] Speaker E: 50 degrees difference.
[01:01:12] Speaker D: It's a lot.
[01:01:14] Speaker A: Obviously we're here. Utility safety partners 40th.
What? Why is this event so important? Obviously you're on the agenda. But why? Why did you make the trek? Why did you make the trek out to be here?
[01:01:31] Speaker E: Oh, look, exactly what. What we're talking about. People don't think about the overhead power line incidents. Right. It's damage prevention as well. And people and damage prevention, in essence, they don't realize the overhead component of it. So Mike asked me to come. Like, I spoke at the excavation safety Global Excavation Safety conference last year. Um. And. Yeah, the feedback in Tampa.
[01:02:02] Speaker A: Yeah, what's it? The damage prevention hero of the year, weren't you?
[01:02:07] Speaker E: Yes, I was. Damage prevention hero of the year.
[01:02:09] Speaker A: No big deal.
[01:02:10] Speaker E: Yeah, they gave me jocks. You gave me jocks on the outside there, cape and everything.
[01:02:13] Speaker A: I tell you what. Yeah. Well, cookie, I've been wanting to shake your hand for a long time. Appreciate all the work you do for this industry.
[01:02:22] Speaker E: Seriously, thanks for. Hopefully we get a lot more people to understand that overhead power line safety is way more important than the undercuts, but just as important.
[01:02:33] Speaker A: Hey, we'll be back.
