Mission & Vision

Mission

Gold Shovel Standard (GSS) is a nonprofit organization committed to protecting the integrity of buried infrastructure by improving transparency and accountability in the industry. GSS believes improved accountability practices and increased visibility will reduce the number of damaging infrastructure strikes and create a safer industry overall.

Vision

Gold Shovel Standard envisions a safer North America, achieved by greater transparency in damage prevention performance, through the use of performance measurements, technology, and universal participation in the one-call process. 

Goals by 2025

  • Reduce the frequency of line strikes to underground infrastructure by 50%.
  • Certify a majority of North American municipalities so they rely on GSS metrics when hiring, establishing or renewing franchise rights and offering permits.
  • Establish more than 100 Gold Shovel Standard Communities in North America.
  • More than 75% of insurance companies consider GSS-supported metrics when establishing policies for excavators or locators.

Our Guiding Principles

GSS is focused on improving safety and expanding opportunities for stakeholders in an era of tremendous infrastructure growth. We are guided by our commitment to:

  • Use non-punitive damage reporting to derive metrics
  • Avoid judgment, ratings or policing activities
  • Use data to drive transparency
  • Avoid bureaucracy and ineffective activities
  • Make contractors more successful
  • Be transparent and fair

The Need For Standardized Metrics

The Need For Standardized Metrics

Dramatic reductions in the frequency of line strikes will remain elusive unless all parties continuously improve and measurements underpin continuous improvement. Standardizing the measurement process is an overdue first step to drive performance improvement and increase public and workforce safety. To achieve this ambitious plan, Gold Shovel Standard is working with balanced teams of damage prevention experts to draft, refine and broadly deploy damage prevention metrics for all stakeholders.

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Third-Party Damage Reductions and Communities

Third-Party Damage Reductions and Communities

“Everybody’s third-party is somebody’s second-party.” Reducing line strikes associated with small excavators and third-parties persists as the top priority for all stakeholders in damage prevention. These are difficult reductions to influence, and yet they represent the single biggest risk to safety associated with excavation damage. Gold Shovel Standard Communities are novel and ambitious partnerships to attack this persistent and difficult challenge.

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ShovelSafe™

ShovelSafe™

Increasing safety is impossible without the right tools. Gold Shovel Standard provides world-class technology to drive continuous improvement that reduces damages and increases public and workforce safety. ShovelSafe from Oropala puts damages prevention at the fingertips of business leaders, giving them the tools to drive continuous performance improvement. ShovelSafe is world-class technology for analyzing and tracking damage prevention performance.

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Safety Management Systems (SMS)

Safety Management Systems (SMS)

Pursuing the industry-wide goal of zero incidents requires comprehensive, systematic use of Safety Management Systems. Pipeline and other energy companies, and along with the regulatory community have recognized the critical importance of SMS. Broad adoption of Damage Prevention-Safety Management Systems (DP-SMS), which are safety management systems specifically tailored for damage prevention is a necessary ingredient to achieve that industry-wide goal of zero incidents.

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