Page 19 - Arkansas 811

Infrastructure Resources Becomes Excavation Safety Alliance
Bloomington, MN, UNITED STATES, August 1, 2023 – This important industry organization, Infrastructure Resources, has changed its name to Excavation Safety Alliance (ESA) to better reflect their role in the industry. Scott Landes, ESA President, says that “focusing on safe excavation spotlights the importance of safety for the people doing the digging, and helping keep people safe is the top priority of both damage prevention and safe excavation efforts.” When safe excavation practices are followed, the infrastructure and excavator are protected.
Some of ESA’s goals are to reach new stakeholders who
have not had a voice in the past and to provide different opportunities to learn about damage prevention and excavation safety. The free monthly virtual Town Halls have covered late locates, subsurface utility engineering, the cost of damages, damage investigation, One Call Laws and more. These Town Halls give people an opportunity to talk about their challenges, improvements, successes, and potential solutions. Typically, over 30% of Town Hall attendees are new to our industry database of over 100,000 people, so the strategy is working.
This ESA name connects all their initiatives:
• The Excavation Safety Conference (started in 2004)
• The annual Excavation Safety Guide (started in 2006)
• The Excavation Safety Magazine (started in 2010)
• The 811 Run (Created in 2013)
• The 811 Mudders (started in 2014)
• Pipeline Ag Safety Alliance (started 2015)
• Locator Safety & Appreciation Week (started in 2015)
• Damage Prevention Hero (started in 2010)
• Global GPR Congress (started in 2021)
• Global Locate Masters (started in 2022)
ESA works closely with other companies and associations to accomplish their mission to “save lives through education and collaboration”.
Industry veterans think the name change is a good idea:
• “This is great! Love it!” - Mike Iadanza, Vice President, Mason Private Locating
• “This looks to be a great step forward for your organization and I love the new branding.” – Tom Hall – Vice President of Business Development, KorTerra
• “You’re really capturing something special with those Town Halls.” – Kit Moore, Director of Business Development, Damage Prevention Solutions
• “Infrastructure protection is more than dollars saved: it’s about people going home at the end of the day. The new
name “Excavation Safety Alliance” definitely emphasizes the protection of lives as well as facilities.” - Louis Panzer, Executive Director, North Carolina 811
Calling 811 or visiting ClickBeforeYouDig.com is a great first step, but there is much more to learn to stay safe. To learn more or watch free recordings of ESA’s Town Halls at ExcavationSafetyAlliance.com
2023, Issue 3 Arkansas 811 Magazine • 17