Wallkill Partners With O&R for New Safety Program

From Orange and Rockland Engineers: O&R today welcomed the Town of Wallkill and its Department of Public Works as the first municipal partners in O&R’s service area to adopt the Gold Shovel Standard, a first-of-its-kind excavation safety program designed to help prevent construction damage to utilities’ underground facilities.

To achieve that goal, the Gold Shovel Standard (GSS) program certifies an excavator’s policies and procedures against a set of excavator training procedures designed to protect underground facilities. Gold Shovel Standard also publishes a rating, known as an EICO™ score, which is an ongoing measure of an excavator’s digging-safety-worthiness.

Since O&R adopted the program last spring, the Gold Shovel Standard program has served as O&R’s primary contractor information management system for excavation safety performance. As a result, contractors performing excavation work for O&R will be required to participate in the Gold Shovel Standard program. Participation in the Gold Shovel Standard program requires contractors to be further trained to excavate safely around buried utilities, and demonstrate that performance on a continuous basis, essentially raising the bar for acceptable excavation safety.

Town of Wallkill Commissioner of Public Works Lou Ingrassia Jr. said, “The Town of Wallkill is taking a leadership role in the formation of a Gold Shovel Standard community, where permission to excavate is reserved for those with a baseline Safety Management System and a measureable track record of caution around buried infrastructure. As the first municipality in the Tri-State area to participate in GSS, we are proud to demonstrate our commitment to safety.”

O&R’s General Manager of Gas Operations Glenn Meyers said, “Under Town Supervisor Dan Depew and Department of Public Works Commissioner Lou Ingrassia, Wallkill always has operated a top-rated DPW. It has worked as a close partner with O&R for many years in its efforts to prevent potentially dangerous damages to underground facilities.

“Today, Wallkill’s DPW just got even better.

“O&R applauds the Town of Wallkill for providing its workers with increased awareness and knowledge of safe excavation practices to best ensure the safety of its residents. This, along with Wallkill’s underground infrastructure protection policies and damage prevention procedures, qualified the town for the Gold Shovel Standard Certification, a credential that recognizes Wallkill’s strong commitment to damage prevention and public safety.

“Last year, O&R was one of the first utilities on the East Coast to adopt the Gold Shovel Standard. While O&R workers are well trained and highly skilled, we found that the Gold Shovel Standard helped reinforce what’s most important in our work --- the safety of our customers. In addition, working to the Gold Shovel Standard improves the efficiency and effectiveness of our operations, enhances our service reliability and helps control our costs. We expect that Wallkill will realize the same benefits. Following the Gold Shovel Standard is a big step forward and it’s well worth the extra effort.”

Wallkill’s training program was designed by Dig Safely New York, Inc., the state’s non-profit organization that promotes excavation safety and the protection of underground utilities and other infrastructure.

Dig Safely New York, Inc.’s Executive Director Kevin Hopper said, “Having the entire Town of Wallkill Public Works Department certified through this program displays an unwavering commitment to safety and sets an example for municipalities all over the state.”

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