The DPI is a program that has been established by CGA to address systemic inefficiencies in the damage prevention process through the development of a comprehensive participant accreditation and elevated metrics, creating the foundation for a consolidated benchmarking and true peer review process. The DPI, an arm of CGA, will build on Gold Shovel Association’s progress and take the industry to the next level by focusing on measuring the outcomes of all participants in the damage prevention process, while also assessing the systemic impacts on the industry overall.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Damage Prevention Institute (DPI)?
Who can participate in the DPI?
All DPI participants must be members of the CGA. There is no additional cost to participate in the DPI for current CGA members.
Participation in the DPI is voluntary for CGA members. While some stakeholders may choose to require those they contract with to participate in the DPI, CGA will not require participation of any organization.
DPI participants can register as members of more than one stakeholder group (e.g., a facility owner/operator can register as an excavator and/or a locator if those services are in-house). We are working towards developing ways that 811 (One Call) Centers can participate in the DPI.
How much does it cost to participate in the DPI?
There is no additional cost to participate in the DPI for CGA members. CGA membership dues cover the cost of participation. To participate in the DPI, you must be a CGA member.
What are the requirements for participation in the DPI?
All DPI participants must:
- Be a current CGA member (yearly)
- Complete the DPI Enrollment Form (yearly)
- Sign a leadership Commitment to Damage Prevention (yearly)
- Submit complete and accurate damage data (monthly)
- Submit complete and accurate metrics data (monthly)
- Agree to participate in the peer review process (cyclically)
What are the criteria for DPI accreditation?
While all DPI participants agree to uphold CGA Best Practices and other general requirements, accreditation criteria are tailored by stakeholder group. Click here to learn more about DPI accreditation criteria.
How will the peer review process work?
The peer review process is under development. The DPI will take lessons learned from other associations’ peer review processes and seek to complement — and not duplicate — those efforts. The DPI envisions a peer review process that:
- Can be conducted remotely
- Uses a well-defined, step-by-step process
- Encourages sharing of successes and opportunities related to the processes employed by each organization
- Limits exposure of proprietary or competitive information
More information about the peer review process will be shared in the future.
Is data submitted to the DPI confidential?
Yes, any data submitted to DPI is confidential. However, at your organization’s discretion, participants may share their data with other DPI Participants. At this time, data submitted to the DPI will be used to measure the performance of organizations belonging to the three measured stakeholder groups (locators, facility owner/operators, and excavators).
How will performance be measured?
The DPI will use stakeholder input to develop different performance metrics for each stakeholder group. The metrics will support analysis of each participant’s performance as compared to the performance of that participant’s stakeholder group. Comparisons will be made in the form of standard graphical representations of familiar statistical analyses. The comparisons will not rank participants in relation to each other. Instead, the comparisons will demonstrate a single participant’s performance in relation to a generalized depiction of their peers’ collective performance.
What happens if a DPI participant fails to uphold its responsibilities?
The success of the DPI depends upon the active participation and commitment to shared responsibility of participants. Organizations that fail to uphold their responsibilities of participating in the DPI will lose their accreditation in the DPI. The CGA will work with those participants to support their return to accredited status as quickly as possible.
Will the DPI notify facility owner/operators about a contractor's loss of accreditation?
The DPI provides a list of all participants in the DPI and their status here, which is updated every Friday by 5 pm ET.
If my company is accredited, is there a logo I can use?
Who do I contact for more information?
Contact us at dpi@commongroundalliance.com with questions, comments, and suggestions.
How do I ensure I receive email communications?
To ensure you receive CGA and DPI emails, you will want to add us to your allowlist/whitelist (trusted sender). All member newsletters and group emails are sent from the connectedcommunity.org and commongroundalliance.com domain. Please whitelist that domain in full *@connectedcommunity.org *@commongroundalliance.com.
For those able to whitelist by IP address, all CGA emails use the following IP addresses.
54.240.14.78, 54.240.14.79, 54.240.14.80, 54.240.14.31, 54.240.14.32, 54.240.14.106, 54.240.14.216, 54.240.14.217, 54.240.14.218, 54.240.14.219, 54.240.14.220, 54.240.14.221
