Independent research reveals that the risk of a strike while excavating is five times less likely when the excavator uses the BYD service. So why isn’t everyone using the free referral service?
For almost 40 years, Before You Dig Australia (BYDA) has been protecting Australians and underground infrastructure from harm and damage by providing the free referral service. Lodging an enquiry and knowing what is below before any excavation or digging project helps prevent damaging underground pipes and cables that distribute essential services, like electricity, gas, communications, and water, to our community.
At BYDA, our vision is to achieve Zero Damage to underground infrastructure and Zero Harm to workers and the community. The service plays an essential role in supporting safe work practices. While BYDA has most of the underground infrastructure in Australia registered as members, our goal is to have all asset owners on board.
It’s not just about registering your assets
BYDA membership allows asset owners to protect their underground infrastructure by advising anyone planning to excavate that there are assets in the vicinity. Members also get to know who is working around the assets, when the planned works are, the type of work to be carried out and on whose behalf they are working. A BYDA membership minimises risk to workers and the community. Therefore, becoming a member will help maintain an organisation’s Duty of Care.
But that’s not all…
BYDA allows its members to access historical excavation activity information. This data can assist when follow-up on previous works is required, for example, when reinstatement practices have not been satisfactorily completed or when an investigation of incidents needs to occur. In addition, the information at hand will allow you to save valuable ratepayer dollars.
BYDA products
Besides the free referral service, BYDA provides invaluable products for underground asset owners and non-asset-owning organisations involved in excavation works. The range of BYDA products has been designed to provide time-saving and cost-effective solutions to our members and excavators.
Automate is an asset management solution that provides BYDA members with 24/7 automated responses to user enquiries. With Automate, members are provided with real-time access to enquiry information, saving time and improving asset protection and organisational efficiency.
Collaborate is a product that allows project managers across multiple organisations to plan their work and identify opportunities to work together and reduce the risk of asset damage, lower costs, and eliminate re-work. This service is offered to BYDA members and informs and encourages internal and cross-organisation collaboration by sharing excavation and works data from different utilities and presenting the data in a common view.
Locate is a product for users of the referral service. It helps manage, store and access current and past enquires in one location. Locate is extremely helpful for users who lodge frequent enquiries, as it consolidates the enquiry response information generated by multiple enquires.
Awareness and Damage Prevention Sessions
To achieve our vision of Zero Damage and Zero Harm, we need to ensure that everyone is informed about safe excavation practices and checks what is below before breaking the ground. That is why we have Damage Prevention and Awareness Officers in each state and territory ready to tailor a toolbox talk or in-depth session to meet your team’s needs. These sessions can be delivered online or onsite, and they cover the following topics:
- How the BYD service works,
- Safe work practices – including the 5Ps of Safe Excavation,
- How damages occur and how to help prevent them, and
- Consequences of damaging underground infrastructure
To book your free session, contact us using the contact form on the website www.byda.com.au
It is certainly worth investigating the potential benefits of becoming a BYDA member with Automate. Signing up as a member is easy; contact us through the BYDA website or contact your local state representative for more information. Your BYDA representative will guide you through the process of becoming a member and help us achieve our vision of Zero Damage, Zero Harm.
