UTILITIES INDUSTRY
Canadian Association of Pipeline and Utility
Locating Contractors (CAPULC) focuses on
competency, ethics and professional recognition
Canadian Design and Construction Report special feature
The Canadian Association of Pipeline and Utility Locat-
ing Contractors (CAPULC) was established in 2002 as a
non-profit Canadian association and the voice of Canada’s
Underground Facility Locators (UFLs). Today CAPULC is ac-
tively focused on industry competency, ethics, and recog-
nition for the profession.

Among CAPULC’s most recent achievements is the es-
tablishment in January 2016 of a Competency Review
Committee to address the more than 3,200 competencies
identified in the Underground Facility Locator (UFL) Com-
petency Profile and to address gaps.

CAPULC executive director Jason Mugford says the
committee has been structured to facilitate a comprehen-
sive review of the required competencies for a UFL to in-
crease the accuracy and reliability of locates.

“Competencies were identified as every day work tasks
that make up the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and technol-
ogy used by locators in accomplishing their day to day em-
38 – Winter 2017 — The Canadian Design and Construction Report
ployment in the draft UFL Competency Profile sent out to
the public review and comment on May 25, 2015.”
The competencies are blended with theoretical knowl-
edge, proven field procedures, regulations, training pro-
grams, safe work practices and manufacturer’s equipment
reference material. The committee, structured to include
a chair, co-chair and administrative co-ordinator, is backed
by sub-committees formed by industry stakeholder groups
including electric power, transmission pipelines, gas dis-
tribution, petroleum producers, general locating /privately
owned facilities, telecommunications/CATV, water and
wastewater, and surveying and mapping.

Together the committee and its sub-committees are
tasked with prioritizing, identifying gaps and updating the
competency profile with advances in technology, educa-
tion and training, industry feedback and regulatory
changes. “The committee members are to prioritize a cross-sec-
tion of competencies by identifying, categorizing and clas-
sifying each competency in a hierarchical tiering. The




committee is to report back to the board of directors of
CAPULC their progress by the end of March 2017,” says
Mugford. The Competency Review Committee is expected to en-
sure validity of the competency profile and to develop ad-
ditional competencies that might be identified. He says
sub-committee members may also provide comments on
any competency, propose a new competency or compe-
tency modification.

In addition to the current competency review, CAPULC
has also added an additional requirement to its Code of
Ethics form that must be signed by all members. Among
the items detailed in the code, members must adhere to
the UFL Competency Cycle and its three stages: Knowl-
edge development (preferably industry specific) course(s);
industry specific field training (hands-on or OJT); and in-
dustry specific final assessment (verification of knowledge
and skills).

Mugford says the association is also addressing stan-
dards for industry and clients. CAPULC recently made
available version 2.0 of the UFL’s Field Task Competency
Manual which CAPULC endorses. The manual specifies lo-
cator training standards and competency requirements in
an effort to increase the accuracy and reliability of locates.

“The manual, developed by Locate Management, con-
tains task descriptions written by subject matter experts
with input from industry stakeholders,” he said.

Besides internal initiatives, CAPULC works as an advo-
cate for the industry at various levels of government. Mug-
ford says CAPULC is actively supporting Bill S-229, ‘An Act
respecting underground infrastructure safety’, introduced
by Senator Grant Mitchell and currently in second reading.

“Bill S-229 is an important piece of legislation that will re-
duce the costs and increase safety associated with dam-
ages to our underground infrastructure by addressing the
need for a mandated comprehensive call/click-before-you-
dig notification system across Canada.”
He says while currently there are call/click before you
dig systems in Canada, there is no legislation, except in
Ontario, to require its use. “Bill S-229 would ensure the
system is comprehensive and effective for underground
infrastructure on federal lands.”
Mugford says there is a significant amount of cost and
damages from people who hit underground infrastructure
when they are digging, whether it is from major construc-
tion projects or homeowners digging in their yard. In 2015,
he says, there were more than 10,000 voluntary reports of
damage to underground infrastructure in Canada, of which
79 per cent caused a disruption to services.

In an effort to connect with industry and raise aware-
ness of its efforts, CAPULC will be attending and hosting
a booth at the ORCGA (Ontario Regional Common Ground
Alliance) 2017 Symposium this year in Niagara Falls. “We
will also be attending the 5th Annual Canadian Common
Ground Alliance (CCGA) Damage Prevention Symposium
in Ottawa from Sept. 19-21, 2017 and will have a booth
there as well.”
“It is important for all Canadians to understand just how
complex our buried infrastructure is below their feet. Retail
stores, our homes, airports, workplaces, schools, hospitals
all rely on important telecommunications, electric power
cables, pipelines, water and sewer that are buried under
the ground across our country.”
Locators and ground disturbers/excavators play an im-
portant role in protecting this critical infrastructure, he
says. “We as citizens of Canada forget that the energy in-
dustry and our infrastructure is what built Canada and what
gives us the luxuries we enjoy today like heat for our
homes, basic electricity, high speed internet, clean drinking
water, sewer systems, cell phones, internet, cable TV,
street lights, trains, subways and streetcars. Without this
vast network of underground infrastructure that keeps our
country connected, we would not be the great industrial-
ized nation that we are today.”
For more information, visit http://www.capulc.ca.

www.capulc.ca WE PROVIDE LEADERSHIP,
PROMOTE SAFETY, AND
ENHANCE THE VALUE
AND REPUTATION OF THE
UNDERGROUND FACILITY
LOCATING INDUSTRY
IN CANADA.

The Canadian Design and Construction Report — Winter 2017 – 39