Damage Prevention Professional

The Utility Safety Partner’s Training Standards Committee (TSC) is working with damage prevention stakeholders to build conceptual alignment on the preferred framework for a Damage Prevention Professionals Certification Program (DPP). This program would provide a professional designation, upon successful completion for persons working in any of the various stakeholder groups ranging from construction, utility owners, pipeline (construction, maintenance, operations), municipalities, regulators, and locators…to the digging community. Basically, anyone involved in functions defined as, or linked to, DAMAGE PREVENTION could benefit from the program, and the resultant designation/certification as a Damage Prevention Professional.

The responses we capture to the following few questions will assist the TSC in developing the structure, initial focus, and administration for the Damage Prevention Professionals Certification Program. Today, we envision a program that would be comprised of 8-12 (5-8 hour) core eLearning programs relating to ground disturbance, overhead lines, damage prevention, locating & marking, and more, that would form the mandatory, or core certification requirements, with an additional (4-8) electives to facilitate specialization by industry or technical discipline area, augmented by on-going CEU requirements, webinars, and information sharing opportunities to ensure up-to-date alignment with best practices, new methodologies and evolving legislation.