Riverside, CA – May 12, 2016 – HHCI’s Safety Program for excavation operations earned PG&E’s Gold Shovel Standard certification, demonstrating the firm’s commitment to employ the most stringent safety practices. In order to achieve certification HHCI met and exceeded established safety benchmarks, conducted ongoing training, and safely performs all excavation actions. HHCI earned the Gold Shovel designation following extensive review of the firm’s Dig-In Prevention Policy (DPP) and confirmation of HHCI’s executive-level commitment to ongoing, specialized safety training. The certification process reviewed and verified the following:
- Excavation Statement signed by a corporate officer
- Training Program covering the requirements of the One Call Law and Cal-OSHA’s Construction Safety Orders
- Corrective Action Plan to identify dig-in causes and corrective measures, in the event of an incident, and
- Employee Acknowledgment & Accountability Statement, giving all employees a way to report company activity without fear of retribution.
PG&E Gold Shovel Program
PG&E launched the Gold Shovel Standard, a first-of-its kind excavation safety program, to reduce dig-ins and protect PG&E’s underground gas and electric system. With safety as its highest priority, PG&E developed the Gold Shovel Standard Certification process to ensure that PG&E’s hired contractors adhere to the safest excavation standards to prevent injuries, property damage, inconvenient outages, project delays and high costs.