YORKTON – SaskEnergy has recognized Parkland Contracting and Vac Services with a SaskEnergy Safe Digging Excellence Award for its commitment to safe excavation and community safety.
The Yorkton-based utility construction company was honoured for its dedication to preventing damage to underground infrastructure.
“Hitting a line would impact the safety of our employees and our business financially, and those are risks we aren’t willing to take,” said Gary Lake, owner of Parkland Contracting and Vac Services. “The benefits of getting a line locate outweigh the risks. It benefits our business by ensuring we don’t hit a line.”
Safe digging practices help protect communities by reducing the risk of property damage and personal injury while ensuring construction projects stay on schedule. With nearly 88,000 kilometres of buried gas line serving more than 400,000 customers across the province, SaskEnergy prioritizes the safety and integrity of its system, promoting responsible digging as part of this effort.
“The Safe Digging Excellence Award was created to recognize contractors like Parkland Contracting and Vac Services, who actively reduce the risk of damage to underground infrastructure in their daily work,” said Kevin Adair, SaskEnergy’s executive vice-president of customer service operations.
“Over the past three years, SaskEnergy has experienced record-low contacts with our buried infrastructure thanks to the actions of the digging community. Contractors like Parkland Contracting and Vac Services set an example in how they approach their work around buried infrastructure, and this award celebrates their efforts.”
This year, SaskEnergy is recognizing three Saskatchewan businesses with the award. Each has completed at least 25 line locates annually over the past three years, with zero contacts with underground infrastructure.
Parkland Contracting and Vac Services received its award at the Dig Safe breakfast held at St. Mary’s Centre in Yorkton on April 16. The first recipient, Yaremy Screw Piles of Melfort, was honoured in Tisdale on April 3. The third award will be presented in Weyburn on April 24.
Organized by the Saskatchewan Common Ground Alliance (SCGA), Dig Safe breakfasts are held in communities across the province during April, which is Dig Safe Month and the unofficial start of spring digging season.
