When the ORCGA was founded in 2003, eight (8) Best Practice Commitees were formed. They included Planning & Design, One Call Centre, Locating & Marking, Excavation, Mapping, Compliance, Public Education and Reporting & Evaluation. These eight committees were originally challenged with developing the ORCGA's Best Practices Vesrion 1.0 which was released in 2004. 

After Best Practice Version 2.0 was released in March 2006 it became apparent that a review of the committee structure was needed. In the fall of 2006 the newly formed ORCGA Board of Directors agreed on the proposal to reduce the number of committees to four, these now include Best Practices, Education, Events and Reporting & Evaluation.

Each committee is lead by two co-chairs. The co-chairs are voted in by the committee members annually. All committees meet a minimum of four (4) times per year. Meeting dates and locations for the entire year are selected in advance.

Best Practice Committee

The Best Practice Committee is responsible for the maintenance and review of the ORCGA Best Practices. To become a "Best Practice" each proposal must first pass through the Best Practice Committee. This process is outlined in the Best Practice Inclusions Flowchart. To submit a proposal, please complete the BP Proposal Form.

This committee has two "Co-Primary" representatives from each of the eighteen ORCGA Stakeholder Categories. The Co-Primary reps are responsible to ensure that at least one of the co-primary reps attend each meeting. They are also responsible to work with the other co-primary reps to reach concensus if general agreement (consensus) is not achieved within the full committee.

Education Committee

The Education Committee develops programs used by the ORCGA Stakeholders to deliver damage prevention messages. The education programs delivered by the Education Committee are driven by the recommendations from the ORCGA Reporting & Evaluation Committee. These recommendations are based on underground plant damage statistical data from the Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT).

Events Committee

The Events Committee is responsible to provide guidance and support to the ORCGA Executive Director and Board of Directors in the planning and operational support of ORCGA events throughout the year. The events currently include the annual Symposium and Golf Tournaments.

Reporting & Evaluation Committee

The Reporting & Evaluation Committee is the committee responsible for the development and management of DIRT (www.cga-dirt.com) as it applies to the ORCGA. DIRT provides a method of collecting damage data on a national level. Currently, the ORCGA(Ontario) is designated as DIRT geographical region #8. The other seven (7) DIRT geographical regions are in the U.S. The annual national DIRT report includes all ORCGA data.

The Reporting & Evaluation Committee is also responsible for determining the ORCGA "Excavators of the Year". The committee follows a strict evaluation process that is reviewed each year based on the number of utilities inputting their data into DIRT.