by Kodiak Drilling | Dec 7, 2016 | Utility Locates
Report on 1Call Problems The time it is taking to get locates through the 1Call system is just way too long. This problem is not only causing enormous frustration for consultants and drillers in the site investigation sector, but the construction industry too is also...
by Kodiak Drilling | Apr 12, 2016 | Geotechnical
Tunnelling-Induced Ground Movements The Canadian Geotechnical Society (CGS) is hosting a seminar on this topic on April 28. You can access the information by clicking here. We recently completed a large project with our MiniProbe machine installing settlement...
by Kodiak Drilling | Feb 26, 2016 | General Interest, News
The Bat Flip For the third year in a row, we had Jays season tickets available for clients this past season. As an added treat, this year a number of clients got to go to some playoff games !! We are looking forward to another big year and some more playoffs. Check...
by Kodiak Drilling | Feb 26, 2016 | General Interest
Geoprobe 6620 We have added another new drill to the fleet of limited access drills. In keeping with our niche of machines for limited access areas, the Geoprobe 6620 is a great new tool for our drilling tool box. For those clients who are familiar with our...
by Kodiak Drilling | Feb 26, 2016 | News, Wells & Well Records
Efficiency in Well Records One of the advantages of working with Kodiak drill crews is that we try to minimize the time spent on the job site, filling out the Provincial record that is required when groundwater monitoring wells are installed. That time savings reduces...
by Kodiak Drilling | Feb 26, 2016 | Environmental, News
Milestone Cup The first ever “Milestone Cup” was held on February 19, organized and sponsored by Milestone Environmental Contractors. It was a great day of hockey and networking with about 40 other people in the environmental industry. Additionally, over $3000 was...
by Kodiak Drilling | May 6, 2014 | Environmental
APGO Webinar In April 2013, we wrote that the Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario (APGO) had released a draft template for reports completed to satisfy the reporting requirements for Phase Two ESAs for Reg 153. (See link here for that posting and...
by Kodiak Drilling | May 2, 2014 | General Interest
Our Office and Shop Have Moved In the fall of 2013, after 19 years at the same location, Kodiak Drilling moved to a new location. Still in Oakville, we have moved to the east end; still with excellent highway access. Our new facility is more than twice the size of...
by Kodiak Drilling | Feb 5, 2014 | Uncategorized
More Consultations On November 1, 2013, further regulatory proposals were released for comment. You can view the document by clicking November 1 document. Although the deadline for responses has passed, it is worth noting some of suggestions that are relevant to...
by Kodiak Drilling | Apr 24, 2013 | Utility Locates
Bloor Street Explosion – 10 Years Ago Today (April 24) Dora Carambelas, Tina Kirkimtzis, Robert Fairley, Irene Miyama, Adele Brown, Elizabeth Roy, and Lillian Guglietti; those are the names of the seven people who lost their lives 10 years ago today as a result...
by Kodiak Drilling | Apr 23, 2013 | News, Utility Locates, Utility Locates Articles
Implementation of the New Act The Ministry of Consumer Services initiated a consultation process for the implementation of the Ontario Underground Infrastructure Notification System Act (commonly known as the 1 Call Act). As most already know, the Ontario Legislature...
by Kodiak Drilling | Apr 23, 2013 | Wells & Well Records
Draft Manual Available Six years after being conceived, four years since the writing team began, and after one year on the desks of the legal team at the MOE, the much anticipated Best Management Practices Manual has been released for public comment. This hefty tome...
by Kodiak Drilling | Apr 23, 2013 | News, Utility Locates
$500 Fee For No Locates In addition to the fines available to regulators within a number of acts and regulations for not having locates, the TSSA has introduced a $500 fee within their Natural Gas Fee Schedule for an inspection at sites where there are no locates. ...
by Kodiak Drilling | Apr 11, 2013 | General Interest
Tickets, tickets, we got tickets It is looking like 2013 will be an exciting year for the Jays. If you want to go to a game, we have tickets. Two seats in the 4th row of the upper deck, directly behind the plate. Give us a call to find out what dates we have...
by Kodiak Drilling | Mar 21, 2013 | Health & Safety
Car-Drill Collision Sadly, the vehicle driver was killed, when his car struck this drill working along a road east of Toronto. Drillers and field personnel from the consulting company were also reportedly injured. Although the cause of the crash is under...
by Kodiak Drilling | Oct 30, 2012 | News, Utility Locates
Big News on 1-Call After many years and a lot of work by quite a number of people, Ontario now officially has a true 1-Call system. On June 19, Bill 8, the Ontario Underground Infrastructure Notification System Act received Royal Assent. Essentially, this Act...
by Kodiak Drilling | Oct 30, 2012 | General Interest
New Capabilities Kodiak Drilling has added 2 new drills to our fleet. These new drills, very specialized machines for environmental soil sampling and monitoring well installations in limited access areas, will provide us with new ways of tackling difficult problems. ...
by Kodiak Drilling | Oct 29, 2012 | News, Utility Locates
No Locates = Fine A TSSA press release advises of a recent fine imposed on an Ontario contractor for not obtaining proper locates. The contractor reportedly struck the gas pipeline with a backhoe than crimped it with vice grips. You can read the press release by...
by Kodiak Drilling | Oct 29, 2012 | Utility Locates
You “Should” be Okay ? This is a quote from a recent locate: Upon review of the work area specified on this locate request, we have determined there “should” be no conflict with TELUS facilities. We will not be marking TELUS lines at this...
by Kodiak Drilling | Jun 22, 2012 | Utility Locates
Locates Cartoon If you read Drill Bits magazine or saw our previous article about Chuck Rench and Kelly Barr, you are familiar with the characters presented by the National Drilling Association (NDA) promoting safe drilling practices. Based on our suggestion, the NDA...
by Kodiak Drilling | Jun 20, 2012 | Health & Safety
Self Auditing Kodiak has developed a new component for our Health & Safety Management System. The Site Safety Performance Audit process involves a surprise visit to a drilling site by a Kodiak co-worker to complete an assessment of the performance of the crew at...
by Kodiak Drilling | Jun 20, 2012 | Environmental
Vibracorer Sampling Our colleagues at Pollutech have added a nifty new system to their fleet of equipment. The Sediment Vibracorer Sampling System is ideal for collecting sediment cores in open water areas. This system is great for sampling stream, river and lake...
by Kodiak Drilling | Jan 6, 2012 | Environmental
Smart Remediation Building on the tremendous success of the first “Smart Remediation” conference last year, organizers have been planning an event for this year. You can get all the details by clicking Smart...
by Kodiak Drilling | Dec 22, 2011 | Health & Safety
Ministry of Labour Video Although this is not directly related to drilling, knowing that many of our clients are also involved with excavations for soil remediation or construction projects, we have enclosed a link below to a Ministry of Labour YouTube video on...
by Kodiak Drilling | Dec 22, 2011 | Health & Safety
The Source Safety is a key feature of the Fall 2011 edition of The Source, a publication of the Ontario Ground Water Association (OGWA). Our feature article from a 2010 newsletter entitled Drilling Is Not Dangerous caught the attention of OGWA and was published in...
by Kodiak Drilling | Dec 22, 2011 | Wells & Well Records
Guidelines for Well Drawing As you are likely aware, when monitoring wells are installed by Kodiak, a well record is filed with the Ministry of Environment (MOE). Included with the record is a drawing showing the location of the installed wells. We have provided...
by Kodiak Drilling | Dec 20, 2011 | General Interest
Big Beaver Power Boost When Kodiak brought Big Beaver drilling to southern Ontario in 1996, it was revolutionary in the field of limited access drilling. A machine that was larger and more powerful than the Pionjar and smaller and more nimble than the truck and track...
by Kodiak Drilling | Dec 20, 2011 | News, Utility Locates
Charged and Convicted From the legal files, we have a recent conviction and some new charges: Convicted October 2011 – An Employer and supervisor pleaded guilty to a charge under section 228(1)(a) of Ontario Regulation 213/91 resulting in fines of $20,000 and...
by Kodiak Drilling | Dec 20, 2011 | Utility Locates
TSSA Guidelines for Excavations The TSSA document “Guidelines For Excavations In The Vicinity of Gas Lines” November 2004 has recently been updated. For the update, TSSA worked with the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) to produce a new document to harmonize the...
by Kodiak Drilling | Dec 20, 2011 | News, Utility Locates
Over $1 million Fines In a previous post, we indicated that a new trial had been ordered for Enbridge in the Bloor Street explosion. For those who have forgotten, this was an explosion that leveled a building and killed 7 people because the utility locates were not...
by Kodiak Drilling | Dec 20, 2011 | Utility Locates
Burnaby Oil Pipeline It is not likely that people remember the news specifically from July 24, 2007, but anyone involved in drilling work surely had shivers going down their spine watching the news clips of the Burnaby neighbourhood covered in a thick layer of 234,000...
by Kodiak Drilling | Dec 20, 2011 | Utility Locates
Recent Site Issues For this post in the utility locate section, we thought we would summarize a few locate issues that we have faced which prevented us from undertaking the planned drilling. 1. The day before the drilling date, the consultant checked with the site...
by Kodiak Drilling | Feb 10, 2011 | Health & Safety
New Stickers You may have seen one of the new additions to our Health & Safety program; our new bright orange “Safety First” stickers are a reminder that while doing our jobs we should consider safety before taking an action. The stickers are...
by Kodiak Drilling | Feb 10, 2011 | News, Utility Locates
Gas Station Line Hit This is a good one – We hear this one a lot – “we don’t need locates, the owner has been here a long time and knows where all the utilities are located” A local gas station was closed after the property owner cut a 2-inch gas line...
by Kodiak Drilling | Feb 10, 2011 | Utility Locates
Drilling Where You Shouldn’t Be Drilling We have a saying that goes something like…. they were drillin’ where they shouldn’t be drillin’. We use that saying around our shop when we hear stories of drillers drilling without locates, or when we hear...
by Kodiak Drilling | Feb 9, 2011 | Utility Locates
How To Read A Locate Sheet The TSSA has released a pamphlet titled “How To Read A Locate Sheet”. This document is an example locate sheet which has been annotated to assist in interpretation of the information. It is important that all personnel who are dealing with...
by Kodiak Drilling | Feb 9, 2011 | General Interest
Christmas Kettles Again this year, Kodiak Drilling personnel helped out the Salvation Army by manning the Christmas kettle on a number of occasions. With the help of many volunteers they were able to surpass their goal and raise $129,000 for Oakville causes. You can...
by Kodiak Drilling | Feb 9, 2011 | Health & Safety
Updated Policies There are new requirements as of June 2010 in the Occupational Health and Safety Act regarding violence and harassment in the workplace. These changes include development of polices and programs to address workplace violence and harassment issues. ...
by Kodiak Drilling | Feb 9, 2011 | Environmental
MOE Guidance Document Released (Draft) The MOE has released a draft version of a technical guidance document on soil vapour intrusion. The MOE indicates “The Guidance is intended to provide the user with a basic understanding of soil vapour intrusion and the...
by Kodiak Drilling | Feb 9, 2011 | Utility Locates
Its Only A Waterline – It can’t kill you A very common practice when having public locates completed, is to have the municipality locate the shut-off valve near the street. On most properties, the waterlines on private property are not owned by the water...
by Kodiak Drilling | Nov 9, 2010 | Utility Locates
$180,000 For Locate Problem This item is a follow up to our feature article in the January 2010 newsletter (still available on our website in the Utility Locate section). Our article was focused on the importance of also having private locates, in addition to 1Call. ...
by Kodiak Drilling | Oct 22, 2010 | News, Utility Locates Articles
The Real Dirt On Pipeline Strikes The TSSA has released an article promoting utility locates as a method of reducing utility strikes. You can read the article by clicking The Real Dirt on Pipeline Strikes TSSA. Although we applaud the TSSA for the proactive...
by Kodiak Drilling | Oct 13, 2010 | Wells & Well Records
Kodiak Simplifies Well Records If we are installing monitoring wells or piezometers at your drill site, we are required to submit water well record to the MOE promptly after completing the drilling. Our drill crew will present your field personnel with a...
by Kodiak Drilling | Oct 13, 2010 | News, Utility Locates Articles
Section 228 of Construction Regulation has been changed In March 2010, the Ontario Sewer and Watermain Construction Association released a statement regarding changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Act related to utility locates. You can read the notice by...
by Kodiak Drilling | Oct 13, 2010 | Environmental
Maxxam Labs Article on F3 & F4 in Groundwater Kodiak Drilling is often installing monitoring wells for environmental consultants who are evaluating sites for petroleum hydrocarbon contamination. Maxxam Labs has recently published an article related to F3 and F4...
by Kodiak Drilling | Oct 12, 2010 | News, Utility Locates Articles
CGA Wants 811 in Canada The Canadian Press is reporting that the Common Ground Alliance is pushing Ottawa to move towards the 811 system used in the US. The article can be read by clicking here. Kodiak Drilling very much supports the push to having a true 1 Call...
by Kodiak Drilling | Oct 12, 2010 | News, Utility Locates Articles
Locate Problem – Explosion – Death “Around 2:50 p.m. on June 7, the C&H drill team struck Enterprise’s pipeline, causing a 100-foot rupture. C&H auger truck operator James Neese was killed at the scene and eight others on the team were...
by Kodiak Drilling | Aug 16, 2010 | General Interest
Some Positive Feedback on Our Performance We scoured our inbox to come up with some of the feedback we have received over the last few years on the performance of our drilling crews. Not every job goes as smoothly as planned but we aim to do everything we can to...
by Kodiak Drilling | Aug 16, 2010 | Utility Locates Articles
Locate Newsletter We have received some very positive feedback on our recent newsletter. The July issue was devoted to utility locate issues and generated some positive feedback. We have enclosed below, excerpts from some of the emails we received. Thanks for...
by Kodiak Drilling | Aug 16, 2010 | Health & Safety
Some Great Drilling Safety Messages Thanks to the National Drilling Association (NDA) for promoting drilling safety through the adventures of Chuck Rench and Kelly...
by Kodiak Drilling | Jun 16, 2010 | Utility Locates Articles
Feature Article One of the problems we often encounter, is misunderstandings related to having ON1Call locates completed for indoor drilling projects. We are facing challenges with locate requirements due to the approach of ON1Call to locate requests that involve...
by Kodiak Drilling | May 28, 2010 | News, Utility Locates Articles
48 hours in jail for not calling 1-Call…..We need a law like this in Ontario ! From Bristol Tennessee, we get this news report – Fencing Company admits to Failure to Call Before Digging. Most of the downtown was shut down after a gas leak. A fencing...
by Kodiak Drilling | May 28, 2010 | News, Utility Locates Articles
Ontario 1-Call has recently (Spring 2010) updated their list of contacts for their member utilities. You can get to that list by clicking member utilities. We have some locate contacts on our website as well, that you can get to by clicking locate contacts. We also...
by Kodiak Drilling | May 28, 2010 | Utility Locates Articles
New Trial Ordered The legal saga surrounding the Bloor Street explosion continues, as a retrial was granted on April 14, 2010. Anyone who has any involvement with borehole drilling and utility locates is encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Bloor Street...
by Kodiak Drilling | May 28, 2010 | News
Third Party Locate Requests Ontario 1-Call has issued a memo (May 21, 2010), regarding requests for locates being submitted by third parties, which can be read by clicking here. It would appear from this memo, that one can no longer request a third party to look...
by Kodiak Drilling | May 27, 2010 | News, Utility Locates Articles
There Must Be A Hydro Locate It is absolutely imperative that at every site we drill there is a proper locate from the local hydro provider. Unfortunately we have had a number of sites where we could not drill because there was no hydro locate available from the...
by Kodiak Drilling | Feb 24, 2010 | General Interest
Welcome to the re-branded Kodiak Drilling website! When we started providing limited access drilling services as “Kodiak Environmental Limited” in 1994, our work was done exclusively for environmental site assessment and remediation. Over the years, along...
by Kodiak Drilling | Feb 9, 2010 | Wells & Well Records
Feature Article If you could save your client several hundred dollars on a drilling job by simply filling in a few forms, would you be interested? That’s what we can do for you when we file a cluster record. Well drilling in Ontario is regulated by Regulation 903...
by Kodiak Drilling | Nov 19, 2009 | Geotechnical
Feature Article Kodiak Drilling is routinely involved in drilling projects to solve non-routine drilling problems. As the company specializes in limited access areas, solving a problem of how to get the drill to the borehole location and complete the required work...
by Kodiak Drilling | Nov 19, 2009 | Utility Locates Articles
Kodiak Drilling – Feature Article Why does Kodiak insist on having private locates done at most houses? That question can best be addressed by relaying the stories told within a recent TSSA press release related to deaths and injuries at two homes. “On July 30,...
by Kodiak Drilling | Nov 19, 2009 | Health & Safety
Feature Article There is a saying that goes like this: Drilling is not dangerous; it is potentially dangerous. There are many potential dangers faced by personnel working on and around drilling equipment. Personnel in this sense includes drillers, helpers, field...
by Kodiak Drilling | Nov 19, 2009 | Environmental
Feature Article Over 15 years of experience conducting drilling investigations in limited access areas, has led Kodiak to develop an array of methods for accessing and drilling very complicated locations. Many of these methods have been developed as a result of a...
by Kodiak Drilling | Nov 18, 2009 | Environmental
One of the often overlooked advantages of Kodiak Drilling, is our inventory of field equipment that is available to our clients. This equipment is not normally in the drill trucks, but can be brought with the drill crew (upon request), to sites for our client...
by Kodiak Drilling | Nov 18, 2009 | Environmental
Periodically, when we are undertaking drilling for our environmental consultant clients who are undertaking contaminant investigations, we encounter waste asphalt in the split spoon samples we provide or in the auger cuttings exiting the borehole. When undertaking an...
by Kodiak Drilling | Nov 9, 2009 | News
This may be of interest to some of our clients – Ontario One-Call has developed a system to provide your work information to third parties (other utilities) to help you streamline your locate requests. This document also details method for you to get your work...
by Kodiak Drilling | Nov 9, 2009 | News
False Emergency Ontario One-Call has posted on their website, their new policy on “emergency locates” They are essentially reminding everyone of the old saying – “a lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my...
by Kodiak Drilling | Oct 29, 2009 | General Interest
On October 17, Kodiak provided personnel and a truck and trailer for the 6th straight year for the annual Oakville Salvation Army Food Drive. The Kodiak truck is a drop off point for local volunteers who go house to house picking up donation bags that residents leave...
by Kodiak Drilling | Aug 31, 2009 | General Interest
Kodiak Drilling held its first ever staff golf evening in August at Saw-Whet Golf club in Oakville. It as an “interesting” affair, as we had some first-timers. The 9 holes took an unusually long time to play, much to the consternation of the club staff....
