This article was published in the 2025 Excavation Safety Guide.
I’ve been asked by several people over the years what I think about Damage Prevention Meetings and if Mississippi has good results. I would have to say the areas where we have a good turnout for these meetings have a positive influence on the people attending and the area where the meeting is taking place. I tell everyone the best way to prevent damages is good communication between all parties, getting to know the locators in the area, and knowing the contractor’s contact person and the local utility owner/operators. I’ve heard Damage Prevention Coordinators from other states say it’s hard getting people to these meetings, and I agree. I think you can have too many meetings, and although repetition is the best way to learn, if you don’t have something new you will soon see your numbers drop.
T here are so many factors to think about when it comes to Damage Prevention Meetings. I recently had a meeting scheduled for nearly a month. When I set the meeting up I didn’t know it was going to rain for a solid two weeks. Then on the day of my meeting, it was the first sunny day we had. Needless to say, no one showed up. T hose kinds of things are going to happen, and it shouldn’t discourage anyone from planning to attend another meeting. Excavators and contractors may be the most challenging group to set aside time for these Damage Prevention Meetings, but they need to be there the most so we can provide important information to help keep everyone safe on the jobsite.
Utility owner/operators have many meetings they are required to attend where they hear about changes in the law and the need to make changes in their organization. I rarely get a call from a utility asking me to explain something about the law, but I do get several calls from excavators/contractors asking me to help define something in the law or help with an issue they don’t understand.
Mississippi Damage Prevention Coordinators have around 42 Local MDPC meetings around the state. If you or someone in your organization would like to attend one of these meetings, visit ms811.org and click on DPC Map. You can also call or send an email from this site letting us know you would like to be added to our MDPC meetings. You can contact the One Call center in your state to be added to their distribution list as well, to stay up to date on meetings and locations.
We are always happy to have anyone call that needs help of any kind, but we would also like to have you in our meeting so we can put a face with a name and get to know you in person. We understand it may be difficult to allow all employees to come to a regular MDPC meeting, so we would be glad to come to your place of business and have an in-house meeting with all your employees during a time that works for you.
Remember, calling Mississippi 811 (or the One Call center in your state) can prevent damages to underground utilities, but more importantly, it can help prevent bodily injuries, or worse.
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