We hit the ground running this year after just hosting our 15th Annual Damage Prevention Summit in late January. Although the weather hindered some of the registrants from attending, we had a very good turnout, whereby participants heard about broadband fiber buildout plans from ConnectLA and potential broadband-related legislation to help facilitate the process, including new software features such as Ticket Talk for our online ticketing users, why it’s beneficial to be a Louisiana 811 member, and much, much more. I highly recommend making it a priority to attend the 2027 Summit that will be held at L’Auberge Hotel in Lake Charles next January 26-28.
We are launching a couple of exciting new initiatives in 2026, the first of which should be available by the end of the first quarter this year, called “DAMAGE NOTIFICATION”. This tool will enable excavators or homeowners to notify utility and facility owner/operators of damage to their underground or submerged infrastructure, regardless of who damaged it. In my prior career, when I worked for an independent telephone company, I much preferred an excavator informing me of utility damage they caused versus covering it up and hoping no one would discover it until later! In instances such as this, I can assure you that most utility/facility owner/operators would very much appreciate the notice and would work with the party who caused the damage. It is important to note that excavators should never assume that a nick is irrelevant; especially the pipeline and electrical companies. Nicks inevitably cause severe consequences later on.
The second initiative we are rolling out soon is Town Hall meetings that will be conducted online. I will admit that this idea was plagiarized from Missouri 811! I liked the concept so much that I wanted to implement it in Louisiana. The purpose of these one-hour or so meetings is to educate all stakeholders on current legislation, how to effectively use our online ticket-entry tools, how to use new features such as TICKET TALK, and explain how ticketing processes work, such as the Pre-Design ticket or the Large Project ticket. Check out our calendar of events page to see when, where, and how to participate in these informational events at https://www.louisiana811.com/events-calendar/.
In closing, I ask that you please follow us on social media, subscribe to our newsletter, and/or share this publication with your coworkers. Keeping you abreast of what is the latest at Louisiana 811 is a priority for our organization so you can make informed decisions for the betterment of your company.
Until next time, God bless and keep safe!