Like the Uncle Sam poster that was famously used to recruit Americans to enlist in the U.S. Army for World War I, we too are looking for some qualified individuals who go above and beyond…in damage prevention.
In my seven years of writing magazine articles, I have covered some wonderful men and women who represent some fantastic organizations from different stakeholder groups in the excavation, locating, and utility industries. We like to get recommendations from our customers so we can spotlight how that person or company helped reduce damage while keeping their communities safe. Here are the ways some of our previous Damage Prevention MVPs have demonstrated excellence in damage prevention.
Relationships
It takes everyone working together to get the job done safely. Whether it’s a utility operator working with a professional excavator, or a locator working with a contractor, relationships are important. Those relationships are not always formed overnight - it takes time and effort. There are going to be times when we disagree with one another and sometimes we must come up with a compromise. At the end of the day, we should all be willing to help each other to complete our work.
Communication
This one goes hand in hand with relationships. When someone enters a locate request, Tennessee 811 notifies member utilities to mark or otherwise respond to the locate request. Maybe the locator gets out to the job site but they don’t quite understand the marking instructions. If there is a good contact number on the ticket, the locator should reach out to the person or company to ask for additional information. Or maybe on the flip side, an excavator gets to a job site and notices something is not marked correctly based on the information provided. The excavator would need to reach out to the locator and explain it was done incorrectly. This could help both sides form a stronger relationship and have better communication.
Safety
Reducing utility damages is only part of an MVP’s concern for safety. Safety is paramount in our industry. No one wants their employees to get injured or worse, have a fatal accident. Everyone I have featured has always been safety driven. Whether that is a tailgate talk, wearing proper PPE, or putting together a public awareness event, safety is the life blood of what we all do.
Knowledge & Technology
Throughout our careers we learn important job functions, processes, and knowledge regarding our positions. We learn from our mistakes as much as we learn from our successes. I’ve never been a locator, but when I have featured a few locators as our Damage Prevention MVPs, one thing that resonates with me is their knowledge of their utility system. The same could go for an excavator and understanding how they can productively get a job done safely and on time. With that, many of our Damage Prevention MVPs are using new equipment to work safely and enhance productivity. Whether that’s a new locating device that penetrates the ground or using the newest drone technology to fly over a job site during pre-construction. Knowledge and technology are critical in the damage prevention world.
WE WANT YOU to be our next Damage Prevention MVP! If you know someone in your company that fits the bill, or maybe someone you work with in the field, I would love to spotlight them in a future edition of this magazine. Please contact me by email at jfryer@ tennessee811.com.