dp-PRO Articles
Locating – Old Dog Beats Dead Horse
I showed up on a jobsite a couple weeks ago to do a private locate for one of my favorite customers. “Before we get started,”
Public Awareness – Promoting 811 through Aboveground and Elevated Storage Tanks: High-Visibility Return on Investment
FINDING CREATIVE ways to share the message of damage prevention amid a pandemic quickly took a turn last March for us at NC811. With no
Public Awareness – Call 811 Before You Dig 200 Presented by Arizona 811
ARIZONA 811 has always strived to be a leader in the damage prevention industry. For organizations like Arizona 811, where a great amount of effort
Public Awareness – Industry Engages in Locator Safety Awareness Week!
THANK YOU LOCATORS! And thanks to all our industry partners who took the time to recognize these important industry professionals as we celebrated Locator Safety
Public Awareness – MISS DIG 811 Educational Mobil Unit
WHAT DO YOU get when you cross utility safety education, grant money, fun, games, superheroes, and mobility? In MISS DIG 811’s case, Michigan’s facility notification
Is 811 Broken? A Two-Part Virtual Networking Event Explores Issues and Best Practices
As part of the 2021 Global Excavation Safety Conference VIRTUAL, KorTerra’s Tom Hall, Vice President of Business Development, facilitated a lively and informative two-part roundtable
DPW Recap
When COVID-19 Forced Damage Prevention Week Events Online, Event Producers, Presenters and Panelists all Worked together to bring this Important Education to a Virtual
LWDP – Leading Women of Damage Prevention
Who are the Leading Women of Damage Prevention (LWDP)? This newly formed organization, in association with the DPC of Texas, is a social enterprise designed
A Farmer Learns the Importance of “Knowing What’s Below.”
A warm fall was finally bringing the right kind of weather for Austin Broden to install drain tile in a few spots on his fields.
Utilities are not the Only Conflict Lurking Underground!
Advances in array tech data collection and software processing are mainstreaming the platform for use by a diverse range of professionals such as geomatics/geospatial surveyors,
Damage Prevention “Ambassador” App is making a Huge Difference in Underground Safety.
Federal regulations require natural gas pipeline companies to conduct continuing surveillance of their facilities to prevent damage. One safety leader in the industry has strengthened
Efficient Inspections and Rapid Report Times
MEET JOHN VAN DYK, P.ENG., owner and inspector of Canadian Cutting & Scanning. He has decades of experience in structural engineering and general contracting and
COVID-19 and Sewer Deterioration
COVID-19 and Sewer Deterioration: From One Year In to Several Years Out Here we are folks! More than a year into the COVID- 19 pandemic,
Utility Mapping and Hydro Excavation
Being a hydro excavator for over nine years, I have worked with and alongside numerous utility facility owners, installers and maintenance companies. I have noticed
Giving Back – Convoy of Hope
Convoy of Hope is a faith-based, nonprofit organization with a driving passion to feed the world through children’s initiatives, community events, and disaster response. Founded
Industry News
NATIONAL SURVEY REPORTS on Utility Interruption during COVID-19 In observance of National Safe Digging Month (April), Common Ground Alliance (CGA) released the results from a
Damage Prevention Hero – George Kemp
George Kemp Definitely not Someone Afraid of a Challenge HIRED BY METRONET TO DEVELOP A DAMAGE PREVENTION PROGRAM, GEORGE KEMP LIVED UP TO EXPECTATIONS. ACCORDING
SOCIAL MEDIA
WHAT’S TRENDING Construction Safety Week, May 3-7, was initially started in 2014, when more than 40 national and global construction firms comprising the Construction Industry
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
CALENDAR OF EVENTS Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many events have rescheduled or transitioned to a virtual event. Be sure to verify the status of
How to Create a Genuine Safety Culture and Change the Contracting Space for the Better
IN THE CONTRACTING WORLD, we see all too often, companies that simply just check boxes on safety, quality, and paperwork in general. We often see
dp-PRO Survey: Live Events & Tradeshows
THANK YOU in advance for participating in this survey. The research contributes to the development of our education, live events, magazine content and, ideally, challenges
Global Excavation Safety Conference VIRTUAL
(April 6-8, 2021) After months of anticipation, the Global Excavation Safety Conference VIRTUAL has come and gone – but is definitely not forgotten! There were
SHIFTING SOIL
Today’s Best Practices for Multi-Channel Ground Penetrating Radar It didn’t take long after utilities were buried underground that humans had a need to discover where
LOUISIANA 811: DREDGING UP GOOD RESULTS
Educating various stakeholder groups has always been a challenge for One Call Centers. How do we effectively reach folks who have the potential to damage
INDUSTRY NEWS XTRA
VIRGINIA 811 ANNOUNCES SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM Virginia 811 recently announced a new scholarship program for students focused on underground utility damage prevention. Virginia 811 (also known
Conquer All Conditions: How to Best Utilize Vacuum Excavation in Various Soil Types
With its ease-of-use, high ROI and soft-excavation style, vacuum excavators are growing in popularity across a wide range of industries and applications. Today’s contractors are
COVERING ALL THE BASES – Five Questions Your HDD Contract Should Answer
I’ve practiced construction law for nearly 20 years. In that time, I’ve seen contracts for horizontal directional drilling work come in all shapes and sizes,
Publisher’s Column – Introducing the Facility Notification Center Association
In March, the industry celebrated it’s first-ever Damage Prevention Week. Designed as a week where everyone can celebrate both locally and on a larger scale
MISS DIG 811 Private Locate Survey
THE STATE OF MICHIGAN requires a call to 811 to have facilities marked before digging at a job site. However, facility owners (i.e. utility, cable,
Did You Know a Locator Saved Your Life Last Week? Celebrating Locator Safety & Appreciation Week
LOCATOR SAFETY & APPRECIATION Week (LSAW) is April 19-25. This annual celebration brings to the forefront the need to recognize the important job locators do,
Indiana 811 is hitting the Road!
INDIANA 811 is looking forward to hitting the road this year to spread the safe digging message! Indiana 811, who together with Kentucky 811 form
Locating – My Pleasure
As a guy who has been locating for the better part of 25 years, I’ve developed a few opinions about fast food restaurants; they in
NUCA of WA
NUCA of WA is the Western Washington Chapter of the National Utility Contractors Association (NUCA National). Consisting of approximately 75 members, the organization is a
Unsafe Digging Leaves Everlasting Impact
Damage to a small natural gas distribution pipeline destroyed one home, damaged several other homes, sent three individuals to emergency care, injured 40 others, displaced
The Rise of First Amendment Audits and Its Impact on YOU!
“IF THEY CANNOT PROVOKE A CONFRONTATION, THEY WILL TYPICALLY LEAVE. TO AN AUDITOR, POLITE + FRIENDLY = BORING.” A First Amendment Audit. Most of us
ERGONOMICS
Ergonomics is the way you use your body to work and fitting the job or task to you to reduce your risk of injury. The
How GIS Is TRANSFORMING Pipeline Safety for Municipal Utilities
THE YEAR IS 2001. Collectively, we had just survived Y2K, the twin towers still stood in NYC, and pipeline regulations were starting to be a
SPECIAL FOCUS – The Inaugural Global Locate Masters (GLM)
The Inaugural Global Locate Masters (GLM) is scheduled to take place during Damage Prevention Week at the 2022 Global Excavation Safety Conference in Phoenix, Arizona,
Harnessing the Power of Facility Mapping Data
As members of the damage prevention industry, we not only strive to obtain more or better data, but to also identify better ways of harnessing