Coordinate PA: a Web Application Developed to help Maximize the Benefits of Shared Costs and Project Coordination to Prevent Damage to Underground Utilities

What is Coordinate PA?

Coordinate PA is the web application developed to help maximize the benefits of shared costs and project coordination to prevent damage to underground facilities. Coordinate PA enables users to add and/or import existing projects, coordinate opportunities with others who want to collaborate, share project communications with designated contacts, and notify facility owners at any stage of a project. When transitioning a project from planning and design to construction phase, complex project tickets can be created, and communications continue through to the conclusion of the project.

Why Use Coordinate PA?

Virtual communication has recently become an essential part of daily business. Many of the normal in-person meetings and hand-to-hand site plan exchanges have been put on hold in the interest of public safety. Coordinate PA offers a secure repository where users can plan, share, and store all the information necessary to safely execute a project from start to finish, anywhere, any time. Ask yourself, are you tired of utility companies replacing mains and services under your freshly paved roadway that took you two years to budget, plan, and complete? Did you enter that paving project in Coordinate PA and announce to all the facility owners in the area that you were planning on doing so? Why not? Did they enter their main and services project? Did your plans overlap? We no longer have a reason to run into this scenario; planning can happen for a project large or small with just a few clicks. Rather than scrambling to find funds to repave that roadway, maybe you save money by sharing the restoration costs because you worked on both projects at the same time.

When Should You Use Coordinate PA?

Coordinate PA can be used for almost all projects but especially when your project is complex. We like to use the “DISC” method to help determine if a project is complex:

If the answer is “yes” to any of those questions, your project is probably complex, and you should use Coordinate PA to begin a plan and enter the dig notifications. If you need a preconstruction meeting before your project kicks off, use Coordinate PA to schedule the meeting, collect the meeting minutes, create the locate schedule and document attendance. If you want to attach plans or maps to your project or send messages to multiple parties, you can do so in Coordinate PA as well.

Where and How Can You Use Coordinate PA?

Anywhere, anytime at pa1call.org/coordinatepa. Since Coordinate PA is web-based, you can enter projects from anywhere you have an internet connection. Multiple companies already utilize Coordinate PA from long distances and even out-of-state to schedule and plan their projects virtually, saving them time and money on travel and lodging costs.

Marcos Bernal is a Senior Damage Prevention Liaison with Pennsylvania 811. If you conduct business in Pennsylvania, learn more at pa1call.org or sign up for a free web account and request access to Coordinate PA.

• DURATION:

How long will the project take? A month, a year, maybe more?

• IMPACT:

Will the work impact the public or underground facilities?

• SIZE:

Is the project over 1,000 feet or intersection to intersection (whichever is greater)?

• COMPLEXITY:

Is this multiple sites or streets?