dp-PRO Fall 2020

Reducing Underground Utility Damage during Construction

2 Comments / LSAW, Magazine, Spotlight / By Geoff Zeiss

The $10 trillion global construction industry is facing a crisis. For many of the world’s advanced economies including Japan, Germany, U.S., South Korea, and U.K., construction productivity has been stagnant or even declining. Historically, investment in research and development by the construction industry has been very low compared to other industries. However, 2018 was an …

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The True Cost of Pipeline Protection

1 Comment / Magazine, Web Exclusive / By Levi Mills, Scott Landes

BUILDING PIPELINES IS EXPENSIVE. That is likely not news to you, but it bears repeating to set the stage for a conversation about the ways in which pipelines are protected. Warning tape, or underground utility tape, is one of the best tools to protect the large investment of a buried pipeline. How Expensive? The average …

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A Year in the Life of a Liaison: My Rookie Season Ends

Leave a Comment / Locating, Magazine, Web Exclusive / By Brian Morehouse

Part 3 My first-year journey with NC811 is quickly approaching its end. Not my career, but my rookie year of being the Western Region Education Liaison at NC811, and I saved the best for last. We all know change can be difficult, but one thing I learned this year is change is GOOD. The change …

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Positive Social Feedback Loop

Leave a Comment / Communications, Magazine, Web Exclusive / By John Brix

After implementing the last Behavioral Based Safety (BBS) Program at a new site, I found myself asking… What is the next step? Continually fascinated by looking at ways anything can be made better and following this philosophy, I started to look at what can be added to a BBS Program to help encourage a better …

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Walking in Her Boots – A Day in an Urban Locator’s Boots

Leave a Comment / Locating, LSAW, Magazine, Web Exclusive / By Jason Edwards

THE MORNING SUN MAKES its appearance over the horizon and Paula is already getting herself and her equipment ready for a day of locating. With the morning traffic congestion and the extra time it takes to find parking for the work van, Paula knows the challenges she’ll face today in the big city are much …

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Protecting Workers and Protecting Utilities

Leave a Comment / Damage Prevention, Magazine, Web Exclusive / By Joe Wise

EXCAVATION SAFETY: PROTECTING WORKERS. PROTECTING UTILITIES. Construction work can be dangerous, and underground construction work can pose even more risk. Cave-ins can be the most dangerous and, statistically, are more likely to occur than other excavation-related accidents that may result in worker fatalities, causing as many as 90 fatalities in the last two years alone. …

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How Can Field Data Be Used to Drive Actions Throughout the Company?

Leave a Comment / Magazine, Spotlight, Web Exclusive / By Levi Mills

From the moment we roll out of bed we are surrounded by data and the actions taken because of it. There is the weekly forecast humming on the television, constructed from hundreds of weather station data points. As we scroll through a news feed on our phones as the coffee brews, dozens of ads are …

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Locating – It’s not a Contest

Leave a Comment / Locating, LSAW, Magazine / By Christopher Koch

It’s not a CONTEST For several years in the early 2000s I had the pleasure of volunteering with the International Locate Rodeo. It was always very gratifying to see locate technicians from all over the country come together to compete with one another in celebration of what is an often under-appreciated trade. Reflecting the environment …

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Canadian Perspective

Leave a Comment / Global, Magazine / By Sher Kirk

The Quest for One Call’s Holy Grail: A Standardized Ticket “THEY HAVE TRIED FOR 25 YEARS. IT CAN’T BE DONE.” I heard that in 2016 when I asked why One Call business rules are not aligned to produce a common ticket format. Later that same year, we decided to prove them wrong. British Columbia, Alberta, …

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