“Burying power lines is an expensive but sure-fire way to practically eliminate the risk of utility-caused wildfires, which have devastated towns across California. PG&E, the nation’s largest utility, has been found liable for numerous wildfires in the state. In an effort to prevent future disasters, the utility is planning to underground 10,000 miles of distribution lines in fire-prone areas, including …
I recently shared a video from the Barstool Sessions, where Jemmie and Mike engaged in a thought-provoking conversation. The central focus of their discussion revolved around the current state of the 811 locate process. In particular, they delved into the pressing issue of the significant shortage of staff in comparison to the ever-increasing number of locate requests. This discussion shed …
“On October 9, 2023, at 12:35PM, the Woodstock Fire/Rescue District responded to the area of N. Tryon Street and Lincoln Street for the smell of natural gas in the area. Firefighters arrived a short time later and determined a contract crew working in the area had stuck a 2-inch gas main inside a sewer line. Nicor arrived approximately 30 minutes …
The locating and excavation industries like any industries are only as effective as the people which are in them. While technological advancements have improved performance and safety measures, there’s another vital factor that often goes unnoticed: the psychology of the workers. In this article, I’ll focus on behavioral science and its potential role in reducing accidents and protecting critical infrastructure …
GFiber (aka Google Fiber) recently wrote an open letter to State Broadband Leaders on “on Planning for BEAD and Future Deployment Efforts”. This garnered a lot of attention and was in my estimation a good faith effort to open the discussion of reform within their industry. Since they mentioned damage prevention and 811 a lot, allow me to continue the …
“One of the key takeaways from the conversation was the concept of “daylighting” or “exposing utilities.” Chris explained that these terms are industry jargon for the process of uncovering underground utilities to locate and work on them safely. Ditch Witch offers a range of solutions, including their product, which can stand alone or complement their existing portfolio. The company’s goal …
Everyone’s heard of BitCoin and cryptocurrencies but the technology behind them is still somewhat under the radar. It’s called blockchain and it is really a means of sharing and protecting data in a very secure way. In the world of utility data management, the reluctance of companies to share their valuable data has long been a major hurdle. This hesitancy, …
Join us for The RoundTable 2023 Live from the Texas 811 Damage Prevention Summit Sponsored by UtilocateRECENT POSTSApr. 24, 2025THE RELENTLESS THREATApr. 21, 2025UA / ISSUE 139Apr. 17, 2025SLOW PROGRESS IN DAMAGE PREVENTIONApr. 14, 2025UA / ISSUE 138Apr. 08, 2025UA / ISSUE 137
I was reading an article with Tilson CTO Jason Burns about his technology stack and that inspired me to put together a list of apps and solutions which I think could help your damage prevention processes. NearMap AI Nearmap provide geospatial content as a service and their AI tool is a powerful option for providing addiotnal info on top of …
“Director of Water Utilities Calvin Matthews says the city’s aging infrastructure struggles when the ground moves.” Aging infrastructure is a huge problem in the US. Damage prevention goes further than just locating we need to find these pipes than are going to burst before they do so and replace them! Sponsored by UtilocateRECENT POSTSApr. 24, 2025THE RELENTLESS THREATApr. 21, 2025UA …