Author: GSOC
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How to Deal with a Damage
As damage prevention stakeholders, we are all focused on keeping people and property safe. And while everyone’s goal is zero damages, the reality is that damages do occur. In the past five years in the United States and Canada, damages to buried utilities have increased or stayed relatively steady, according to the Common Ground Alliance,…
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2021 Ticket Summary and What’s Ahead in 2022
Each year, Gopher State One Call compiles ticket submission and transmission volume data. This information is shared to help make correlations and gain insights about the state of Minnesota’s damage prevention efforts.
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2022 Damage Prevention Meetings Will Be Held in Person. Register Now!
Each spring, Minnesota holds damage prevention meetings by and for the excavation community all around the state. These meetings are focused on safe digging and best practices education. As you may remember, last year’s meetings were held virtually.
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White Lining Your Excavation Site
One of the most important damage prevention practices occurs well before an excavation or utility locate. It happens even before a call to Gopher State One Call is made. Pre-marking, also commonly known as white lining or white marking, is one of the five required “precautions to avoid damage” included in Minnesota’s dig law. Per…
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Using Damage Prevention Data: Highlights from the 2020 DIRT Report
Underground utility damages have a significant impact on communities in Minnesota and beyond. According to the Common Ground Alliance (CGA), the estimated annual societal cost of damages to buried utilities in the United States is $30 billion, accounting for direct and indirect costs. Even near-misses can potentially cause scheduling issues and lost time on the…
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2021 Damage Prevention Conference Highlights
Damage prevention conferences are invaluable opportunities to network, discuss best practices and compare notes on how we can all work together to minimize damages. These events also foster a sense of shared responsibility by allowing us to make personal connections with others involved with damage prevention. Because of the pandemic, in-person conferences and meetings have…
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How to Spot Underground Utilities in Your Neighborhood
In the rush of daily life, it’s easy to forget about the massive network of buried utilities underneath us. In fact, according to the Common Ground Alliance, there are about 19 million miles of underground facilities in the United States, with more being installed every day. These facilities provide heat, lights, sewer, water, communications and…
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Learn from the Unexpected with Christopher Koch of ZoneOne Locating
The damage prevention industry isn’t always predictable, but Gopher State One Call believes that we can all learn from those unexpected moments and be safer for it. That’s why we’re
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Join Gopher State One Call at the 2021 Minnesota State Fair!
With last year’s event being canceled due to the pandemic, Gopher State One Call is thrilled to get back together with everyone at the 2021 Minnesota State Fair. We invite you to join us August 26 through September 6 to celebrate the return of food on sticks and GSOC yardsticks at the “Great Minnesota Get-Together.” The GSOC…
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Know Your Notification Center: Gopher State One Call’s Damage Prevention Legacy
Thirty-five years ago this month, tragedy struck in the Twin Cities suburb of Mounds View, Minnesota. A leaking gas pipeline running a mile west of Interstate 35W, underneath Long Lake Road, exploded in the early morning hours of July 8, 1986. The fires from multiple blasts killed two people—a 6-year-old child and her mother—and severely…