Author: GSOC
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Private Utility Locating: What Homeowners Need to Know
Once you’ve called 811 or filed a locate request ticket online for your excavation, it might seem like there’s nothing left to do but wait for a positive response from facility operators. But many first-time homeowner excavators don’t know that filing a locate request with Gopher State One Call is just the first part of…
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Gopher State One Call Locate Request Process Changes Effective Friday April 30, 2021
To all Gopher State One Call users: Please take a moment to review the following Gopher State One Call locate request process changes. The target effective date for these changes is Friday April 30, 2021. They apply to both web-submitted and call center requests.
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Locator Lessons: Safe Digging as a Shared Responsibility
April is National Safe Digging Month, which highlights one of the biggest contributors to safe digging: shared responsibility. As damage prevention professionals navigate day-to-day work issues, it’s easy to become hyper-focused on one’s own daily routine and role. But safe digging requires teamwork among everyone involved in excavation: locators, excavators, facility owners/operators, homeowners and notification…
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2021 Damage Prevention Meetings Recap
Damage Prevention meetings are held by and for the excavation community each spring. They are focused on safe digging education with content provided by Gopher State One Call, the Minnesota Common Ground Alliance and the Minnesota Office of Pipeline Safety. The goal of these meetings is to inform locators, utility operators and excavators about underground…
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Gopher State One Call Locate Request Process Changes
These changes apply to online and call center requests effective early April 2021. To all Gopher State One Call users: Please take a moment to review the following Gopher State One Call locate request process changes. The target effective date for these changes is early April 2021. They apply to both web-submitted and call center…
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2020 Ticket Volume and What’s Ahead in 2021
From a global pandemic to extraordinary weather events, 2020 was a record-setting year in many ways, including for the Minnesota damage prevention industry. 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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Handling Meet Tickets Safely During the COVID-19 Pandemic
When it comes to underground utilities, safety and damage prevention are the ultimate goals. In 2020, the industry was forced to contend with a new risk: the COVID-19 pandemic. The damage prevention industry has responded nimbly, adjusting day-to-day operations and implementing protocols that help flatten the curve and limit the spread. Part of that “new…
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2021 Damage Prevention Meetings Are Going Virtual
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s damage prevention meetings will be held virtually. Gopher State One Call’s meetings are typically held all across the state in March and April. This year, you have the choice to join in on a virtual discussion (available on multiple dates) or to sign up and view the…
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Winter Locating 101
Michael Jensen began his career as a contract locator in 2009 and has spent the past three years as an engineering service tech at City of Austin Utilities. That’s more than a decade’s worth of Minnesota winters spent trudging through slush, snow and harsh temperatures to help prevent damages and keep the public safe. As…
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Important Notice to Facility Operators:
GSOC notification safety buffer change for web submitted locate requests – effective January 1, 2021 Summary of the buffer change: Effective January 1, 2021 What is the change? Most ITIC locate requests will have the maximum buffer reduced from 500 feet to 300 feet. Notifications will continue to be made only to the nearest public…