Category: Best Practices
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Learn From the Unexpected with Eric Kolcinski of Centerpoint Energy
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’ve
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Locator Language: Decoding Utility Markings
Image Source: Flickr Keeping track of what’s exactly buried underground on a worksite can be a challenge, which is why utility locators follow the uniform color codes mandated by the American Public Works Association (APWA) for temporarily marking their facilities. The American Standards Institute (ANSI) established these colors as the American National Standard for Safety…