CONFERENCE SESSIONS: 2012

What would be the impact on the One Call Center and the Excavating Community if the state were to shutdown?  It happened in Minnesota and it can happen in your state.  Learn what to do (and not do) if your state goes broke and closes its doors.      

Part 1:  Review The Finding From The 2010 DIRT Analysis

·         Establishment of Damage rates per 1000 locates—discus findings of 35 states where total ticket volume was known

·         First time caller surveys

·         Survey callers after each locate to determine “quality of service”

·         Surveying information provided by locators about the quality of response of excavators could be helpful

Participant input and suggestions for improvements for possible inclusion in future DIRT data analyses will be solicited during this session.

In Canada, as in the United States, locating buried facilities prior to ground disturbance or construction across transmission pipelines is the law. In addition, Canadian laws require written permission from the pipeline owner / operator prior to the commencement of these activities. Generally, this written permission articulates and binds the ground disturber and the pipeline owner / operator to a series of conditions designed to maintain the integrity of the existing buried facilities as well as their own safety. This presentation, delivered by representatives from Alliance Pipeline, Enbridge Pipelines, TransCanada and moderated by the Chair of the Canadian Common Ground Alliance, will discuss how the pipeline industry in Canada has expanded this Regulatory requirement into a Best Practice and created “Standard” crossing agreements that everyone understands and adheres to. It will broaden your perspective on how to further protect your company's interests, public and employee safety and minimize risks associated with ground disturbance near buried facilities.

The safety thinking and applied best practices of the natural gas utilities is a useful guide for other industries in identifying their unique fr ppe needs and developing solutions that protect employees.  A data-rich presentation based upon industry organization safety survey data, Governmental industry data, company interviews and lab testing data, Brian Foy reviews how natural gas companies looked at their specific work practices, defined their safety needs, evaluated existing specifications, and the resultant fr ppe.

It is easy to get caught up in all the hype of obtaining GPS coordinates of utility assets; however, one must question the true accuracy being obtained in such collection efforts.  In this lecture series, attendees will explore the various levels of GPS hardware currently being utilized in the industry (Recreational Grade GPS devices, Bluetooth GPS devices, Smart Phone/Tablet devices with integrated GPS and Professional Mapping /GIS Grade GPS receivers), case study accuracies obtained from each of the tested hardware devices, common GPS error sources, and processing techniques to reduce and correct errors of GPS measurements both in the field and in the office.

If you’re thinking about deploying GPS receivers (or maybe already have) to inspect assets, correct facility as-builts, and/or capture new infrastructure locations, you cannot afford to miss this presentation.

The tools to promote damage prevention are at your fingertips – are you using them? Learn how to implement the CGA Marketing & Education Communication Plan and how to partner with your local One Call to achieve our common goal!

GTI will be demonstrating a new technology that will allow users to capture high-accuracy GPS data in real-time with smart phones and tablet computers. Many companies want to be able to use smart phones to collect data in the field, but one of the inherent limitations is the quality of the GPS receivers within the devices. This limitation has now been overcome by integrating an external receiver capable of providing sub-foot quality data in real-time to a smart phone or tablet application. Pro-active damage prevention activities, such visualizing underground assets or monitoring excavation activity, can now be performed using low-cost and easy-to-use consumer grade devices.

-         KorTerra Mobile Client:  KorTerra Mobile Client is an installed mobile application that allows users to receive, process and complete tickets in any location, with or without an internet connection. Ticket information is downloaded onto the mobile client when an internet connection is available. Even if the internet connection is lost, users can continue to sort tickets, view facility maps, send positive response and complete tickets.

-         MGH:  No damage prevention program is complete without evaluating its effectiveness. That’s why it’s important to measure awareness and behavior across all stakeholder groups on an ongoing basis. MGH, a full-service marketing communications agency with more than a decade of damage prevention experience, will present its iPad survey application that allows damage prevention stakeholders to customize surveys, administer them with ease, and build reports that help track campaign effectiveness.

-     IRTHNet:  The IRTHNet App provides field users with the ability to manage, respond and view all of their dig request on an Android or iOS (ipad,iphone) device.  Users can view the complete ticket information, see the ticket dig site on a map while comparing it to their facility location, enter a response that will be sent to the excavator or call center, and work multiple tickets at the same time.

-     Mobile Response:  Available via mobile browser since 2003, with an enhanced version specific to the iPhone, PA One Call System, Inc.’s “MOBILE RESPONSE” application for underground utility owners extends our industry-leading KARL response application to the field.  Come see a live demonstration of both applications.

-         NMT Corporation:  Most utilities have GIS in place.  But how many are successfully exploiting its benefits?  We will discuss and demonstrate MapAgile, our latest tool to cost effectively deploy to GIS data to the field, in the office and to other utilities, facilitating One Call, asset management, damage prevention, and outage restoration.

-     Dig-Smart, LLC:  Over the course of a decade, we have teamed up to develop the most advanced and user friendly mobile platforms for managing one-call tickets in the field. We shall review the infraMAP® mobile software platform which utilizes a disconnected GIS server/client relationships as well as the just released, Dig-Smart® 360 web-based mobile solution. Both platforms offer full GIS integration with GPS, locating devices, media capture, vehicle routing/AVL, field appointment tracking and positive response.

This session will provide an update on the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) pipeline safety and reauthorization efforts.

This session will discuss PHMSA efforts in mitigating and minimizing risk associated with damage prevention and additional pipeline safety initiatives such as the Pipelines and Informed Planning Alliance.

This session will discuss the importance of “Public-Private” partnerships with respect to the prevention and protection against crime, terrorism, and violent extremism through community oriented policing principles.  “Best-Practice” examples will be shared which highlight effective two-way communication, information sharing and community involvement between local law enforcement and utility sector partners. 

This session will consist of a panel discussion with PHMSA’s Community Assistance and Technical Services (CATS) managers sharing public awareness inspection observations related to damage prevention and the excavator stakeholder audience. Topics will include general observations on how operators developed, implemented, and evaluated public awareness programs over the past four years.

Electrical accidents and fires cause more than 1,000 deaths and more than 10,000 injuries each year, and statistics tell only part of the story. The impact of each person directly involved in an electrical accident has an exponential impact on the people around them—family, friends, colleagues and communities. The tragic reality is the majority of these accidents can be prevented if people understand the dangers and steps they can take to be safe around electricity.

Locating is more than just the Marks on the ground.

NULCA members our dedicated to improving the overall quality of contract locating for our customers, excavators and public safety.  The combination of technology and the use of processes are the driving force to achieve this goal..

You, too, can monetize the social media world! Learn the story of how Jason built IWearYourShirt.com from nothing, and how, using grassroots marketing only, got noticed by the CBS Evening News, CNN and The Today Show, just to name a few.  Jason will share how his use of popular and effective social media outlets, such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Ustream and Flickr, can work for any event or business. There is also a little unicorn flare thrown in for good measure!  This session is good for both the basic and advanced social media audience. 

Over the past one hundred years there have been millions of kilometers of buried pipeline placed in public right-of-ways, utility easements and across private lands.  A major challenge for any energy transmission company in the design or construction of a new project is the locating and mapping of existing and abandoned buried facilities along proposed pipeline corridor routes.  In many instances documentation on existing or abandoned buried facilities is either of poor quality, difficult to obtain, or simply does not exist.  So how do project engineers mitigate the risk of encountering undocumented pipeline and/or utility crossings in order to reduce project claims, streamline project schedules, and improve utility coordination efforts and, ultimately, to enhance project safety?

This presentation shall discuss a multi-disciplinary approach which was successfully used to locate and map hundred’s of previously unknown or undocumented underground facility crossings situated along a proposed large diameter gas line corridor route spanning 500km across Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota.   The investigation work comprised the application of conventional Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) practices coupled with the acquisition of geophysical data from multiple subsurface scanning methods including GPR, Time Domain EM, Frequency Domain EM and Magnetometry.  Investigation results were input into the project GIS database on a daily basis to enable a timely transfer of critical information to all project stakeholders immediately in advance of pipeline construction activities.

The Problem

In an effort to reduce surface disruption, utility contractors are turning to less invasive means to install underground utilities by utilizing directional drilling. As more utilities are being installed underground and the need to update our existing utilities, the utility easements are becoming over

crowded. With a limited width to work within, utility services are being installed at greater depths. Going deeper with directional drilling has created a problem with cross bores through sanitary sewer mains and service laterals. Gas and electrical lines that have been directionally drilled through

a sewer pipe pose a life threatening situation. Problems arise when a plumbing contractor is dispatched by a property owner to clear a blocked sewer service and cuts the utility that has been cross bored or when the gas line is leaking into the sewer service and ultimately into the house.

Goals of Presentation

Perspective is taken from sanitary sewer system evaluation surveys (SSES) conducted throughout the Midwest in an effort to identify system Infiltration and Inflow (I/I). The ultimate goal is to inform and educate attendees of the concern for cross bores through sanitary sewer pipes and the potential hazards created. This presentation will also present cross bore findings from sewer investigation projects along with a brief overview of current trenchless technologies in the sewer industry.

This session will provide updates on PHMSA’s proposed rulemaking pertaining to enforcement against excavators who unlawfully damage underground pipelines during excavation activity in states that PHMSA deems to have inadequate damage prevention enforcement programs. The presentation will discuss the drivers behind the rulemaking and an overview of the proposed rule.

The constant flow of data exchanged between the One Call Center, affected utilities and the party proposing excavation work has always been a very cumbersome process.  Currently this process involves the exchange of paper drawings.  The Pennsylvania One Call System (POC) believes that if this data could be exchanged electronically, significant savings in both time and dollars could be achieved.  However, this electronic exchange has been hindered by the number and variety of the different software systems being used by the member utilities and the various design companies involved.    Learn how POC is now developing a system for querying, manipulating and combining data from the various utilities so that all participants in a project can view the combined data sets using the freely available Adobe Reader for viewing and markup. This presentation will describe the various components of this system and the workflows that will allow for the secure and seamless exchange of design data among the participating project organizations.

This presentation will cover how a group of stakeholders in the State of Washington were able to come together and successfully update the state one call law in the spring of 2011.  We will discuss how the stakeholder work group members were selected, how stakeholders were able to reach consensus on a number of controversial issues and how the stakeholder work group worked with the state legislature to get the updates to the one call law passed.  We will also cover some of the surprises that were discovered after the law was updated.