I was speaking to the owner of a small locate firm recently and he told me that he almost exclusively hires former police detectives. Hopefully I’m not unveiling his big secret to the world but he seemed pretty enthusiastic about how detail and goal oriented they could be. In the world of damage prevention and utility locating, the unexpected connection …
Who’s read the new Common Ground Alliance Telecom White Paper?Here’s a quick 4 point rundown from my perspective:1. The paper highlights a prevailing perception within the telecom sector that damages to buried infrastructure are deemed inevitable and consequently accepted as part of the business model. This acceptance seems rooted in the industry’s focus on recovering repair costs rather than proactively …
The video below by Jason Camissa on Tesla’s Cybertruck sparked a wave of imaginative possibilities for me. Elon Musk’s pursuit of a futuristic design, prompted by his son’s question, “why doesn’t the future look like the future?” – led to groundbreaking innovations like the stainless steel exoskeleton and cutting-edge technologies such as the 48-volt system and steer-by-wire technology. But rather …
I shared a video this week with some pretty startling footage, and judging by the comments it’s a relatively common occurrence. In the video a homeowner is accosting a locator because she seems to believe he’s trespassing or is a threat. This mostly boils down to the ignorance of the general public about locating and the 811 industry as a …
Excavation projects, vital for development and infrastructure, often encounter a lurking menace beneath the surface: ‘Ghost’ Utilities. These are the elusive, forgotten, or abandoned facilities that pose a substantial threat to safety and efficiency during excavation processes. The 2022 DIRT Report recorded 477 unique damages due to abandoned facilities, which isn’t a lot in view of all the other damages, …
Excavation projects, vital for development and infrastructure, often encounter a lurking menace beneath the surface: ‘Ghost’ Utilities. These are the elusive, forgotten, or abandoned facilities that pose a substantial threat to safety and efficiency during excavation processes. The 2022 DIRT Report recorded 477 unique damages due to abandoned facilities, which isn’t a lot in view of all the other damages, …
The CGA Fall Committee Summit was a great event this year and worthwhile for any stakeholder involved in damage prevention and infrastructure safety. Gathering over 160 passionate professionals in the field, this years summit was an epicenter of innovation, collaboration, and forward-thinking strategies. One of the standout features was the dedicated focus on leveraging precise mapping and timely locates to …
Drone GPR has been hailed as the “next-gen” solution for underground utility mapping and locating. The promises are alluring: the ability to rapidly survey vast areas without any ground contact. However, beneath the sheen of innovation lie significant drawbacks and potential pitfalls that demand our attention. [There’s a few people on LinkedIn that I follow closer than others. Jan Francke …
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 …
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 …