Damage Prevention Conference & Exposition

This track includes issues new to call center operation, 2007 updates for damage statistics, and newly approved best practices.

December 9, 2008
8:00 AM	Summary and Description of CGA Best Practices Approved In 2008 Brian Tooley, OSP National Support Verizon Business The Common Ground Alliance "Best Practices" have become recognized as validated experiences that can prevent excavation damages. Attend this session and learn more about best practice development and about the practices proposed and adopted in 2008.
9:15 AM	Privately-Owned Facilities - The Industry's Role in Locating Underground Infrastructure James Holzer, Operations Manager, One Call Concepts Inc. Mark Palma, Attorney at Law, Hinshaw & Culbertson There is a "safety gap" between the "Call Before You Dig" message and the outcome of the current one-call process when privately owned facilities are not marked out in response to an excavation notice. Come see an interesting visualization of the problem and possible solutions from a Call Center Manager and an attorney specializing in one-call issues.
2:15 PM	D.I.R.T. - Process Overview and Analysis of the 2007 Annual Report Brian Tooley, OSP National Support, Verizon Business Larry Fortin Hear an overview of D.I.R.T. (Damage Information Reporting Tool) and how the system allows you to submit damage reports in several ways, as well as manage your own data. Data collected can be used to analyze root causes of damages and conduct trend analysis in order to target educational and awareness campaigns. Learn about features such as the Universal Front End Loader, the Grant Data Access Module, and the Query Wizard. Plus, see how D.I.R.T. can help you find answers to these questions & many more: • How many damages occur each year and what are the primary causes of these damages? • What are the costs associated with damages? • Are some educational campaigns more effective than others?
December 10, 2008
10:45 AM	Report of the North American Regional CGAs Khrysanne Kerr, Director of Program Development Common Ground Alliance Get updates and hear success stories from Regional CGAs as it pertains to their geographic area.
1:15 PM	811 Update Khrysanne Kerr, Director of Program Development Common Ground Alliance Measure the effectiveness of 811 and receive updates on the next steps for the program.

* Schedule subject to change.