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Earlier this year, at the 2025 CGA Conference & Expo, our “We Are Damage Prevention” campaign brought together industry professionals to share insights, perspectives, and stories that highlight what connects us all: a commitment to safety, collaboration, and protecting underground infrastructure.
Through this series of interviews with stakeholders from across the industry, one message came through clearly: damage prevention isn’t just a process, but a shared responsibility that relies on communication, cooperation, and ongoing education to protect the people, infrastructure, and communities we all serve. It’s about getting people home safely, keeping communities connected, and working together to reduce risk.
Brian Dean, Safety Education Liaison for West Florida with Sunshine 811, emphasized that damage prevention is ultimately about ensuring everyone goes home safely at the end of the day while keeping vital services operational. He described how open Damage Prevention Councils in Florida foster collaboration, allowing locators, excavators, and other stakeholders to learn from each other and work toward shared solutions. “Communication is absolutely vital,” Dean said. “If you have an issue with any other stakeholder, talk to [them]. There’s solutions out there; you just need to talk to each other and work those out.”
Jim Schauer reinforced that sense of shared responsibility: “Damage prevention … means responsibility and awareness. And that means that we all have [to] play a part in the safety of everybody that’s involved in our industry, as well as our communities too.”
Connection and collaboration came up again and again. David Ferguson, Regional Damage Prevention Manager for Texas 811, described damage prevention as “connecting, networking, and collaborating to prevent damages to underground utilities.” He highlighted how events, trainings, and working meetings keep the industry aligned and informed.
Scott Brown of Washington Gas put it in practical terms: collaboration starts with listening. “The key to collaboration is being able to listen to what people say, to work with the other stakeholders, get their perspective, and then try to get to where we can meet in the middle ground,” he said. James Cross, Chief Experience Officer at EWN, echoed that sentiment, underscoring safety as a collective effort: “It’s going to take absolutely all of us.”
Eric Chumley, board member for Sunshine 811, shared what this looks like in practice: weekly safety meetings, collaboration, and steady improvement. “We always have safety meetings every week. And we get together and have everybody collaborate and give ideas on what we can be doing better to make Florida the safest place in the world,” Chumley said.
Several industry leaders pointed to technology and improved processes as important pieces of the puzzle but consistently noted that tools only work when people use them as part of a safety mindset.
Marvin Lopez, Director of Client Success at PointMan by ProStar, noted how advancing technology supports safer excavation and better data sharing. By improving how municipalities, surveyors, and construction crews exchange information about buried infrastructure, new tools are helping reduce risk and increase efficiency in the field.
Jemmie Wang framed damage prevention not just as public safety but as “construction facilitation”, making sure infrastructure work can happen efficiently and safely. He also called out two pivotal developments in the industry’s progress: the Common Ground Alliance and the creation of 8-1-1 both, he said, helped bring stakeholders together and raise awareness.
Every interview circled back to the idea that damage prevention is cultural: a set of behaviors and attitudes shared across roles and organizations.
Josie Scholten, who now enforces New Mexico excavation laws and worked as a line locator for 30 years, stressed protecting the public and the infrastructure. In her current role at the New Mexico Pipeline Safety Bureau, she does site visits and said the relationship between locators and contractors matters: without communication, lines get hit. Her enforcement role makes the safety culture concrete including on-the-spot fines and shutdowns when necessary.
Others reflected on how damage prevention is ingrained in the culture of the industry. Patrick Donoghue of Kentucky 811 summarized the purpose of every damage prevention effort in one word: “Safety.” Ryan Egan, Director of Locate Operations with MetroNet, went even further: “Damage prevention is everything … It’s making sure everybody goes home at night.” While Terry Newman, Claims and Locate Manager for GAC Enterprises, summed it up: “It’s our culture.” Those short, direct statements capture the motive that ties the industry together.
These interviews remind us that protecting underground infrastructure isn’t just compliance, it’s a mindset. It’s communication, collaboration, and a commitment shared across the industry to keep people safe and projects running smoothly.
Across all interviews, a consistent thread emerges, damage prevention is not just a process or a policy. It’s a shared mindset, a responsibility, and a collaborative mission. Each voice in our campaign points to the same conclusion: protecting underground infrastructure depends on people talking to one another, learning from one another, and holding safety above all else.
It has been inspiring for us to see the energy, stories, and dedication that connect everyone in this field. From local councils to national initiatives, from technology innovations to hands-on training, the industry is coming together like never before.
You can watch all the interviews from our “We Are Damage Prevention” campaign in our video library.