[What does damage prevention mean to you?] Damage prevention means public safety, but I think broader it’s about called construction facilitation, right? We want public safety, but ultimately, we have to re-exist to allow construction and infrastructure improvements and new infrastructure, new construction to be done efficiently as well as safely.
[How do you collaborate with others to prevent damages?] I work with a lot of companies in this space to kind of think deeply, get to the root cause of what some of those inefficient and unsafe practices might be and what truly causes those, not just the kind of superficial root causes, but the deep kind of second, third, why’s if you will, and six things why you’re supposed to ask. You know, five why’s, second, third, fourth, fifth why’s of why something’s happening or why a certain stakeholder is doing something they’re doing and to understand that and look at ways we can plug the gaps, if you will, or make the process more safe and more efficient.
[How have you seen the industry come together to improve damage prevention?] I think the biggest single achievement, I would call it two, was one the formation of Common Ground Alliance, and the second is the creation of 8-1-1, I think in ’06 or ’07, right? Those were the two kind of, I think, touch points, really deflection points in this industry. So, one was to create an organization where stakeholders in this space can come together, kind of get their cards on the table with what the issues and opportunities are and discuss it and improve collaboratively. And second is 8-1-1 to kind of get more public awareness, and you know, the three-digit, less so now, honestly, because, you know, we all have smartphones and mobile phones and whatever, right? But back then, the three-digit number was very powerful, right? Because everyone knows 9-1-1. So, 8-1-1, is you know, before 9-1-1. And that also created a lot of public awareness and discussion, discourse that, again, was kind of a quantum leap for the industry.
[Complete this sentence: "Damage prevention is ..."] Is public safety and should be construction facilitation. Right? Efficient, safe construction infrastructure facilitation.]
I am damage prevention.
