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April 2008
 

 

Inside this issue

New email lists offer timely technical updates

Virtual Private DIRT makes tracking damages easy

SSOCOF director receives telecom award

U.S. Transportation Dept urges nationwide compliance with underground facility damage prevention initiatives

Internet Ticket Entry reaches record volumes

 

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News Briefs . . .


Mark your calendars for SSOCOF's annual golf tournament May 16, 2008 at Victoria Hills Country Club in DeLand. At $65 a person, it's one of the best deals around. You get breakfast, lunch, and a chance to win fabulous prizes and even a Toyota Tundra! Deadline for registration is May 9th. Use this opportunity to get your company's name out there and sponsor a hole. Click here for registration and sponsorship form.

811 Stakeholder Summit scheduled for April 22, 2008. Click here for a flyer. This event is being held in conjunction with the Low Impact Marking Symposium.

Enter the No Bull Rodeo Challenge by April 21, 2008. Winners take home $300 in prize money and the chance to compete in the International Locate Rodeo held in Georgia this August, plus up to $1,000 in travel expenses. Locators and their supervisors must complete the rodeo application. Click here to enter.  

April 25th is final day for members to verify map update. The system-recommended changes are based on the new map data import, and member should review them carefully to accept or reject the changes. Any member service areas that are not verified by April 25th will be INCREASED to include the proposed additions to the service area. Update now and avoid the last minute rush. If you have any questions regarding this update, please contact our Member Services Department at (800) 651-6720 option #4.

Annual meeting, elections occur May 15, 2007. Anyone interested in running for an open seat on the board of directors should submit a letter on your company's letterhead stating your intentions and your company's willingness to endorse you as a candidate, and submit by email or mail to Mark Sweet, Executive Director, 11 Plantation Rd., DeBary, FL 32713. For your convenience, you may use our standard letter to indicate your desire to run. Information on a director's duties.

SSOCOF board approves addition of positive response code 6a for use in ticket management system. The new code, relating to demolition, is in addition to those published in the February newsletter.  It reads as follows: 6a - Active facilities are present – the member has active facilities within the area described by the noticed demolition. Do not demolish until the member notifies you the site is clear. All codes will be effective May 3, 2008. Any codes in use today that are not included in the new list will be removed from our system at the same time the new codes are activated.
 

 

New email lists provide timely technical updates

SSOCOF has developed two email lists to keep you informed of mapping updates and technical issues with its systems. Members who subscribe to the map update list will receive notices and reminders of pending map updates as they become available. Subscribers to the technical email list will receive information on updates, upgrades, outages and any other situations that affect SSOCOF’s process of taking and delivering tickets. These lists are for announcement purposes only and should produce minimal email traffic.

For more information on the map email list, visit this link:  http://list.callsunshine.com/mailman/listinfo/ssocofmap

For more information on the technical email list, visit this link:  http://list.callsunshine.com/mailman/listinfo/ssocoftechnical
 

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US Transportation Dept urges nationwide compliance with underground facility damage prevention initiatives

Recently, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) sent a letter to all U.S. Governors and Commissioners advocating an excavation damage prevention program to protect all buried facilities and the general public.

PHMSA bases its request on the Pipeline Inspection, Protection, Enforcement and Safety Act of 2006 (PIPES Act), which focuses on the need to improve statewide damage prevention programs through the adoption of nine elements.

The PIPES Act received wide bipartisan support from the pipeline industry, the excavator community and public interest groups. The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners passed a resolution in February supporting the nine elements as listed below.

  1. Participation by operators, excavators, and other stakeholders in the development and implementation of methods for establishing and maintaining effective communications between stakeholders from receipt of an excavation notification until successful completion of the excavation, as appropriate.

  2. A process for fostering and ensuring the support and partnership of stakeholders, including excavators, operators, locators, designers, and local government in all phases of the program.

  3. A process for reviewing the adequacy of a pipeline operator's internal performance measures regarding persons performing locating services and quality assurance programs

  4. Participation by operators, excavators, and other stakeholders in the development and implementation of effective employee training programs to ensure that operators, the one-call center, the enforcing agency, and the excavators have partnered to design and implement training for the employees of operators, excavators, and locators. 

  5. A process for fostering and ensuring active participation by all stakeholders in public education for damage prevention activities.

  6. A process for resolving disputes that defines the State authority's role as a partner and facilitator to resolve issues.

  7. Enforcement of State damage prevention laws and regulations for all aspects of the damage prevention process, including public education, and the use of civil penalties for violations assessable by the appropriate State authority.

  8. A process for fostering and promoting the use, by all appropriate stakeholders, of improving technologies that may enhance communications, underground pipeline locating capability, and gathering and analyzing information about the accuracy and effectiveness of locating programs

  9. A process for review and analysis of the effectiveness of each program element, including a means for implementing improvements identified by such program reviews.

"SSOCOF is reviewing all nine elements with regard to enhancing its damage prevention program in Florida," stated Mark Sweet, SSOCOF executive director.

"A committee consisting of SSOCOF directors, myself and our corporate attorney, Dave Erwin, are also visiting Georgia Utilities Protection Center (GAUPC)," explained Sweet, "to observe first hand the activities of the Georgia Underground Utility Facility Protection Act Advisory Committee." GAUPC has been named by PHMSA as a model center for effective enforcement of the Georgia's damage prevention law.

Nationwide discussions continue on better defining the nine elements and the importance of enforcement and damage prevention measurement efforts. Most importantly, it is not known how this will affect Florida.

Look for more information on this issue in future editions of unearthed and on our website, www.callsunshine.com.

 

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ITE initiative yields record levels

An effective training program combined with a heightened push to promote Internet Ticket Entry (ITE) to frequent callers has lead to a consistently growing ITE percentage. Currently, 65 percent of all locate tickets produced through SSOCOF are done so on ITE. "The percentage is one of the highest nationwide," states Ruby Crosier, Call Center Manager, "and other state's one call centers are looking to us for guidance and advice on increasing their Internet usage percentages."

The benefits of ITE are many, but most importantly is the time you save requesting locate tickets. "Online tickets average less than a minute each," explains Crosier, "and phone tickets require more than three minutes since we verify with you by reading back what is typed into the system.” Other benefits include 24/7 availability, access to member contact information including emergency and catastrophic, email locate tickets for easy forwarding and reduced paper usage, polygon tools to define a precise work area, detailed map view, and positive response system access.

Once you've completed the ITE application process, "we'll take you through a one-on-one training session that takes less than two hours to complete," explains Crosier. "We will follow up with appropriate coaching and feedback to ensure accuracy, and we're available to help you when you need it."

To start requesting locate tickets online, anytime, anywhere, click here.

 

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Virtual Private DIRT now available to report damages in Florida

Florida's Virtual Private DIRT is Sunshine State One Call's version of the Common Ground Alliance's (CGA) national Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT North America), with a few modifications.

With Virtual Private DIRT, you enter damage information using the same data fields as DIRT North America, plus you have the option of creating additional "Flex Fields" to capture data that is applicable only to your organization.

Virtual Private DIRT data is located on secure servers maintained by the CGA. You access your data over the Internet. Since the data and application do not reside on your computers or servers, your IT personnel will not be burdened with DIRT maintenance.

No other company can look at your data without your permission; however, SSOCOF will collect generic information for all Florida Virtual Private DIRT users to establish or revise current educational programs. Click here to get started reporting today. You can also access this link in the left menu bar at www.callsunshine.com.

 

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Director Bryan Lantz honored in Telecom Leaders Circle

SSOCOF Director Bryan Lantz, Staff Consultant - Network Engineering for Verizon, was recognized as a star in the business as Verizon Telecom President Virginia Ruesterholz presented him with the 2008 TLC Medal on March 27, 2008, recognizing his outstanding contributions to Verizon Telecom. Lantz secured more than 1,900 outside plant right-of-way permits for the 2007 fiber-to-the-premises build-out program in Florida. His planning and preparation succeeded in obtaining the permit approvals required from all of the cities and counties. Lantz's proactive work enabled the Florida Region to exceed its 2007 objectives.

 

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Survey helps improve service to callers
SSOCOF offers a customer satisfaction survey for its callers to use to rate the service received while requesting a locate ticket over the phone and it gives them an opportunity to suggest any improvements. The surveys are reviewed by management and responded to as necessary. Complete a survey by clicking here. We thank you in advance for helping SSOCOF continue to be the best one call center in the nation

 

 

IMPORTANT DATES

 

April 1 - 30
Call 811 Before You Dig month

 

April 22
Low Impact Marking Symposium, Miami

 

April 22
811 Stakeholder Summit, Miami

 

May 1 - 31
National Safe Digging Month

 

May 15
Annual, Board and Committee meetings

 

May 16
Golf tournament, Victoria Hills Country Club in DeLand

 

May 26
Call center closed in honor of Memorial Day. ITE available 24/7.

 

July 4
Call center closed in honor of Independence Day. ITE available 24/7.

 

CALENDAR
Visit our calendar for more information on these events.

QUICK LINKS

SAFETY TRAINING OFFERED IN SPANISH
If you would like to offer a class to your Spanish speaking employees, contact Sergio Clavijo to schedule today.

REMEMBER! SSOCOF takes locate ticket calls in Spanish. Call 811 or (800) 432-4770.

VISIT SSOCOF's ONLINE STORE FOR YOUR FREE PROMOTIONAL ITEMS

Contact us.

 

 
     
 

Sunshine State One Call of Florida is a private, not-for-profit, corporation created by Florida legislature in 1993. Its purpose is to educate excavators and homeowners on the requirement to Call Before You Dig and provide a free system for the excavating public to notify owners of pending excavation activity near underground utilities. Last year, SSOCOF received 1.8 million notices of proposed excavation in Florida.

SSOCOF offers free educational sessions to professional excavators and homeowners. For more information on free classes and other SSOCOF services, visit www.callsunshine.com.

  
     
 

 

  
 

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