Minutes of Maryland/DC Damage Prevention Meeting
July 28, 2009
Miss Utility Call Center
Hanover, MD 21076
I. Call To Order and Introduction:
Wayne Gilmer (Utiliquest) called the regular monthly meeting to order at 9:40 am.
Introductions were made.
The minutes of March 24, 2009 were approved.
II. Safety Item:
Wayne Gilmer’s monthly safety topic covered “Tailgaters”
III. Diamond Dig Event Bowie BaySox:
Nick Kelly (MGH) stated we are partnering with D.C. 101 for this event the same as we did last year. We are also scheduled on a fireworks night which was one of the reasons we had a large crowd at Frederick Keys event earlier this year in June. He requested that everyone contact him for tickets to the event.
IV. Trade Shows 2009 Coverage:
Volunteers appreciated Contact:
Wayne stated the schedule was in the prior months meeting minutes and that all slots were full. He thanked everyone for their participation.
V. Dig Smart / Locator Achievement Awards Committee
Wayne asked anyone that is interested in joining the committee for the 2009 to contact Mark Hamrick (Verizon) or Kevin Woolbright (WSSC). The next meeting is scheduled for October 2009.
VI. Damage Prevention Presentations
Wayne Gilmer gave a brief update on the following damage prevention presentations/safety events:
MOSH
5737 Allender Rd.
White Marsh, MD
July 21st, 2009
Wayne stated the presentation was well attended with 60 MOSH people there. The presentation not only dealt with damage prevention, but also locating theory. Wayne thanked Jack Sullivan with B.G.E., and representatives from Utiliquest and Verizon who attended and help instruct this session
Howard County Maintenance Facility
8270 Old Montgomery Rd.
July 23rd, 2009
Scheduled meetings:
Southern Maryland Oil
Prince Frederick, Md
August 13th, 2009
In addition Wayne stated he was working on scheduling 2 other presentations and would let us know when details became available.
VII. Safety Events:
Chesapeake Safety Conference
Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab
Gorman Rd., Scaggsville, Md
Sept 15th, 2009
Wayne stated this event was originally at Martins West and now has been moved to Scaggsville.
VI. 2009 Greater Chesapeake Damage Prevention Training Conference (GCDPTC):
Wayne stated postcards were available on the table for those who wished to distribute them. Nick Kelly stated that this week was the last week to register and receive the early registration discount. He encouraged anyone in attendance that had not signed up to do so while the discount was still available.
Please visit the following link for more details on registration options:
http://www.missutility.net/2009Conference/registration.asp
Sponsorship and exhibit opportunities are still available and can be found at the following links:
http://www.missutility.net/2009Conference/sponsors.asp
http://www.missutility.net/2009Conference/exhibitors.asp
VII. Title XII Steering Committee:
Wayne verified with Tom Baldwin there was no new news to present to the group.
IX. MD/DC Subscribers Committee Meeting:
Next meeting is scheduled for August 19th, 2009 at 8:30 am at Washington Gas, Springfield, Va.
XI. FTTP/FIOS Progress Report:
Mark Hamrick (Verizon) provided the following FTTP trench footage projections:
| |
August |
September |
| Anne Arundel |
25,000 |
10,000 |
| Baltimore |
48,000 |
75,000 |
| Charles |
303,000 |
165,000 |
| Howard |
8,500 |
3,000 |
| Harford |
331,000 |
395,000 |
| Montgomery |
108,000 |
160,000 |
| Prince George’s |
108,000 |
38,000 |
Open Discussion:
Wayne opened the floor for general discussion, but asked if possible to keep discussions brief since there was another meeting scheduled after this one. Vince Healy stated he appreciated everyone’s participation in Washington D.C. damage prevention. He stated that the safety event held for WASA in June was a success, and encouraged everyone to continue in their efforts along with Verizon in damage prevention in Washington D.C.
Tom Hastings asked Tim Kempa (Comcast) how their rebuild project in Howard County was progressing. Tim stated they were moving well and should be completed in Howard by September, and then it should be business as usual. Tom then asked if they had any future plans and Tim explained they were testing lines and scheduling for replacement sections in Western Baltimore County as well, but planned on beginning in late September. Vince Healy asked if Comcast could provide projected footages as Verizon had been doing and Tim stated this would be difficult to do since they are only doing defective sections of cable and the format for the replacement was based upon testing, then replacing so they did not have future projections until the testing was completed.
Dennis Lescalleet from Pleasants Construction asked that we look into a couple of concerns for him. First in Clarksburg, Md he had a ticket that was a code 1 (clear no conflict) for gas and they knew there was Gas there, as well as concerns about the types of markings citing the marking standards guide. He stated there was no identification for the orange marks to differentiate Cable T.V. from Telephone. Tom Baldwin (B.G.E.) stated that the guide was just that, a guide, and although they (B.G.E.) were requiring locators to follow the marking standards, that other Utilities were not. He added he believed the only State in which locators were required to mark in accordance with the state marking guide was Virginia He also stated the guide had not been out for very long, and given time it would be practiced more. Vince Healy stated that Verizon did require the locators to mark according to the guide, and Tim Kempa agreed Comcast did as well.
Secondly Dennis stated another job in Urbanna, Md that was statused as a code 10 (incorrect address) and that there were in fact marks on the job site and asked how that had happed. Mark Hamrick from Verizon stated he had a similar situation in the same area and was currently working with the locate company for resolution. Kevin Woolbright from WSSC asked Dennis if he had discussed these issues with the locate supervision and Dennis stated he would, but these were examples from audits he had just done. Kevin stressed the importance of dealing with these issues in real time so if a problem existed that it would be dealt with in as timely fashion. He also stated he had never had a problem with a locate company not addressing an issue when it was presented. Joe Feronti from Utiliquest said he would get in touch with the local manager for the area and he would contact Dennis for resolution. Dennis then stated he appreciated everyone’s efforts, and that things were improving albeit slowly.
Upcoming Trade Shows:
The following tradeshows are schedule for 2009:
| Show name: |
|
Maryland Municipal League |
| Date: |
|
June 28-July 1, 2009 |
| City, State: |
|
Ocean City, MD |
| Place: |
|
Ocean City Convention Center |
| Website: |
|
http://www.mdmunicipal.org/cv09/cvgeneralinfo.cfm |
 |
| Show name: |
|
Maryland Association of Counties |
| Date: |
|
August 12-15, 2009 |
| City, State: |
|
Ocean City, MD |
| Place: |
|
Roland Powell Convention Center |
| Website: |
|
http://www.mdcounties.org/events/default.cfm |
|
| Show name: |
|
Chesapeake Region Safety Council Conference & Expo |
| Date: |
|
September 15, 2009 |
| City, State: |
|
Laurel, MD |
| Place: |
|
Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab |
| Website: |
|
http://www.chesapeakesc.org |
|
| Show name: |
|
Suburban Maryland Fall Home Show |
| Date: |
|
September 11-13, 2009 |
| City, State: |
|
Germantown, MD |
| Place: |
|
Discovery Sports Center at Maryland Soccerplex |
| Website: |
|
http://www.acshomeshow.com/HGExpo/DSF.html |
|
| Show Name: |
|
Harford Live! |
| Date: |
|
September 26-27, 2009 |
| City, State: |
|
Aberdeen, MD |
| Place: |
|
Ripken Stadium |
| Website: |
|
http://www.harfordlive.com |
|
| Show Name: |
|
Maryland Home & Garden Show |
| Date: |
|
October 16-18, 2009 |
| City, State: |
|
Timonium, MD |
| Place: |
|
Maryland State Fairgrounds |
| Website: |
|
http://www.acshomeshow.com/HGExpo/HAF.html |
|
| Show Name: |
|
Suburban Maryland Fall Home Show |
| Date: |
|
October 30th-November 1, 2009 |
| City, State: |
|
Upper Marlboro, MD |
| Place: |
|
The Show Place Arena |
| Website: |
|
http://www.acshomeshow.com/HGExpo/HAF.html |
Upcoming Meetings:
The next Maryland/DC Damage Prevention meeting is scheduled for August 25, 2009 at the Miss Utility Center. Coffee and donuts
will be served at 9:00 am. The meeting will begin at 9:30 am.
The next Maryland/DC Subscribers meeting will be held August 19, 2009 at Washington Gas which is located at 6801 Industrial
Blvd. Springfield, VA 22151. Coffee and donuts will be served at 8:30 am, and the meeting will begin at 9:00 am.
There being no further business brought before the committee, the meeting was adjourned at 10:30 am.
 |
| ITIC % Report for Maryland and Washington D.C. |
|
| Month |
|
Call Center Tickets |
|
ITIC Tickets |
|
Percentage |
| Jun-08 |
|
61,717 |
|
42,510 |
|
69% |
| Jul-08 |
|
63,231 |
|
44,582 |
|
71% |
| Aug-08 |
|
58,606 |
|
40,823 |
|
70% |
| Sep-08 |
|
60,176 |
|
42,587 |
|
71% |
| Oct-08 |
|
63,374 |
|
44,378 |
|
70% |
| Nov-08 |
|
44,680 |
|
31,772 |
|
71% |
| Dec-08 |
|
48,953 |
|
36,569 |
|
75% |
| Jan-09 |
|
44,393 |
|
32,250 |
|
73% |
| Feb-09 |
|
44,597 |
|
33,304 |
|
75% |
| Mar-09 |
|
54,095 |
|
39,670 |
|
73% |
| Apr-09 |
|
58,278 |
|
42,368 |
|
73% |
| May-09 |
|
54,805 |
|
39,824 |
|
73% |
| Jun-09 |
|
63,827 |
|
47,181 |
|
74% |
|
