Minutes of Maryland/DC Damage Prevention Meeting
August 25, 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 9:35 am.
Introductions were made.
The minutes of July 28, 2009 were approved.
II. Safety Item:
Wayne Gilmer’s monthly safety topic covered safe techniques used when lifting heavy objects. Dennis Lescalleet (Pleasants Construction) commented that back injury incidents can cost employers as much as $250,000 per case.
III. Diamond Dig Event Bowie BaySox:
Nick Kelly (MGH) provided the following update on the Baysox Stadium event which was held on August 16, 2009:
- One Diamond- approx 1ct. was won by a lucky fan from Glen Burnie, MD.
- Prior to the game, DC 101 promoted the event and select some of the contestants
- Over 400 registrations were received through DC 101 and the stadium concourse.
- As part of this event, Miss Utility was the evening’s event sponsor that included a post-game fireworks show.
- Miss Utility had a booth on the concourse along the first base line.
- As a side note, Comcast had sold 2,000 tickets for the game
V. Trade Show Schedule:
Nick Kelly (MGH) said a reminder would go out to all volunteers by the first week of September. Wayne Gilmer thanked everyone for volunteering to fill in the booth shifts months in advance of the fall shows
VI. Damage Prevention Presentations/Safety Events:
Wayne Gilmer gave a brief update on the damage prevention presentation held for Southern Maryland Oil in Prince Frederick, MD on August 13, 2009. He said Verizon participated in the presentation and there were 21 people in attendance.
Wayne Gilmer referenced that no damage prevention presentations/safety events were scheduled at this time.
VIII. 2009 Greater Chesapeake Damage Prevention Training Conference (GCDPTC):
Matt Ruddo gave a brief update on the GCDPTC that will be held at the Clarion Fontainebleau Hotel on October 21-23, 2009:
- Early bird discount ended August 1, 2009
- 185 people are registered for the conference
- The Planning Committee continues to work with breakout session speakers and would be meeting immediately follow today’s MD/DC Damage Prevention meeting
- A survey was sent to those that had already registered to gauge their interest in which breakout session they would likely attend
- A golf outing would be scheduled on the Wednesday before the event. Everyone will be able to sign up and pay through the conference website.
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:
There was a lengthy discussion about the proposed MD Law changes and how the Steering Committee worked on a consensus basis to mirror PHMSA’s “9 Key Elements” of an effective damage prevention program. Matt Ruddo thanked Dora Parks and the Miss Utility staff for copying and mailing over 10,000 sheets of paper for the Title XII packet that went out to all the member utility owners in the state of Maryland. Tom Baldwin stated that all comments will be due back on or before September 17th. Wayne Gilmer reiterated that two stakeholder meetings would be held in advance the changes going before the Maryland General Assembly. The first would be held at the GCDPTC in Ocean City, MD on October 23th and the other at BGE”S Windsor Mill Blvd. facility on November 12th.
IX. MD/DC Subscribers Committee Meeting:
There was a general discussion about Washington Gas’ “Pipe Town” demonstration during the Subscribers meeting on August 19th. Scott Brown said it was created by individuals during their off hours and with left over piping. Several commented that they were impressed with the demonstration and with Washington Gas’ emergency response trailer.
XI. FTTP/FIOS Progress Report:
Mark Hamrick (Verizon) provided the following FTTP trench footage projections:
| |
September |
October |
| Anne Arundel |
15,626 |
15,000 |
| Baltimore |
51,168 |
75,000 |
| Charles |
285,391 |
180,000 |
| Howard |
17,622 |
20,000 |
| Harford |
386,348 |
350,000 |
| Montgomery |
99,168 |
160,000 |
| Prince George’s |
66,308 |
45,000 |
Open Discussion:
Dennis Lescalleet stated that Pleasants Construction is running into issues with damages to overhead lines. He was asked to visit http://www.dllr.state.md.us/labor/mosh.html for more information or to contact the overhead utility line owner directly.
Scott Brown stated that Washington Gas currently stands at 1.7 damages per thousand locate tickets and he thanked Utiliquest for their performance as well as everyone else for the public education efforts.
Mark Hamrick stated that Verizon lines continue to be damaged in Washington DC and the impact on customer service is a very serious concern. He stated that Verizon will continue to encourage the scheduling of damage prevention training through the MD/DC Damage Prevention team. Verizon is also encouraging all excavators they come in contact with to utilize the MD/DC damage prevention resources and he would like to ask the other Subscriber members to do the same.
Upcoming Trade Shows:
The following tradeshows are schedule for 2009:
| 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 September 22, 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 October 14, 2009 at the Miss Utility/District One Call Center. 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 10:15 am.
 |
| ITIC % Report for Maryland and Washington D.C. |
|
| Month |
|
Call Center Tickets |
|
ITIC Tickets |
|
Percentage |
| 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% |
| Jul-08 |
|
60,956 |
|
45,051 |
|
74% |
|
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