Minutes of Maryland/DC Damage Prevention Meeting
October 27, 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 September 22, 2009 were approved with minor corrections to the spelling of a few email addresses.
II. Safety Item:
Wayne Gilmer’s monthly safety topic covered tips on how to properly shovel snow.
III. 2009 Trade Show Schedule:
Wayne Gilmer stated the 2010 schedule would be finalized in December of this year. He thanked WSSC and PEPCO for covering shifts at the upcoming Suburban Home & Garden Show being held at the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro.
IV. Dig Smart/Locator Achievement Awards:
Mark Hamrick (Verizon), Kevin Woolbright, Dora Parks (Miss Utility) and Nick Kelly are having a short meeting following today’s meeting.
V. Damage Prevention Presentations/Safety Events:
Wayne Gilmer gave a brief update on the 2009 NICCjv & Centennial Contractors Mid-Atlantic East Safety Fair on October 20, 2009 at the Navy Yard Conference Center in Washington DC. He said they presented Miss Utility with a certificate of appreciation which would be hung on the wall in the Miss Utility conference room.
Wayne Gilmer gave a brief update on the upcoming damage prevention presentation at the MNCPPC Safety Management Conference on November 18th at the Holiday Inn in College Park, MD.
VI. 2009 Greater Chesapeake Damage Prevention Training Conference (GCDPTC):
There was a lengthy discussion about the success of the 2009 GCDPTC held at the Clarion Fontainebleau Hotel on October 21-23, 2009:
- 320 people registered for the conference
- 40 people participated in the golf outing held at Ocean City Golf Club in Berlin, MD on October 21st
- 33 exhibitors participated in this year’s conference
- Post conference surveys would be emailed to those that attended the conference by the end of the week
Please visit the following link for more details on the presentations that were given at this year’s conference:
http://www.missutility.net/2009Conference/sessiondetails.asp
VII. Title XII Steering Committee:
There was a brief discussion about the proposed Title XII changes. Wayne Gilmer said the committee is reviewing the comments that were provided by the September 17th deadline. He also reiterated that two stakeholder meetings would be held in advance of the start of the 2010 Maryland legislative session. The first one was held at the GCDPTC in Ocean City, MD on October 23th and the second one would be on November 12th at BGE”S Windsor Blvd. facility.
VIII. MD/DC Subscribers Committee Meeting:
The following topics were discussed at the October 14, 2009 meeting:
- Recap of the Diamond Dig Events
- Marylanders Plant Trees
- 2009 GCDPTC
- Advertising Expense Report
- Title XII Rewrite
- Call Center Reports (ITIC, 811, ADC 4 Digit Conversion)
There was a lengthy discussion about ADC 4 digit map conversion. Dora Parks stated that 9 counties have converted to 4 digit ADC map book. She said the Center created a 2 digit to 4 digit conversion table for those individuals and utility owners that are still using the older ADC map books. She also said ITIC users are going to see the 4 digit map layer online sometime in the early part of 2010.
IX. FTTP/FIOS Progress Report:
Mark Hamrick (Verizon) provided the following FTTP trench footage projections:
| |
October |
November |
| Anne Arundel |
40,000 |
34,575 |
| Baltimore |
20,000 |
6,175 |
| Charles |
185,000 |
50,708 |
| Howard |
2,000 |
5,500 |
| Harford |
215,000 |
91,824 |
| Montgomery |
3,200 |
10,280 |
| Prince George’s |
1,500 |
10,280 |
Open Discussion:
Calvin Brooks (Howard County) gave an example of a water main damage that happened on a ticket that was called in as a FIOS drop. He was concerned because the ticket should have referenced the fact that the contractor was placing a ground rod. Mark Hamrick thanked Calvin for the feedback and said they would remind all Verizon contractors to add that information to the tickets.
Calvin Brooks asked if they would be held liable for a damage that occurs during an emergency excavation to repair a Howard County line. Tom Baldwin stated the Law is clear that excavators are liable if damage occurs during an emergency excavation.
Calvin Musgrove (AA County DPW) said he had an issue yesterday in which the Damage Investigation breakout session at the GCDPTC came in handy. He also said they have begun putting a T mark on their mains as a result of attending the Water/Sewer Lateral breakout session that was given by NPL and Washington Gas.
Tom Baldwin said Washington Gas is going to be marking their gas lines with the HDD symbol to let plumbers and DPWs know when gas lines are installed with horizontal direction drilling technology.
Maritza Vasquez (City of Annapolis) expressed concerns because citizens of Annapolis have reported telephone and cable television pedestals being exposed and young kids have been seen playing with the wires. Mark Hamrick and Tim Kempa (Comcast) offered to speak to her after the meeting to address her concerns.
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.
Larry Young (CW Wright Construction) said the inclusion of storm drains to the Maryland Law is a good thing and he asked if it would be possible to also require underground utility owners to mark water/sewer laterals. Tom Baldwin stated that the proposed Title XII changes wouldn’t pass if that type of language was added to the Maryland Law.
Upcoming Trade Shows:
The following tradeshows are schedule for 2009:
Upcoming Meetings:
The next Maryland/DC Damage Prevention meeting is scheduled for November 24, 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 December 15, 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 10:55 am.
 |
| ITIC % Report for Maryland and Washington D.C. |
|
| Month |
|
Call Center Tickets |
|
ITIC Tickets |
|
Percentage |
| 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% |
| Aug-09 |
|
56,912 |
|
42,621 |
|
75% |
| Sep-09 |
|
59,409 |
|
44,048 |
|
74% |
|
