Page 3 - Louisiana811

from the desk of
Brent Saltzman
Greetings everyone!
Wow, it has been an incredibly hot summer in Louisiana with record highs broken day after day. I cannot begin to tell you how much I respect those of you excavators and contractors who work so hard in these harsh elements. Hats off to you and thank you for making Louisiana better!
It’s been an interesting year thus far at Louisiana 811 so I would like to share some of the happenings within our organization.
Surprisingly, our ticket volume has fallen far below expectations. Incoming
locate requests from excavators are down (-8.05%) from the same time last year and locate tickets outgoing to our members are down (-7.72%). Those are very unexpected figures but that is not such a bad thing. Further examination indicates Parishes experiencing significant decreases since 2022 are Calcasieu (-24.79%), Terrebonne (-27.11%), Lafourche (-29.33%), Washington (-49.21%) and St. Helena (-52.37%). We suspect the decrease in ticket volume from the latter four Parishes could be attributed to the completion of restoration work after Hurricane Ida.
Another facet contributing to the decrease in ticket volume is the percentage of update tickets. Update tickets, by the way, are existing tickets that have been updated in our system because of various reasons
(e.g., on-going work, rain delays, equipment breakdowns, etc.).
Our staff has been working diligently to address and reduce “nuisance” update tickets and the numbers reflect our efforts. In May, 29.15% of our overall ticket volume was attributed to updated tickets. But in June, the percentage dropped to 25.83%! It deserves mention that anyone who has updated a ticket has surely seen our automated response outlining reasons why the update could potentially be a violation of the Dig Law. Please refrain from updating a ticket if this applies to you:
• Do not update the entire ticket if a portion of the work as outlined on the original ticket has been completed. A new locate request should be submitted for the portion of the work not done.
• Do not update a ticket if the work will not be started within 120 hours (5 days) past the mark-by time.
• Do not update a ticket for the sole purpose of having a valid ticket for inspection purposes.
Refraining from “abusing the system” with these types of tickets will only lead to a positive outcome for everyone. Overwhelmed locators can focus on active worksites whereby work is actually taking place. I can assure you that on-time performance in meeting mark-by times will get better as well. We realize some ticket updates are legitimate but oftentimes we have found they are not.
We do have an update on legislation. HB 292 has become Act 344 and signed into law effective August 1, 2023. This piece of legislation specifically addresses the need to pothole to determine the actual location of certain types of underground utilities or facilities if an excavation or demolition could result in damage. It also clarifies that excavation or demolition activities shall commence not more than 120 hours (5 days) past the mark-by time. Check out this issue for further clarification regarding this latest amendment.
Finally, I am very excited to announce that Louisiana 811 will be the host of a major nationwide event in 2024! It’s the Global Excavation Safety Conference that will be held in New Orleans for the first time in its 20-year history next March 19-21! Check out our home page (www.la811.com) for further information but you do not want to miss this opportunity. This event, of course, will follow our awesome annual LA Damage Prevention Summit that will be held next January 23-25 at L’Auberge Casino & Hotel in Baton Rouge. Sign up now for these outstanding opportunities to learn more about damage prevention.
Until next time, keep safe in this heat by staying hydrated!
Brent Saltzman Executive Director Louisiana 811
2023, Issue 3 Louisiana 811 • 1