Colorado 811 Damage Prevention Summit & Expo

Presenter: Cindy Kyle (Pate Construction, NUCA) | Length: 60 minutes

A trench can collapse in seconds — faster than any worker can react. Trenching remains one of the deadliest activities in construction, yet the vast majority of cave-ins are preventable. In this fast-moving, field-focused session, Cindy Kyle shows how failures actually happen and how to spot danger before anyone steps into the hole. You'll see what OSHA expects from employers and crews, understand the pivotal role of the Competent Person, and learn to read the warning signs — soil conditions, spoil placement, water, vibration — that separate a routine dig from a fatal one.

What you’ll take away:

• Recognize high-risk trench conditions and warning signs before entering or continuing work

• Identify common excavation hazards and failure modes

• Understand the role of the Competent Person and OSHA expectations

• Know which protective systems (sloping, shoring, shielding) are required and when

Presenter: Dillon Ohrt & BJ Hartley

Excavators and the pipeline operators want the same thing: everyone goes home safe. In this candid two-way conversation, we help bridge the gap between the crew and the control room. Hear directly from pipeline operators about what they most need excavators to understand — tolerance zones, hand-exposing, positive response, and the calls that make the difference — and how operators partner with the field to reinforce safe practice rather than police it. The goal: fewer hits and stronger working relationships.

What you’ll take away:

• Understand what pipeline operators expect around locates and tolerance zones

• Know when and how to hand-expose near high-consequence lines

• See how positive response protects your crew and the public

• Build a working relationship with operators before an emergency

Presenter: Jim Proszek & Anthony “Tony” Jorgenson    |    Length: 90 minutes 

The questions come fast after a damage — and "I didn't know" isn't an answer that holds up. In this unscripted, courtroom-style walkthrough, watch how an excavation is dissected after an incident: the documents that get pulled, the standards that get cited, and the decisions that suddenly matter under oath. Jim Proszek and Tony Jorgenson reveal how "reasonable care" is really evaluated — and how disciplined documentation and processes can protect your team long before a hit ever happens. 

What you’ll take away: 

• Identify the key documents and evidence that matter most after a damage event 

• Understand how “reasonable care” is assessed and why “not knowing” isn’t a defense 

• Strengthen everyday documentation habits to reduce exposure in investigations 

• Know what to expect if you are ever deposed 

Presenter: Sanatam Khalsa (Colorado 811) | Length: 90 minutes

You know the basics — now go deeper. This advanced session moves past "call before you dig" into the nuances that trip up even seasoned pros: complex tickets, positive response, tolerance zones, remarks and updates, and the Colorado-specific rules that shape a truly safe dig. Led by Colorado 811, this session is built for people who want to master the process, not just follow it. 

What you’ll take away:

• Sharpen your command of the Colorado 811 process 

• Handle complex and large tickets correctly 

• Apply positive response and tolerance-zone rules with confidence 

• Avoid the advanced mistakes that still cause damages 

Excavator Advanced Course (Spanish) 

Presentador: Luis Ortiz (Colorado 811) | Duración: 90 minutos

Una sesión avanzada, íntegramente en español, para los profesionales de la excavación que quieren dominar — no solo cumplir — la prevención de daños en Colorado. Cubriremos la excavación segura, la interpretación de marcas y localizaciones, la respuesta positiva y las zonas de tolerancia, con ejemplos reales del día a día en el campo. 

Lo que aprenderás: 

• Dominar el proceso de excavación segura en Colorado 

• Interpretar marcas, localizaciones y respuesta positiva con confianza 

• Aplicar correctamente las zonas de tolerancia 

• Reducir daños con mejores hábitos en el campo 

Presentador: Luis Ortiz (Colorado 811) | Duración: 90 minutos

Una sesión avanzada, íntegramente en español, para los profesionales de la excavación que quieren dominar — no solo cumplir — la prevención de daños en Colorado. Cubriremos la excavación segura, la interpretación de marcas y localizaciones, la respuesta positiva y las zonas de tolerancia, con ejemplos reales del día a día en el campo. 

Lo que aprenderás: 

• Dominar el proceso de excavación segura en Colorado 

• Interpretar marcas, localizaciones y respuesta positiva con confianza 

• Aplicar correctamente las zonas de tolerancia 

• Reducir daños con mejores hábitos en el campo 

Presenter: Jacquee Wilson, Annemarie Bluff, Erick Anderson (Safety Commission)    |    Length: 60 minutes 

The Underground Damage Prevention Safety Commission has created seven (might be up to eight by October) Best Practices and one Standard to provide guidance to those working in the Colorado excavation industry. If you're involved in a complaint hearing, you could be found in violation of the Standard just like you could be found in violation of the law. If this is news to you, this session will provide you with an overview of the Safety Commission's Best Practices and Standard so that you know how they apply to you. 

What you’ll take away: 

• Know the current Best Practices and the enforceable Standard 

• Understand how each applies to your specific role 

• Recognize how they are used in complaint hearings 

• Put them to work in your everyday operations 

Presenters: David Siddle & Kelly Jones (Frontier Precision) | Length: 60 minutes

Traditional mapping throws away most of what a locate knows. When a locator paints the ground and a mapper later collects that paint as a point or line, the rich metadata — frequency, signal strength, depth — vanishes, and locate and GNSS data collected weeks apart can drift out of sync. This session traces the fast evolution from paint-and-pin to integrated "mapping-locating" solutions, including PointMan (mandated in CDOT right-of-way since 2021), Subsurface Maps, Locate IQ, Trimble TerraFlex and Access, TerraFlow, and the Esri Field Maps integration arriving in 2026.

You'll see how high-accuracy GNSS — built-in or added as 30/10/2 cm "puck" antennas — turns a locator into an all-in-one data-capture tool. Hardware discussed includes Radiodetection, MetroTech, Trimble, and Juniper Systems.

What you’ll take away:

• Understand what's lost in traditional locate-then-map workflows

• Compare today's integrated mapping-locating platforms

• Know the accuracy tiers of current GNSS options

• Plan a path toward richer, better-synced utility data

Presenter: Carla Sanchez & Carlie White (Colorado 811) | Length: 60 minutes

Take your positive response process to the next level. In this informative session, Colorado 811's Member Relations team leaders, Carla and Carlie, will showcase how photo and document attachments can transform positive response from a status update into a powerful tool for accountability, communication, and risk reduction. Learn how effective documentation helps protect stakeholders, provides excavators with greater clarity, and strengthens the entire damage prevention cycle. You'll leave with practical strategies for creating documentation that supports safer, more confident digging.

What you’ll take away:

• Understand the role of attachments in positive response

• Capture documentation that holds up when it counts

• Improve clarity and trust between members and excavators

• Use proof to reduce disputes and damages

Presenter: Mario Mora (Staking U) | Length: 60 Minutes

Every safe dig starts with knowing what's beneath your feet. In this ground-level primer, Mario Mora demystifies the locating process — how locators find and mark buried utilities, what those paint colors and flags actually mean, and why the time between your locate request and your first shovel matters. If you've ever wondered what really happens after you call 811, this is the session that connects the dots and gives newer crews the confidence to dig safely.

What you’ll take away:

• How to interpret locate marks, colors, and terminology with confidence

• Understand how utilities are located — and the limits of that technology

• Know your responsibilities once the marks are down

• Reduce damages by respecting the Tolerance Zone

Presenters: Casey Hensley (PUC), Annemarie Bluff, Jacquee Wilson (Safety Commission), Ryan Echer, Claudia Randall (Colorado 811) | Length: 90 minutes

Who enforces damage prevention in Colorado — and what happens when the rules fall short? This candid panel brings together voices from across the regulatory landscape to talk expectations, gaps, and real progress. Hear how the PUC, the Safety Commission, and industry are working to close loopholes, sharpen accountability, and build a damage-prevention system that keeps pace with the work in the field. Come with questions; this is a conversation, not a lecture.

What you’ll take away:

• Understand who regulates damage prevention in Colorado and how

• See where current gaps create risk

• Hear the progress underway and what's coming next

• Bring your own perspective into the conversation

Presenter: To be announced | Length: 60 minutes

Session details are being finalized with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. Full title, presenter, and description will follow — check back for updates.

Presenter: To be announced | Length: 60 minutes

Session details are being finalized with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. Full title, presenter, and description will follow — check back for updates.

Presenter: To be announced | Length: 60 minutes

Session details are being finalized with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. Full title, presenter, and description will follow — check back for updates.

Presenter: Jason Jacobson | Length: 60 minutes

Most damages don't start with a shovel — they start with a missed conversation. Jason Jacobson unpacks the everyday communication habits that keep the field and the office teams on the same page: clear ticket information, timely updates, and the handoffs where details often get lost. It's a practical, human look at how better communication prevents misunderstandings that lead to damage.

What you’ll take away:

• Learn to spot the communication gaps that most often lead to damages

• Build habits that keep both field and office teams aligned

• Improve ticket and handoff clarity

• Prevent problems before they ever reach the ground

Presenter: Dale Robinson (OSHA) | Length: 60 minutes

OSHA compliance is more than a requirement—it's essential for protecting your people, projects, and bottom line. Join Dale Robinson for a practical 60-minute session covering the OSHA standards that impact excavation and damage prevention, the violations that carry the highest penalties, and the proactive steps that help keep crews safe and companies compliant. Walk away with actionable insights and a clearer understanding of what inspectors look for before they arrive.Provide your feedback on BizChat

What you’ll take away:

• Understand the OSHA requirements most relevant to your work

• Know which violations carry the biggest penalties

• Prepare your site and crew for an inspection

• Reduce compliance risk with practical, repeatable habits

Presenter: Mike Abla (Colorado 811) | Length: 60 minutes

Colorado 811 is working to become a more analytics-driven organization — and this session pulls back the curtain on that journey. Rather than a finished playbook, it's an honest look at how a damage-prevention organization turns data into better decisions: the tools and habits being built, the questions worth asking, the realities of data quality, and where it's all headed. Come see how "from data to decision" is taking shape — and what it could mean for the broader Colorado damage-prevention community.

What you’ll take away:

• How Colorado 811 is growing from data collection to data-informed decisions

• The building blocks of an analytics-driven culture

• Which questions the data can realistically answer today

• How a data-driven mindset can strengthen your own organization

Presenters: Rose Martinez & Micheala Layton (Colorado 811) | Length: 90 minutes

One rushed ticket. One unclear response. One skipped step. In a connected damage-prevention system, small points of friction don't stay small — they ripple outward into rework, risk, and damages. Rose and Michaela trace how everyday friction moves through the ecosystem and, more importantly, what each role can do — upstream and downstream — to smooth it out. A systems-level look with very practical takeaways.

What you’ll take away:

• See how small frictions cascade across the ecosystem

• Identify the most common friction points

• Understand your role's upstream and downstream impact

• Take specific steps to reduce risk and rework