Fall 2016 – Vol.3 Issue 1
Colorado 811 Legislative Update
CO811 CEO, J.D. Maniscalco & CO811 Chairman of the Board, Brad Vitale
Colorado has had a damage prevention One-Call Law for three decades. The lack of a statewide enforcement authority at times has left stakeholders powerless to take active efforts when entities are noncompliant. On October 11, 2016, a legislative meeting was held at the Colorado State Capitol to begin a discussion about improvements to the current One-Call Law. Senator Ray Scott and House of Representatives Jon Becker, Dominick Moreno and Faith Winter were present along with regulators, lobbyist, facility owners and operators, excavators and One-Call personnel.Colorado’s legislative situation is very similar to a seat belt law without enforcement by police officers. If officers never checked to see if people were wearing seat belts, drivers who violated the law would most likely not change their behavior, because citations would not be issued. Colorado has had several amendments to the current law throughout the years, helping to make it among the safest states in the mountain west region. The law was last updated in 2009, but still lacked the enforcement language. The intent of having stakeholders present is not to modify the One-Call Law, or to punish individuals, but to get people to change behavior. The percentage of damages that Colorado facility owners experience on a yearly basis is still right below 30% with no locate request. Colorado 811 has been working with the One-Call Legislative Task Force to commission a Colorado Underground Damage Prevention Study to give stakeholders a better understanding of the current state of damage prevention in regards to:
- State Wide Enforcement Authority
- Architects Engineering Information
- Locate Performance
- Damage Reporting to CO811
- Tiered Membership
- Excavator Notification
- Damage Incidence – State Comparison
The outcome of the October 11th meeting suggested that stakeholders will begin to draft language that addresses the issues heard during the meeting, with that said; over the next several months damage prevention stakeholders will meet and draft legislative language in an effort to enhance the current law. We look forward to reviewing the draft language in the near future and working with all of our constituents as the process moves forward. We have created a legislative area on our website to house proposed legislative verbiage and other relevant material to allow for an open exchange of ideas and concepts. Please visit co811.org for further details.
National Customer Service Appreciation Week
Colorado 811’s Damage Prevention Agents are frontline heroes
Customer Service Week is an international event devoted to recognizing the importance of customer service and to honoring the people who serve and support customers each day.
Celebrated annually during the first full week in October, Customer Service Week has grown into an international event, which is celebrated in all 50 states and over 40 countries and we are very pleased to be one of the many companies that participated this year!
Here at Colorado 811, our Damage Prevention Agents are the frontline heroes. Because of this, we planned an exciting week filled with activities to celebrate the important role they play in safety and the excavation industry. Team building activities ranged from squirt gun painting to 811 Pictionary. We encouraged casual attire during the week and gave away various prizes to winners of the team building activities.
The Damage Prevention Agents were given capes to symbolize the heroic work they do everyday.
Colorado 811 Welcomes a New Website Design
CO811.org gets a makeover with a clean and easy to navigate website redesign
Last week Colorado 811 unveiled a new website design and layout to co811.org. The main objective in redesigning the website was to simplify the navigation process. To help users access information a dynamic dropdown navigation bar was added to the top of the page, there is also quick links at the bottom of the page.
A new full width layout allows website visitors on various devices, such as a 4k TV or iPhone 7 to view content that will automatically adjust based on the viewers screen size for a responsive design.
The site now has animations to enhance the look and storytelling, making the experience more interactive and engaging. Each loading graphic, button and hover animation was considered carefully in order to add to the sites personality.
Get Involved in the 2017 811 Run – August 12, 2017
Planning for the 2017 811 Run will begin next month, if you want to be involved as a runner/walker, volunteer or sponsor please email Whitney Cregger at wcregger@co811.org. Watch the 2016 811 Run video here. The 2017 811 Run will be held on Saturday, August 12, 2017.
2017 Safe Dig Month Banners and Wall Calendars
Contact us to get your 2017 wall calendars and Safe Dig Month Banners
Colorado 811 is now accepting requests for 2017 Safe Dig Month banners, please email Whitney Cregger at wcregger@co811.org with your company information and the quantity of banners you would like. We ask that the banners are displayed in high traffic areas, job sites or company offices.
The 2017 large wall calendars are now available. The calendars will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. To secure your 2017 calendars for your office(s), please contact our front desk at (303) 232-1991 or you can send the CO811 administration team an email.
If you are not located in the Denver Metro area, we can ship the calendars directly to you, please let us know when you call or email our team. The calendar dimensions are 22″ x 28″.
Holiday Closure Reminder
Colorado 811 Member Services
The holidays are quickly approaching and we would like to remind Colorado 811 members to submit any holidays your company is closed to the CO811 Member Services Department. On Federal Holidays we will give you a courtesy call for emergency and damage locate requests to the after hours phone number registered. We will be closed for Thanksgiving but open for business the day after. Since Christmas falls on a Sunday, we will observe the holiday on Monday 12/26/2017. The same goes for New Year’s Day, observed on 01/02/2017.
Another important reminder is to keep all contacts and notification area coverage up to date to insure there are no missed locates.
We appreciate all you do for the excavating community and damage prevention. For questions or concern regarding your membership, please email member-services@co811.org.