April Safe Digging Month - National Recap
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- Created: Wednesday, 06 September 2017 10:40
- Written by Lareina Taing
Minnesota
On April 7th, 2017, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton signed a safe digging proclamation to help focus public attention on this issue. Mike Mendiola with the Minnesota Office of Pipeline Safety (MNOPS), a professional in the underground damage prevention industry, arranged the signing. The proclamation encourages everyone to contact Gopher State One Call (GSOC) at least 48 hours, excluding weekends and holidays, before any excavation project to prevent damage to underground utilities, injuries, and the disruption of essential services.
In recognition of NSDM, GSOC partnered with the Minnesota Regional Common Ground Alliance (MNCGA) and the Minnesota Office of Pipeline Safety (MNOPS) to host 32 damage prevention meetings around the state that emphasized the need to practice safe digging, which starts with a “call or click” to GSOC. In addition, GSOC offered ITIC training webinars every Wednesday in April to help train excavators on the online ticketing tool that is available to them.
Read more to see what our damage prevention partners across the country did to celebrate NSDM in their respective states.
Visit Staking University at GSOC
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- Created: Monday, 10 April 2017 12:37
- Written by Lareina Taing
On May 22-23, 2017, Gopher State One Call (GSOC) will host a two-day Locator Certification Seminar (LCS) taught by a Staking University (Staking U) instructor. Founded in 1999, Staking U established the first year-round training program to educate and certify locators on locating equipment and best practices.
The LCS will include classroom and outdoor presentations intended to teach Minnesota locators:
- Superior troubleshooting techniques.
- Skills to help them consistently provide accurate and complete utility locations.
- A mastery of locating equipment; and,
- The competencies required to pass Staking U’s locator certification test.
Celebrate NSDM this April!
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- Created: Monday, 13 March 2017 12:17
- Written by Lareina Taing
April is an important month in the damage prevention industry. Since 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate has recognized April as National Safe Digging Month (NSDM), which makes 2017 the 10th anniversary of this significant acknowledgment.
Throughout April, Gopher State One Call (GSOC), the Minnesota Regional Common Ground Alliance (MNCGA), and the Minnesota Office of Pipeline Safety (MNOPS) will be participating in damage prevention meetings offered around the state to emphasize the need to practice safe digging, which includes a “call or click” to GSOC. These educational opportunities are available at no cost for all stakeholders in the underground utility industry.
MNOPS 2017 Stakeholder Review Meetings
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- Created: Monday, 06 March 2017 10:02
- Written by Lareina Taing
MS216D Stakeholder Review meetings will be held throughout 2017 to allow stakeholders in the Minnesota underground utility community to come together and provide feedback on the state’s current one call laws. The Minnesota Of ce of Pipeline Safety (MNOPS) holds these meetings to initiate discussions about stakeholder desired changes to the law during the 2018 legislative session. Gopher State One Call (GSOC) encourages all stakeholders to participate in these meetings to provide valuable input towards the continued effort to keep our underground infrastructure safe.
2016 GSOC Annual Report
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- Created: Tuesday, 28 February 2017 09:30
- Written by Gopher State One Call
Click here to download the PDF.
A note from our COO:
Dear Minnesota Underground Safety Stockholders,
It is hard to believe that we have turned the corner and moved into another new year. 2017 brings opportunities for Damage Prevention meetings, trainings, seminars, events, locate requests, locate requests, and more locate requests. For 2016, GSOC ended with a total of 787,593 tickets, a 2.9% increase over 2015. The bumpy beginning in 2016, due to the transition to a new call center and a new electronic ticket system, settled down thanks to the assistance of many MNCGA members. GSOC supported underground safety public awareness and training by participating in over 35 Damage Prevention meetings, training over 2,500 individuals on the new electronic ticket system at the end of 2015 and into 2016, and participating in numerous events. GSOC public awareness efforts included trade shows such as the Northern Green Expo, the Minneapolis Home and Garden Show, Farm Fest, MN State Fair, Big Iron Farm Show, MN 811 Run/Walk, and Day of the Dozers. GSOC also launched a state wide digital media public awareness campaign.