Page 9 - Tennessee 811 Magazine 2017 Issue 3

evin Lottis i.~.n’t one or those As a result, they've become one "I've called in 7 who knows 7
husiness owners yuu’ll find of vermeer I-Ienrllnnd's higgest hundreds, mayhe thousands ui tickets.
with his teet propped up, underground customers over the They've improved on their mapping
relaxing in an air conditioned years. Ricky said they have a great in the last 5 years or so, especially in

nffice while his employees are outside relationship with their sales rep Kenny ideniitying roads that were unnamed
doing all the work. And when he is 1-lartman, who makes sure they have in the past," Ricky said. ”The mapping
in the officz, he's there by 5 am. and the most up to date equipment and has made it so much bett2r,tl12r2's road
doesn't usually head home until at least lightning tast turnaround on repairs names and other points of reterence to
s or 9 at night. Ricky also had high praise ior Kenn)/‘s make sure everybody is on the same
‘H ‘ml it was dmimh In get “Md D‘ hos. Ryan llande Kamp, rlfilo wkas their page. And it keeps getting better.

him tor this story since he had spotty O‘;fi":‘25:i"s‘;‘:’l‘:‘l’;L;D:'1‘Er:fl‘§ Lottis underground regularly uses
cell service on a job in Kentucky near Hwum"d’,s mm! magi H directional drilling in their work. The
the story deadline, but his company/s ’ 5 3 method allows a skilled operator to
longtime head supervisor had a lot to ”ll is great to have a guy in tunnel and place utilities under a

say ahout his boss ui nearly to years management who goes In visit driveway, street or just a landscaped
and his company yard with mlnirnum disruption to the
Kevin owns and operates Lottis I A ‘ 2.“ *“’“‘°'

underground, a cookvillehased _ . 5, A lot of mud is created when drilling,
company that specializes in installing - . ‘ ' so Ricky's crew keeps a vacuum truck
and repairing liher optic cahle and ': 5;‘? on-site to suck up and haul ufl the
other directional drilling pm]2cts. ‘ . ’ excess water and dirt. That keeps
Kevin loves his job and is dedicated to > ‘ ry municipalities happy since the mud
assisting his employees and ensurlng r doesn't clog their storm sewers It also
their saiety and well-being, according _ . -. , _ ‘ keeps moturi.s'Is' vehicles clean, but

to Ricky creen, Lottis underground ' t_- , 51‘. most importantly, it keeps husiness and
head supervisor. , "j',,3- W " - homeowners happy

"Kevin goes to a jab almost every day. 2 1.‘ {‘ a ‘ 1 ' I . "We have 3 vacs. Kevin purchased
He's a hands-on guy," Ricky said or iv. . ' \, fig a new high cm machine recently,"
his boss. ”H2 still runs a plow and ' ‘ i Ricky said. "It's a 500 gallon system

a directional drill tor us. There aln'l , i ,5 ‘ - that sucks up mud and dehiis with
nothing we do that he can't do. He's a ‘r V _ a pressure washing system to wash
real go-getter." K ‘ c down sidewalk or street. The vac is a
Kevin started out In the septic industry _ ‘ , r *°v"j'1=.‘°‘.“*'?d;;f'¥-Y'*'f;fi°“ d
about 23 ago then moved on to . —. ‘ ff; ju°'u':§;;;;;m ';;;j;;n,fWj:_a
installing fiher.Atter three or tour years . gt , i ‘ ., 1 3b. d H ‘. _ ,
working with flbel, he bought his own ' . , “"2 “ ‘E "_“‘ °"" ‘“ ""“‘“°“‘ 5

. yard, so we suck the mud out and take

drill and started Luflls underground, . . . , i _ it awn W "Y to M ed em bud ,g_
which has expanded a lot in the last _ _. ‘U . . ,l,: ,. d ,,Y’ *P Y Y’
15 years. They are one ot the tew - ‘-‘ »- ' Y“ '

companies in the area that can handle mmmm‘ I respect mm M mm Addlrionnlly, Rickys crews use the

all aspects of a liher install completely Rmky said‘ vac truck during potholmg operations.
in-house 7 including liuried and aerial They use a method called vacuum
installations and splicing 7 all without Ricky said he and Kevin both excavation, which uses a 12! mi high
using suhcontractors. continually stress to their managers and pressure water to hreak apart the
Ricky said the company strives to §’1‘;";::2::’fl‘_':‘ §'i‘P°.;‘“';°:f:tf:$‘;"§‘d 3'°“““ ‘L°h*"P.“”j "1‘l"r'f"‘ ‘““““‘f

§V;::§f:'»:';:;~;*;;_'::;:;';::: clear visual on each utility in the work excess mud. This method of potholmg
‘:5 3 d h . h 1 E [1 area. Ricky said he s developed a close is much sater than digging with
1'2‘; TL‘:;3;::‘m:u: ‘;‘§vn‘i‘::!5di‘:::fi:ml relationship with Tennessee 811. m;:l1nT|i;:l equipment like? libackhoe
underground drills and two rock "There's a sense of trust both ways with 3“ ’°’“ * ‘“ “ ° ““°‘ “ 9 " °“
machines in addition to three vac trucks Tennessee 211," Ricky said. "When! call "You can buy a wand that goes in a
and a cadre of other heavy machinery. in. my name goes on the ticket. After 350 degree motion And as iast as you
And they keep all of that equipment as a while, they start to recognize it. Ynu can push it into the ground, it will go
busy as possible start to get a reputation as either good right in there. it will dig a hole the size
223::r:::;:;:J::£:‘::;:*:;':i ::,:§:::.‘:?;t1::;‘t‘:,;a‘:;::£$.:i::f;:
Eel"-P"-Em and “P 1° dz‘? WM prevent expensive damages." with mimmiim disruption to the
Ricky said ofhls team. And we f A d l,_ 1 ‘ _. ‘ fl Lh
employ two on-the-lub mechanics with one major thing Ricky has noticed in “‘ “°°- “ ‘ * “ “ ?“°‘*' .° ‘ °
_ . _ . _ small hole than an 18-inch wide hucket

two iull service trucks to make sure the last 5 years is improvements to ME ,, Mk Sm

everybody has the tools they need to do Tennessee 811's mapping accuracy and ' Y ‘.

their job." detail.