Page 3 - Tennessee 811 Magazine 2018 Issue 2

from the desk of !
II “Bill” Iurner
he theme of tltis issue is "Cummunttalmn " Reileeting on my
eollege rlays, lwas required tn take several eommunieattons
elasses 1 will always remember one speeihe statement from thnse
elasses; ”On2 eannot not communicate." There are verbal and nonverbal
enmmumeatinns. verbal communication is the shat-ing or inini-inatton
using speeeh. Nnnverlial eommunieation is eommunieating without
speeeh Faclal expressions, gestures and body positions are considered
forms of nonverbal eommunieation. Wow, I am really having to dig deep
(no pun intended) into the archives fur this. Getting to the point, the
one-call proeess is defined liy eommunieation. It is the basis oi why one
call was ereated. In the past, excavators dirl nnt ltave an easy method of
lniorming undergrnund utility nwners of tlte intent to exeavate. ln some
eases, they d|dn’l know who to lniorm Hence, the ereattnn ni Ont: call.
An excavator enuld make nne call (toll tree) and nuhfy the utilities oi
their intent tn cxcavals. Then the utilities eoulrl eommunieate with the
excavator using markings nn tlte loeation of the unrlergrouird iaeiltties tn
prevent damages.
Pmlty baste eoneept... It has taken many years, a tremendous amount of escort and eommunieation to
get where we are today. what starterl nut as "Call Bcfun: You Dig" has grown into sn munh mnre. Nnw
it has become a network of eonrdinattnn, eollabnration, parttterships, damage prevention, saie digging
awareness, erlueatton, proteetion, etc I tltink it is saie tn say; one call is defined as communication
At Tennessee 311, the eommunieation does nnt strip with an excavator ealling in a loeate request tlteir
Tennessee 811 sending rt to the member utilities. Aitnr the member utilities have aeted on the excavr1loz'~
request, they enmmunieate the results of the loeate request tn our Pnsitive Respnnse system. An excavator
ean aeeess the lniormatlon submitted by viewing the respnnses prior to beginning Excavation. The
infozmallon ean be viewed by utilizing our mobile app or online. Tltis eommunieates to the exeavatnr that
the utilities ltave aeknowledgerl the request and perini-ined a loeate.
At Tennessee 311, the eore pi-ineipal ni our business is communication. This magazine is an example oi
hnw we enmmunieate with our stakeltnlders. we share anrl illustrate industry knnwledge that we hope
will assist our readers when working in Tennessee. Along nnth nur magazine we have an effncuvu liaisnn
program that spreads the damage prevention message. otir liaison team partieipates at tradeshows anrl
satety meetings. Our liaisnns visit all nur members annually to eommunieate that we appreetate them, and
we are available to assist them wttlt any rlamage prevention saiety or awareness neerls they may have. in
addition, our liaisons euordinate anrl iaeilitate 27 meetings for emergeney responders, publie uffimals and
exeavators as part of nur PIPE (Partners in Proteeting Everyone) program
Finally, 1 wnuld like tn enmmunieate that we ltave sueeessiully passed an amendment tn the undergrnund
utility Damage Preventtnn Acl this year The bill made it thrnuglt the legislative proeess with nn
obieettons nr enneems. Mnst of the eltanges are housekeeping ehanges to the bill passed in May 2015.
once the govemnr signs the bill, we will pnst the ehanges on ottr web site.
Thank ynu all inr making Teirnessee a sater plaee anrl remember, "You eannnt nnt communicate."
Respeetitilly,
william "Elll” Turner
l’re»ldent
Tennmee rm Mission statement
To Pmaide the
tzrst caniniititiratiutt, Editratiait mid Nutiflrflflart 5tl':Ilrt'
to raeitttate Damage piemitiov ta uvdergniarid utilities.
em !ssu:2 Termesseesll . r