Page 3 - Tennessee 811 Magazine 2020 Issue 3

from the desk of
Bill Turner
My last article was written in April and mostly talked about Tennessee811’s reaction to COVID-19. Here we are in August and we are still dealing with the effects of the virus. We transitioned some of our staff (administrative, call center, and IT/GIS) back into the office at the beginning of June, but prior to that step we conducted a deep cleaning of the office along with an electrostatic disinfection procedure. The mayor of Nashville announced
a phased approach to get back to work and we’ve structured our internal policy to follow that plan. Those employees that come into the office are working a transitional schedule (3 days in office and 2 days at home) and will continue to follow that schedule for the foreseeable future.
Pandemic be damned, our call volume has proven to be record setting. On April 6th we broke our daily record with 6,187 tickets and that momentum carried through the end of April finishing with a new monthly record of 86,301 tickets. Then on May 26th we broke the daily record again with 6,750 tickets. June, not to be outdone, was another record month with 7,044 more tickets than April for a total of 93,345 tickets (a 23.4% increase over June of 2019). Many individuals and organizations are dealing with the uncertainty of the Coronavirus and the
stress that comes with it, so I would like to thank our call center staff for doing such a terrific job of handling these incredible volume increases through these difficult times.
If you subscribe to us on YouTube or follow us on social media, you have seen several 2-Minute Tutorial videos produced by our Liaison staff. They have done a great job with these and I hope you have found them to be helpful. They cover everything from the importance of white lining to how to file an alleged violation with the state. I would like to encourage you to review the video about online ticket entry – we have easily accessible methods of entering your notifications online that are available 24 hours a day. Online ticket entry is accessible from your computer or mobile device with no waiting and approximately 43% of our current ticket volume is entered online.
The legislative amendment we introduced this year (HB2158/SB2491) had promising momentum until COVID-19 set in. The Tennessee General Assembly was scheduled to adjourn on May 1st, but the pandemic caused the legislature to suspend
their session on March 19th as the bill worked its way through committees. We hoped the bill would pass quickly when the legislature resumed work on June 1st, but the budget and Coronavirus-related legislation were the only priorities and the session ultimately adjourned a couple of weeks later on June 19th. We will plan to reintroduce the bill next year and we’ll keep you updated on its progress.
The 17-member Enforcement Board has not missed a step during these unprecedented times. Even though most state workers are working from home, the staff at the Tennessee Public Utility Commission has not slowed down. They have been processing alleged violations and presenting them to the Executive Committee of the Enforcement Board, and the Executive Committee as well as the full Enforcement Board have been conducting meetings via conference call. At the last board meeting (May 2020), the Board approved Tennessee811 to conduct violator training online via Zoom. The Liaison staff began offering the online training on May 27th and the training has gone very well and allowed violators to satisfy the requirement of training while respecting social distancing guidelines.
I am so proud of our leadership team – they have done an outstanding job of protecting our employees, protecting our business, and serving our customers to prevent damage to underground facilities. To my team, thank you for your dedication and loyalty. To the utility operators, locators, and excavators risking their health to provide essential services, thank you for your invaluable work.
Thank you for making Tennessee a safer place and remember to Call or Click 811 Before You Dig.
Respectfully,
William “Bill” Turner President Tennessee811
Mission Statement
To Provide the
Best Communication, Education and Notification Service to Facilitate Damage Prevention to Underground Utilities.
2020, Issue 3
Tennessee811 • 1