Here is Renee's interview with CBYD Call Center Manager Anthony Willemain.
He reminds us about why it's so important to Call Before You Dig and the new Positive Response System!
Listen below:
Call Before You Dig, Inc. wants to remind Connecticut residents and companies that conduct excavation work using power or mechanized equipment that state law mandates that they notify Call Before You Dig by logging onto their website, www.CBYD.com, for an “e-ticket” or by calling 811 two (2) full working days prior to starting any work. It’s the law and it’s free.
With residents working from home because of Governor Lamont’s Executive Order for Social Distancing due to the Coronavirus and COVID-19, more home DIY projects are underway and they can bring the danger of exposure to hits on vital public utility lines with them. Digging without knowing what is below the surface risks causing property damage, injury and even death, according to representatives of Call Before You Dig.
CBYD is a non-profit corporation that is responsible for operating a call center in Hamden to handle excavation notifications as well as making the public aware of the danger of digging blindly. The organization is comprised of a clearinghouse of owners and operators of underground utility facilities since 1974, including gas, electric, water and communications companies to protect utilities and public safety. CBYD protects against the accidental digging up of buried facilities whenever excavation occurs in order to protect the public, decrease utility service disruptions, reduce the high cost of damage repairs and prevent injury or worse.
How to CBYD
Notify CBYD two working days in advance to have the location of buried utility pipes and cable lines located and marked out. Contact us at www.CBYD.com or call “811” to avoid digging accidents.” CBYD's mission is to "Provide communication and education to improve safety when excavating”.
Examples of projects requiring an eticket or a call to 811:
- a new pool
- a mailbox, landscaping and planting trees
- a deck.
Damage Access:
CBYD has a user-friendly damage reporting tool on their website along with a user guide. Damage Access is a web-based tool that allows anyone to report both damages to underground utility facilities and violations of safe excavating practices that did not result in asset damage. Please see this link to Damage Access for more information.
Positive Response:
Anthony Willemain, Center Manager and Stephen Rieben, Manager, co-wrote information for the public about a new tool that will be available soon, called Positive Response. It is “an enhancement that will allow excavators to see the status of their locate requests in advance of their start date”. It tells excavators information such as who has finished locating their lines, if there are any facilities in conflict, and gives them a record of how the involved utilities responded to their locate requests with documentation added to their copy of the Call Before You Dig (CBYD811) ticket! For utilities who opt in, it will offer Reminders to report before work begins.