Purpose: The goal of the three-day intensive event was to develop solutions that would make a positive impact on the 2020 dig season.
Participants: Twenty-five industry leaders representing various stakeholder groups came together, including:
- Utilities
- Municipalities
- Excavators
- Locate Service Providers (LSPs)
- Ontario One Call
Each participant was selected because of their ability to make substantial decisions within their own organization, and ability to influence others in the industry.
Process: Led by an independent facilitator, the industry leaders worked cross-functionally to look at the systemic issues and create viable solutions. As a result, five implementable solutions were developed.
Solutions: Here is a brief overview of the five solutions. Stakeholders within the industry should expect to see these strategies starting in 2020.
- Dedicated Locator
- Forecasting
- Pressure Points
- Compliance / Enforcement
- Data In, Data Out
Dedicated Locator
- Move major infrastructure projects to dedicated locator to relieve stress and free up the regular pool of locators
- Utilities and Municipalities will be responsible for the dedicated locator on their own capital projects
- Dedicated locator resources are additional, and will not come from the existing locator staff
- In 2020, certain infrastructure types will put into this model with more to follow in the coming years
Forecasting
- Develop a new forecasting model to give visibility into the resource demand that is required
- Utilities, Municipalities, and LSPs will forecast workloads by collecting and distributing on-going details related to capital projects
- LSPs are to show calculations to the Utilities and Municipalities based on the data
- There will be ongoing check-ins to assess the success of forecasting
- A pilot program will start in Ottawa early 2020
Pressure Points
- Standardize the way locates are managed
- Utilities and Municipalities to have 60-day locate validity periods
- Utilities and Municipalities to have the same locate expiration date, based on the work to begin date
- Develop proper guidelines to share locates with sub-contractors
Compliance / Enforcement
- Alleviate confusion in the industry and mitigate the continual delivery of late locates
- Provide greater communication about the rules, compliance process, and the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder
- Look to implement a change to Member billing based on a performance-based billing model – late delivery of locates = higher share of Member billing cost
Data in, Data Out
- Reduce over-notification, and eliminate other factors affecting LSP productivity
- Create a checklist of LSP needs that an Excavator must fulfill for a locate request
- Incorporate the finalized process into the curriculum of the Professional Locate Administrator Course (PLAC) being launched through Ontario One Call in 2020
If you would like to find out more about any of the above topics please reach out to: Training@OntarioOneCall.ca
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