Contractor Self-Locating with Trenchless Installation for Safety and Production
By: Jay Rendos, Continuum Capital
Introduction
The Infrastructure Bill, Inflation Reduction Act, and increasing demand for utility services of all type is pumping billions of dollars into the construction economy nationwide – demanding greater use of trenchless technology and exposing existing facility to damage risks.
There is already a shortage of locating resources, a shortage of contractors and field crews, a shortage of experience, and the expansion of broadband installation has historically exposed existing underground facilities to higher risk of damage. How to untangle this Gordian Knot?
A Modest Proposal
Many states and multiple companies are already working innovation and out of the box thinking to try and tackle these challenges. In the 811 Emergency study published by the Infrastructure Protection Coalition (IPC – www.IPCweb.org) highlighted $61 Billion in waste and inefficiency in the system that is primarily experienced by internal locators, 3rd party locating firms, and excavation contractor. In the 811 Emergency study, the amount of excavator wasted time associated with ineffective performance of the locate process was documented at approximately 8% of the total time a crew spends in the field attempting to complete excavations safely, damage free, and successfully (See Exhibit 1). In the case of both internal and 3rd party locators, the amount of wasted time associated with attempting to complete locates accurately and timely, was approximately 50% of the time a locator spends in the field. The cost of this inefficiency and waste for both internal and 3rd party locators is significant and totaled the lost $61 Billion described in the study.
Exhibit 1 - Contractor Estimated Lost Time Total Crew Lost Time on Weekly Basis Due to the Locate Process
There are multiple ways that states, Public Utility Commissions, 811 Boards, asset owners, contractors, and locators working to drive this waste and inefficiency from the system. A few of the ideas and concepts revolve around new technology at the 811 Center, raising mapping requirements for municipalities, improving mapping accuracy; altering state dig law, contractor self-locating, among others.
One of the concepts we are most intrigued by is the concept of contractor self-locating in conjunction with and through training by the asset owners. The State of Georgia is perhaps the most advanced with a contractor self location process. Continuum is in the process of investigating these efforts and preparing a case study describing in detail the challenge faced in Georgia, the solutions implemented, and the results achieved.
In the interim, Continuum has gathered some facts describing the efforts in Georgia. These include:
- Federally funded construction spending in Georgia will exceed $12 Billion.
- Georgia locate ticket increased by 69% in the ten years between 2011 and 2021.
- Between 1.3 and 1.5 million ticket requests are submitted annually in Georgia in the years 2019 to 2024.
- In 2021, the Georgia One Call Law was restructured to open the door for contractors to self-locate the utility infrastructure.
- Participants in the design and implementation of the contractor self-locate effort included the following firms:
- Facility Owners: Atlanta Gas Light Company; Georgia Power; AT&T.
- Excavator / Owner: Fiber Optics Communications / Hargray Communications.
- Regulator:Georgia Public Service Commission.
- Call Center: Georgia 811.
- The pilot contractor self-locate effort was design and implemented during 2022 and 2023.
- Preliminary results demonstrate that significant waste as measured by contractor lost time was documented
The case study will define the specific of the challenge, solution and results.
Conclusion
The “811 Emergency” study published by the Infrastructure Protection Coalition (IPC) highlighted $61 billion annually in waste and excess costs embedded within the underground utility locate process. The Common Ground Alliance (CGA) is pursuing a 50 in 5 strategy to drive down damages. In both cases, innovation and out of the box thinking are required. The IPC study identified 13 Recommendations designed to dramatically reduce the waste and excess costs, including Recommendation 11 - Continuous Improvement: Develop a culture of continuous improvement within the 811 system. The concept of contractor self-locate is an example of the type of innovation sought by the IPC Recommendation 11. (Download a pdf of this study.)
Jay Rendos is a consultant with Continuum Capital, which provides management consulting, training, and investment banking services to the worldwide energy, utility, industrial, and infrastructure construction industry. Jay brings over thirty years of experience and works primarily with gas/electric utilities, power generators, pipeline companies, and energy companies to support the planning, design, construction, and operation of capital assets. He is a recognized expert in both natural gas utility construction, operations, and maintenance along with power generation facility construction and operations including very specialized experience in reduced and no carbon emission facilities powered by natural gas, nuclear, or renewable sources. Jay can be reached at (630) 981-4612 or