Page 9 - Arkansas 811 Magazine 2021 Issue 3

thing is Locatable... erything is Toneable
Recently, 811 Magazines sat down with Vinny Vickers, CenterPoint Energy, Vinny Marchese, RECONN and Matt Manning, Vivax-Metrotech to learn more about the program and lessons learned.
So, can you tell our readers, how
this came about? Vinny Vickers
said, “It came about as the result of CenterPoint’s commitment to providing the safest environment for contractors working around our lines. We were having too many ‘turn backs’ because of untoneable plant. The process of contracted locators trying to locate the line, finding they were unable to locate it with their locating equipment and then turning it back to our employees at times led to delayed response times. And of course, that is just unacceptable to everyone involved. Additionally, many times we might have the same issue with the same line over a period of years, so it was time to do something different and something better.”
CenterPoint Energy contracted RECONN, a USIC company to perform a pilot program in central Arkansas
to find a more permanent solution
to untoneable plant. RECONN is a company that provides specialized crews to find and repair unlocatable facilities prior to 811 excavations. Vinny Marchese, Vice President of RECONN expressed, “This project was a perfect RECONN introduction to CenterPoint Energy, as these efforts demonstrate our experience and commitment
to offer a comprehensive solution. Facility owners often focus on one
or two of our services, whether it’s advanced locating, vacuum excavation, remediation of abnormal operating conditions (AOCs), or high-grade GPS mapping. We’re impressed when a leadership team wants to explore the complete solution that works today, tomorrow, and probably 100 years from now. Our advanced locate crews handle 811 turn-backs/difficult to locate tickets
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2021, Issue 3
Arkansas 811 Magazine • 7
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