usic infrastructure insider q1 2016
DESCRIPTION
Welcome to Infrastructure Insider! This newsletter has been created to keep you apprised of what’s going on at USIC. We believe communication is at the forefront of a successful company, and Infrastructure Insider will keep you up-to-date on what’s happening in the office and out in the field. We hope you enjoy the issue! Have comments or questions? We would love to hear them as we are always looking to improve. Please email them to our marketing department via [email protected]. Thank you and please own safety.TRANSCRIPT
Q1 2016
USICLLC.COM
INHIGH DEMAND USIC looks forward to being a key player in the expansion of this new technology as it advances across the country.
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PROTECTING & MAINTAINING YOUR INFRASTRUCTURE
INFRASTRUCTUREINSIDER
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SUGGESTIONS?
FROM THE OFFICE TO THE FIELD
Darin StalbaumVice President, Regional Sales & Marketing
USIC continues to grow at a rapid pace!
Before this calendar year is over, we will recognize 2016 as yet another year of significant growth. We are expanding with existing national customers, turning new market challenges into opportunities, and diver-sifying service offerings. To drive sales in expanding geographies and manage our growing client base, the business development team is expanding.
Kudos to my partner Tim Seelig, SVP – Sales & Key Account Management. Tim is managing our largest
client relationships and he played point in negotiating a new contract with CenturyLink. USIC is finalizing a new, multi-year, 28-state contract that includes 5 new states: AZ, NJ, NV, OR and WA. The CenturyLink project has been a true team effort and continues to be as our operating and support teams work through start-ups in the new states.
As all of our teammates in Kansas City and across North Carolina know all too well, unprecedented fiber overbuild activity continues to change the landscape of underground utility damage prevention. These multi-year projects have resulted in 50-80% increases in locator headcount in several markets. These efforts are the backdrop to the hard work of our incredible team of locators in the field.
Last, our new Utility Services division continues to bring great opportunity. I encourage you to keep an eye on and support our evolving service offerings. Echoing our President & CEO Rob Tullman’s closing comments in our last newsletter, the growth of USIC would not come without the hard work and dedication of each of you. Thank you for your role in making USIC the clear leader in Protecting Infrastructure.
Be Safe.
CONTACTS
TIM SEELIGSVP, Regional Sales &
Key Account [email protected]
MARC MAKELYSVP, Utility Services
DARIN STALBAUMVP, Regional Sales & [email protected]
DOUG KENYONDirector of Business Development
MIKE IADANZADirector of Marketing
MESSAGE OF THE MONTH
IN THIS ISSUE
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2 Message of the Month3 Cover Story4 Damage Prevention Update5 The Safe Side6 Nathan Braun7 Technology Update8 Utility Services Update9 We Salute You!10 Marketing Buzz11 Our People
COVER STORY
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THE BATTLE FORHIGH SPEED FIBERThe damage prevention industry has always been impacted by the construction work of Utility and Telecom companies. More recently the increased scale of this work, particularly gigabit service, has had a larger influence on how the industry does business. The competition to provide gigabit service started to have a significant impact when Google announced that it would install free/high-speed internet services in cities across the country. On March 30, 2011, Google announced that Kansas City would be the first city to receive the new service which provides residents and small businesses 1 Gbps internet service, a speed approximately 100 times faster than what the average American currently has. Since starting installation in Kansas City, Google has expanded to 5 additional markets that are in USIC’s operating footprint: Charlotte, Atlanta, Raleigh/Durham, Nashville and Austin. The threat of losing customers has also forced the other internet and TV service providers to respond with their own high-speed fiber networks. These new builds have greatly increased the demand for utility locates in these markets.
To accommodate these new and increased demands, USIC has responded by making changes to the way that it operates. We have hired large numbers of new technicians in relatively small geographic areas to compensate for the increased workload. Much of this work takes place in some of the most congested areas, and our most experienced technicians have responded well to the increased number of difficult jobs. Whole new organization structures dedicated to managing these large projects have been created and project managers and supervisors have been put in place to work with the contractors placing the fiber optic cables. Communication with the fiber installation crews has become one of the most important aspects in properly managing these projects. We have made all of these changes quickly and better communication has resulted in more advanced notice of new projects.
Many of our customers have recognized this issue and partnered with us in the spirit of damage prevention to ensure that we can properly staff these projects. As these projects mature, we continue to develop new processes and procedures to deal with them and move forward to provide the best service possible for our customers. Simultaneously, we are preparing for these projects to move into new cities across our territory. For example, Google has announced that it is in negotiations with several cities, including Tampa, Jacksonville, Oklahoma City, Louisville, Portland and Phoenix. Other providers have announced that they are rolling out fiber service to over 40 additional metro areas. USIC has learned from our experience with Kansas City and we look forward to being a key player in the expansion of this new technology as it advances across the country.
By Tyler Olliver, Director of Large Projects
DAMAGE PREVENTION UPDATE
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USIC provides Infrastructure Damage investigation services and data collection systems designed to capture a comprehensive incident report for each occurrence of excavation related plant damage. USIC has performed Damage Investigation and collection support services for some of the largest communication, electric and Natural gas distribution providers in the United States and Canada. That experience has allowed us to develop internal training and certification for our field investigators which is second to none in the utility services industry. Claims Management profession-als are situated in all operating regions to support our customer’s internal claims resolution processes. Cause and origin experts, as well as legal resources, are utilized in catastrophic situations.
DAMAGE INVESTIGATIONSUPPORT YOUR COST COLLECTION OPORTUNITIES
Our Certified Damage Investigators are trained and competency tested to insure collection and preservation of all evidence relevant to a utility infrastructure “dig in” damage.
SERVICES PERFORMED:• Damage investigations• One Call Ticket Research• Photographic Evidence Collection & Analysis• Data Management • Litigation Support• Cost Recovery
CLIENT BENEFITS:• Reduce internal investigation cost• Improve recovery cycle time• Professional claims resolution support
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CLICK HERETO SEE THE VIDEO
THE SAFE SIDE
STORIES FROM THE FIELDA CLOSE CALL!
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By Sabrina Esposito, EHS Manager
TPL’s & Storage lines are as high profile as it gets. If one of these lines were to get hit and punctured, there could be fatalities involved and national media coverage. Fortunately, this incident did not result in the line being punctured, but the line did need repair. The ticket involved a 20” TPL. USIC road crew (Travis Meadows and Jason Anderson) responded to the ticket, sent the TPL notification on time and correctly marked the TPL. They met the contractor on site and informed the contractor that a rep MUST be on site to monitor the excavation. The contractor dug that morning with a rep on site and gouged the pipe. Repairs had to be made. That afternoon, the contractor then decided to move their ditch over by approximately 10’ and struck the TPL a 2nd time, gouging the pipe again! Initial investigation found that the contractor did not have a probe to use for the line while digging. They were simply digging with an excavator. This was a 20” line with over 500 lbs. of pressure on it; they were a 1000th of an inch away from complete disaster! This is an eye opener for everyone. They were so close to losing their lives in addition to impacting a densely populated area had the line been punctured. Our USIC team did exactly what they were supposed to do, the rep was on site monitoring the dig, and there were still two extremely dangerous close calls. It’s our job to protect our customer’s facilities to prevent damages while keeping everyone safe, including ourselves. Thank you to each and every USIC employee for all you do and for doing it correctly. And a special thank you to Travis and Jason for executing their job safely and precisely. Both of them did their part in preventing a major disaster and provided great documentation and photos that will assist our customer in addressing the issue with the contractor and recover any damage costs.
TRANSMISSION PIPE LINE (TPL) AKRON, OHIO
SOUTH BEND, INDIANA
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USIC’S HONORARY LOCATORNATHAN BRAUN
Nathan was born at 2 pounds 2 oz. I was his nurse and he needed a home. Nathan has permanent brain damage and many learning difficulties. Two years ago he began to fixate on utility flags, picking them up all over, even collecting ones from out of town. He knows what all of them mean and where they should go. Last October the obsession took a wrong turn. He left our yard and went after other flags he had seen in the neighborhood. He was gone for 90 minutes and the police brought out the K-9 unit to find him. Nathan had no idea how unsafe this was and when he came home in the police car he had a hand full of utility flags (SORRY!). As Christmas approached we decorated the kids tree with utility flags and caution tape. Nathan said all he wanted for Christmas was “clear flags” and “warning do not dig flags.” I did not want to steal them so I called USIC. They were amazing! Josh Scheibelhut called me and made arrangements for Nathan to meet them for their Christmas breakfast. That morning the guys were all great to him, I had tears in my eyes several times. The guys took
him outside and showed him the locating devices and how to use them. He was in heaven. Once home he told me that was the best Christmas present ever. Thank you so much. This spring as the weather has improved he has made comments about taking off again and I reminded him what the guys at USIC said. Nathan just smiles and says “I know; I need to call for more flags not get them by myself.” You have a very special group here. They were all so kind and generous to my son. Words can not express how it made him feel. Some kids want to meet superheroes or famous athletes my son just wants to meet the USIC locators. Thank you for all you do.
Sincerely, Lisa Braun
USICLLC.com
TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
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Ticket Risk Assessment couples real time, predictive analytics and targeted field services that are cost effective. We can identify over 50% of the future damage sites within a small percentage of the tickets. This enables us to respond proactively and coordinate damage prevention efforts at the right dig sites prior to and throughout the dig.
TICKET RISK ASSESSMENTPREVENT DAMAGES & SAVE LIVES
WHAT IS TRA?
Predictive analytics determine the dig sites most likely to result in infrastructure damage. Invest additional field resources beyond a standard locate to reduce excavation damages.
CLICK HERETO SEE THE VIDEO
USICLLC.com 8
UTILITY SERVICES UPDATE
STORM SUPPORTREADY TO ASSIST AFTER ANY NATURAL DISASTER
Our core objective is to protect the public and the utility’s infrastructure from any system anomalies during a storm, as well as to maintain the integrity of the utility system after the storm all while doing our part to assist in the restoration of service.
SUPPORT SERVICES:• Site Safety on Wires Down• Post-Storm Damage Assessment• Crew Guides (for non-local utility crews)• Emergency Gas Leak Survey• Flagging & Traffic Control• Post-Restoration Clean-up
USIC provided over 700 Storm Response Team Members to assist with Super Storm Sandy relief efforts in the Northeast.
CLICK HERETO SEE THE VIDEO
WE SALUTE YOU!
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Earning the title Marine has been the best accomplishment that I have ever achieved! It educated me on how to overcome and accept the obstacles that life will throw at you and how to be a man. It also exposed me to who I was and what I really wanted to become. Integrity, responsibility, and respect are three of the major characteristics that were instilled in us to carry on for the rest of our lives! Unfortunately, my time in the Corps came to an abrupt end and I was honorably medically discharged. After I got out of the Marines I was looking at my future and how I would have to adapt to the sudden change in my career. I wanted a
steady secure job that offered company benefits and quality life experiences. A job that I could be more independent, along with working outside as my main office. When I first came upon USIC after a lot of research, I was blown away by their potential opportunities in career advancement that they offered to all of their employees. They offered everything I was looking for plus a company vehicle that I can take home. I have been able to use many qualities that I developed from the Marine Corps to make my job more enjoyable at USIC. I have to say the transition from the military to here has been a true blessing in every way!
JOEY STEVENS | LOCATE TECHNICIAN | CARMEL, IN
USIC is proud to employ military veterans.
MARINES
Tristen Hannah graduated from the US Naval Academy with a degree in Systems Engineering, and joined the submarine service, serving aboard the USS Louisiana out of Washington State. He served two years with the Canadian Navy in Submarine Requirements. Tristen does data analysis, business and risk modelling, and various projects for USIC. Tristen and his two dogs, Lucy and Leha, recently relocated to Tampa, FL.
TRISTEN HANNAH | DIRECTOR, ANALYTICS, MODELLING, SPECIAL PROJECTS | TAMPA, FL
NAVY
Margaret Breneman served Active Duty in the United States Army as a Captain in the Adjutant General Corps. Her past duty stations include Fort Sill OK, Fort Jackson SC, Stuttgart Germany, Schweinfurt Germany, and Fort Stewart, GA. She is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, with a BS in International Legal Studies and a Systems Engineering track. Margaret has recently taken on the role of Director of Recruiting. She and her family have relocated to Indianapolis, IN.
MARGARET BRENEMAN | DIRECTOR OF RECRUITING | INDIANAPOLIS, IN
ARMY
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DATE: EVENT: STATE: On-Site Lead Contact4.6.16 NY811 Excavator Safety Expo & Annual Meeting NY Josh Faber [email protected] Arizona Water Association AZ Neil Punt [email protected] 5.17.16 Alabama/Florida Tech Conference FL Jimmy Norred [email protected] NCRWA NC Josh Faber [email protected] Oklahoma Gas Assoc. Charity Golf Tournament OK Neil Punt [email protected] Kentucky Annual Gas Association Meeting KY Kevin Gadd [email protected] Washington RECA Annual Meeting WA Kevin Gadd [email protected]
MARKETING BUZZ / UPCOMING EVENTS
USICLLC.COM WINS BIG!The website won not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR 2016 AVA Awards.
UPCOMING EVENTS
A Platinum award for each of the Business to Business and Corporation cat-egories, and one gold award each for the Web Interactive Capabilities and Home Page Design categories. We are in good company as other 2016 win-ners included Aflac, AIG, The Better Business Bureau, Cisco, Lockheed Martin, Nissan, The Weather Channel and many more. The AVA Digital Awards are an international competition that recognizes outstanding work by creative professionals involved in the concept, direc-tion, design and production of media that is part of the evolution of digital communication. Work ranges from audio and video productions- to websites that present interactive components such as video, animation, blogs, and podcasts- to interactive social media sites- to other forms of user-generated communication.
USIC’S NEW BOOTH WAS SHOWCASED AT THIS MONTH’S CGA EVENT IN LAS VEGAS
USICLLC.com
OUR PEOPLE
“ Jamol’s diligence and instincts prevented a dangerous situation from becoming a fatal one.” - USIC Client
On February 17, USIC Gas Service Technician Jamol Narzikulov was performing service leak survey in Vineland where he detected an odor of gas at a home. He found no gas readings underground but did notice that the piping was rotted near the concrete foundation. Seeing a crack in the basement window, he checked there and found gas coming from inside the building. He immediately called the Cumberland division office that instructed him to notify dispatch and have a Utility worker sent to
the home. When the utility worker arrived, he and Jamol went inside and found a high concentration of gas in the basement where the fuel line was leaking through the cellar wall. Jamol’s diligence and instincts prevented a dangerous situation from becoming a fatal one. The utility company and division management credited Jamol’s work, and thanked him for an excellent job. It is good to know that we have conscientious people helping us keep our customers safe.
EMPLOYEESPOTLIGHT
JAMOL NARZIKULOV | GAS SERVICE TECH
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Just a brief note to commend Greg Dunyak for a job above and beyond normal expectations. We have been chasing a difficult leak for over a week and I called Greg Saturday night and requested that we get someone out to backpack the location on Sunday morning. Greg was onsite at 7:00am Sunday to perform the survey to assist the crews in locating the source of the leak. Greg is a valuable asset to the team and to your organization. - USIC Client
We appreciate Greg’s dedication and going the extra steps to make things safe. This is exactly what drives our customer relationships. By showing them that we deliver a quality service exceeding expectations.
EMPLOYEESPOTLIGHT
GREG DUNYAK | LEAD TECHNICIAN
I had a discussion with Hector Gonzalez in Los Lunas, NM today. I called him about a couple questions an excavator with the locates he performed on a ticket. He was a very pleasant person to talk with, He was very willing to call the excavator and to meet with him to ensure he was clear where our facilities are. His great attitude and willingness to make sure our facilities are protected impressed me very much.
I know it seems like I always bring bad news, or concerns, so I thought I would pass along how pleased I was with Mr. Gonzalez in New Mexico. Please pass this along to him and his team, to let him know how much we appreciate him and his performance. Thank you again. - USIC Client
EMPLOYEESPOTLIGHT
HECTOR GONZALEZ | DAMAGE PREVENTION SPECIALIST
Established nationwide provider.
USICLLC.com
THE LEADER IN DAMAGE PREVENTIONPerforming over 60 million locates annually, USIC is the most trusted name in underground utility damage prevention. USIC provides a full suite of utility services throughout the United States and Canada. Our mission is to deliver quality, safe, efficient, and innovative solutions to protect our partners’ infrastructure and critical assets.
PROTECTING INFRASTRUCTURE
VIGILANT.QUALIFIED.EFFICIENT.SAFE. WE PERFORM OVER 60,000,000 LOCATES ANNUALLY.