Telecom Damage Prevention: Challenges and Solutions from CGA

Telecom Damage Prevention: Challenges and Solutions from CGA

By David Mack, Senior Business Development Manager, ACRT Services

This summary article includes excerpts from the 2023 CGA White Paper

The Common Ground Alliance (CGA) is the central nonprofit organization dedicated to underground infrastructure protection and calling 811. In December 2023, the organization produced a telecommunications white paper as part of a series of key stakeholder groups, examining challenges and opportunities in damage prevention.

The methods the CGA used for research included in-depth interviews with leaders in the telecom industry, locators, and excavators who work with telecom companies. Online surveys were completed by facility owner-operators, 811 centers, excavators, locators, engineers/designers, equipment manufacturers, and regulators.

The report identifies four key findings

1. The telecom sector has the most potential to impact the U.S. damage prevention system – and its bottom line.“The telecom industry is one of the Nation’s most competitive and fastest-growing markets, rapidly deploying fiber to its already expansive underground infrastructure. This buildout significantly impacts the damage prevention system. As both substantial contributors to and recipients of damages, telecom stakeholders have much to gain by enhancing prevention efforts,” stated Sarah K. Magruder Lyle, CGA president and CEO.

According to CGA’s 2023 DIRT Report, year after year telecom ranks among the top two most damaged facility types while also topping the list for type of work being performed when damages occur.

In contrast with more regulated facility types like gas and electric, telecom may view damages to their buried infrastructure as inevitable. There is a perception that the telecom sector accepts damages as part of its business model. According to one executive’s assessment, “they also view it as a revenue stream to bill excessively for repairs when that may not be justified.”

2. Growth and customer satisfaction are prioritized over damage prevention by many telecom stakeholders.

This creates competitive concerns that can undermine underground infrastructure protection, safety, and telecoms’ ability to install and maintain reliable networks. According to interviews with excavators and locators, while some telecom companies are excellent to work with, other clients in this sector are more focused on cost and performance versus safety. Some telecom stakeholders prioritize low-cost contracts and confidentiality around planned installations over damage prevention.

When telecom companies do not disclose large-scale installation plans with their locating partners, affected 811 centers, and other facility owners/operators with local infrastructure, the 811 system becomes quickly overwhelmed.

3. Rather than focus on long-term national standardization strategies to reduce damages, telecom can achieve more timely results by improving internal practices and contracts.

Ongoing work to advance strong laws and regulations must be coupled with organizational and industry-level commitment to understanding and addressing damage prevention challenges. Internal changes within telecom companies would be quicker to operationalize and drive more immediate results.

Google Fiber, a CGA member, recently advocated for better coordination among fiber companies, state broadband offices, 811 centers, and the excavators and locators that fiber installers hire.

More accurate and precise telecom maps could reduce over-notification and make installing and protecting networks more efficient – and improve 811 system efficiency as a whole.

For excavators, there appears to be support among telecom stakeholders to include reimbursement for potholing in contracts. Failure to pothole has been a consistent top damage root cause according to CGA’s DIRT Reports, so including this practice in contracts and most importantly, compensating excavators for the time and resources to positively identify underground facilities, could have a significant impact. “I believe we should all be doing the potholing and paying to restore,” was reported by a telecom executive.

4. Securing executive-level buy-in from telecom facility owners/operators on rigorous damage prevention standards will be necessary to reverse the upward trend of damages to U.S. infrastructure.

Leadership at telecom companies must engage in underground infrastructure protection. Damage prevention is not often prioritized by top leadership. Manager-level participants also acknowledged “that their executives do not play as large of a role as they should in damage prevention, often due to their company size.” Telecom executives will need to lead the charge on improving data around telecom damages.

Significant support is needed for projects like initiating a system-wide map upgrade or restructuring contracts.

We need to have a clearer understanding of the circumstances surrounding telecom damages that is focused on identifying solutions rather than determining liability.

Key actions recommended to reduce damages over five years

1. Ensure executives are at the damage prevention table and are engaged and active participants.
2. Update facility maps, regularly share them with 811 centers and contract locators, and provide 811 ticket-level facility visualizations to excavators, designers, and engineers.
3. Coordinate with other stakeholders in advance of large projects.
4. Improve damage data collection processes with a focus on root cause analysis.
5. Evaluate contract structures with locators and excavators: Consider incentives versus penalties, best-value versus lowest-bid contracts, and reimbursing for potholing.
6. Become Damage Prevention Institute accredited, and require locators and excavators to do so as well.

The path forward centers on enhanced communication

Improved communication is identified by telecom survey respondents as having the greatest potential to reduce damages, and interviewees repeatedly reinforce its importance.

Underground infrastructure protection success

Crown Castle, a national provider of shared communications infrastructure realized it could benefit from more granular data. It has been focused on repair and claim-focused data. It added DIRT data fields to identify circumstances and specific excavators causing damage.

The organization then joined CGA to engage with other industry stakeholders. It also established monthly meetings with its contract locating firm to review mismarks. Crown Castle interfaced with contractors causing damage and with 811 centers to better understand state regulations and processes. These changes resulted in a decline in mismarks of 50%. Weekly meetings with contractors and subcontracts resulted in required potholing and sharing of GIS files of planned excavations so that both parties could coordinate.

Crown Castle established an Underground Utility Avoidance Standard to which it holds all employees and partners accountable nationally. In all, they created a proactive and robust damage prevention program.

Choosing a damage prevention partner

The expertise of damage prevention contractors is pivotal in safeguarding underground infrastructure amid the telecom sector’s rapid expansion. Bermex professionals bring a unique blend of technical proficiency, regulatory knowledge, and operational efficiency to identify and mitigate risks during excavation. For over 50 years, we have been helping clients reduce costs while increasing reliability and safety across their networks. You can be assured our technicians adhere to industry best practices and foster clear communication among stakeholders.