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“We give them safety data sheets
and speak about how to respond appropriately. A lot of the training is how to react in an emergency, especially if there’s a fire. Because sometimes the fire is a benefit and you don’t want to put it out right away,” he said.
The company also provides grants for training and equipment to fire districts to better respond to various emergencies.
On the excavation side, Doug works closely with Texas811 and DPC chapters across the state to reach homeowners, landowners and professional
excavators who may be operating near underground facilities.
“We are here to help you manage excavations around our pipelines,” he tells excavators. “We want to help because everybody’s got a job to do.”
In fact, at the time of the interview, Doug was taking a break from building a slideshow to present as part of a rural and agriculture outreach program for a damage prevention council.
“We provide these benefits — including locating lines and marking them — at no cost. Nobody wants oil in a waterway or gas or oil on their property harming animals, vegetation or crops. If we can work with excavators and make sure none of our utilities are hit and manage it well, we can protect the environment,” he said.
The final team member is often the most important — Texas811. They should be every excavator’s first call before a shovel meets dirt anywhere in the state — and they are the first- line defense in keeping underground utilities safe.
The company provides a clearinghouse of information for anybody digging in Texas — whether they’re excavating the basement for a skyscraper in Dallas or replacing a mailbox post in Luckenbach. State and federal laws require a one call prior to any digging activity, but Texas811 does much more than just coordinate line locates.
“We have a great relationship with Texas811. We work closely on ideas
on improving their service to us, our service to them and customers who call in. They also manage the DPC chapter and provide materials and examples of incidents to help protect the public and show what happens when mistakes occur,” he said.
Doug is such a big proponent of the 811 system that he coined a phrase while working at a previous employer, “If you call 811 you may not have to call 911.” Doug said the cooperative team effort of the various stakeholders leads to increased safety, and decreased overall costs to the environment, the community and pipeline companies alike.
“Our foremost job is not about moving product,” he said. “That’s gonna happen one way or another,
for the greater good of economy and consumers. But being safe in doing that is first and foremost in my mind.”
Great things in this industry are never accomplished by one person. They’re done by a team of people!
W O R K I N G SAFELY
NEAR UNDERWATER P I P E L I N E S
NEW ONE-HOUR, INTERACTIVE, ONLINE
SAFETY TRAINING
 How, where and when to find information you need
before a project starts;
 Safety and emergency checklists to use daily;
 Do training at your own pace, switching between electronic devices.
2020, Issue 4 Texas811 • 7