60152.001/540367.1
USA NORTH 811
FIRST AMENDED MEMBERSHIP AGREEMENT
THIS FIRST AMENDED MEMBERSHIP AGREEMENT (the “Agreement”), made and entered into this ____________day of ____________________ 20____________, by and between the
UNDERGROUND SERVICE ALERT OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA (hereinafter referred to as "USA") and ___________________________________________ (hereinafter referred to as “Participating Member” or “Member”). USA and the Participating Member are sometimes referred to hereinafter individually as a “Party” and collectively as the “Parties.”
Recitals
WHEREAS, USA is a nonprofit mutual benefit corporation organized under the laws of the State of California which operates a regional notification center to facilitate notice to members with underground facilities of proposed excavation; and WHEREAS, Participating Member desires to become a member of USA and USA desires to accept Participating Member as a member.
NOW, THEREFORE, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. Term. This Agreement shall be effective from and after the date hereof and shall continue in effect until such time as either Party terminates this Agreement, in accordance with the provisions regarding termination of membership contained in the Article II, Section 5 of the USA Bylaws.
2. Documents. Participating Member acknowledges receipt of copies of the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws of USA, attached hereto, and hereby accepts and agrees to be bound by the terms and conditions thereof. USA retains the authority to amend the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws from time to time through lawful action of USA’s duly authorized Board of Directors.
3. Fees and Charges. Participating Member agrees to timely pay the membership dues and assessments as established by the USA Board of Directors from time to time.
4. Duties of Participating Members.
a. Contact Information. Participating Member agrees to provide and maintain current and up to date Contact Information (as hereinafter defined) to USA. Said contact information includes, but is not limited to, the following: names, telephone numbers and email addresses (the “Contact Information”) for the appropriate personnel to respond to inquiries regarding field markings, facilities and conditions thereof, after-hours emergencies, etc. Participating Member agrees and consents to USA’s sharing of its Contact Information with excavators, engineers, utilities, governmental agencies and regulatory agencies as needed in USA’s reasonable discretion. Participating Member agrees to verify and confirm to USA in writing 1 ATTACHMENT 1
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its Contact Information every twelve (12) months, and upon any change in the Contact Information.
b. Service Area Mapping. Participating Member shall define the geographic area, in a manner specified by USA, for which it wishes to receive tickets (collectively, the “Service Areas”). These Service Areas shall encompass the areas in which the Participating Member has underground facilities. Participating Member understands that its Service Areas must be large enough to include the location of all of its facilities so that all relevant tickets can be received from USA, but not overly large so as to not receive irrelevant tickets. Participating Member understands that its Service Areas may change periodically, such as when new underground facilities are installed and existing facilities are relocated, bought, sold or traded. Participating Member shall verify its Service Areas mapping every twelve (12) months, or more often if needed, and will promptly update its Service Areas when changes occur.
c. Ticket Delivery Destination. Participating Member shall provide destination information to USA as to where and whom each type of ticket should be sent, including regular tickets, emergency tickets, short-notice tickets, after-hours emergencies, planning and design requests, etc. Participating Member shall actively monitor all receiving destinations on a daily basis and shall immediately notify USA if changes are needed or delivery errors occur.
d. Membership Fees. Participating Member agrees to pay its membership fees within thirty (30) days of receipt of invoice from USA. Participating Member understands and agrees that its fees will be based upon the number of tickets the Participating Member receives, during the time period covered by the subject USA invoice as set forth by the Board of Directors from time to time.
5. Duties of USA.
a. Means to Receive Notification. USA will publish the 811 telephone number, a tollfree telephone number and an internet website to receive notification from excavators about planned excavation activity within USA’s Service Territory (as hereinafter defined). Other means of notification may be developed in the future by USA at its discretion as technology, demand and funding allow; including, but not limited to, smartphone apps, chat message, SMS text message and integration with construction project management software.
b. Delivery of Tickets. The relevant information included in the excavator’s notification will be compiled by USA into a “ticket” document. USA will promptly deliver the ticket to all Participating Members whose geographic service area, as provided by each member to USA, is overlapped by the geographic area of excavation, as described by the excavator in its notification to USA. 2 60152.001/540367.1
c. Electronic Positive Response System. USA will host an electronic positive response system for the purpose of documenting how Participating Members have responded to tickets. Excavators will be able to view responses provided by each member for the excavators’ tickets.
d. Records Retention. USA will maintain a database of tickets created and delivered for the period of time specified in state law (currently three (3) years in California and six (6) years in Nevada). Participating Members will have access to tickets they have received and excavators will have access to tickets they have created during the retention period. Records that are older than the retention period will be destroyed by USA. Participating Members are advised to keep their own records for a longer time period if they deem it appropriate to do so. e. Education and Outreach. USA will provide advertising and educational materials and will perform outreach activities to promote the use of the notification center system, safe excavation and the protection of underground facilities in California and Nevada.
f. Service Territory. USA will provide the services listed in this Section 5 for the geographic area encompassing the entire state of Nevada and the 49 northern counties within California; this includes all California counties except Imperial, Inyo, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Ventura (the “Service Territory”). Participating Members with underground facilities outside of USA’s Service Territory are advised to participate with other 811 notification centers as appropriate and/or required under applicable law.
6. Indemnification. Participating Member shall defend, indemnify, save and hold harmless USA, its officers, agents and employees, from and against any and all liabilities, claims, losses, damages, expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees), or costs for personal injuries and/or property damage arising out of (a) any ticket sent to Participating Member or Participating Member’s designee; (b) any marking, or failure to mark, the location of any facility of Participating Member; (c) any excavation by any person which injures or damages any facility of Participating Member, unless such losses, damages or injuries are caused by the intentional misconduct or gross negligence of USA; and/or (d) any injury or damage to person or property of any third person resulting from any of the foregoing.
7. Confidentiality.
a. Access for Regulators. USA will allow state regulators to have full access to the ticket database and electronic positive response system. Access to other records, including Participating Member contact information, membership changes, billing invoices, etc., may be granted when appropriate or otherwise required under applicable law.
b. Excavator Contact Information. Participating Member shall use excavator contact information only for the purposes associated with responding to the excavator’s 3 60152.001/540367.1
ticket. Participating Member agrees to make reasonable and appropriate efforts to safeguard the excavator contact information from disclosure to anyone other than as permitted under this Agreement, and the Participating Member shall not distribute the excavator contact information to anyone other than as permitted under this Agreement without the prior written authorization from USA.
8. Entire Agreement. This Agreement, USA’s Bylaws, USA’s Articles of Incorporation and the exhibits attached hereto (collectively, the “USA Documents”), represent the entire agreement between the Parties in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby and the subject matter hereof and this Agreement supersedes and replaces any and all prior and/or contemporaneous agreements, understandings and communications between the Parties, whether oral or written, with regard to the subject matter hereof. There are no oral or written agreements, representations or inducements of any kind existing between the Parties relating to the subject matter hereof which are not expressly set forth in the USA Documents.
9. Amendment of Agreement. This Agreement may be amended or modified at any time with respect to any provision by a written instrument signed the Parties.
10. Notices. Any notice required or permitted to be given under this Agreement shall be written, and may be given by personal delivery, by facsimile transmission, email or by registered or certified mail, first-class postage prepaid, return receipt requested. Notice shall be deemed given upon actual receipt in the case of personal delivery. Mailed notices shall be addressed as follows, but each Party may change its address by written notice in accordance with this Section 10. Notices may be emailed provided that a copy thereof is concurrently placed in the mail. Emailed notices shall be deemed delivered two (2) days after email transmission.
USA North 811: THE USA NORTH 811 CENTER
4005 PORT CHICAGO HWY, SUITE 100
CONCORD, CA 94520-1122
Phone: (800) 640-5137
Fax: (888) 234-8344
Participating Member Address:
11. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California without regard to its conflicts of laws principles.
City, State, Zip Code
Address Line 2:
Phone:
4 60152.001/540367.1
12. Severability. In case any one or more of the provisions contained in this Agreement shall for any reason be held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect, that invalidity, illegality or unenforceability shall not affect any other provision of this Agreement and this Agreement shall be construed as if the invalid, illegal or unenforceable provision had never been part of the Agreement.
13. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts and each such counterpart shall be deemed to be an original instrument.
14. Rights and Remedies. Duties and obligations imposed by this Agreement and rights and remedies available hereunder shall be in addition to and not a limitation of duties, obligations, rights and remedies otherwise imposed or available by law.
15. Waiver. No waiver by any Party, at any time, of any breach of any provision of this Agreement shall be deemed a waiver or a breach of any other provision herein or a consent to any subsequent breach of the same or another provision. If any action by any Party shall require the consent or approval of another Party, such consent or approval of such action on any one occasion shall not be deemed a consent to or approval of such action on any subsequent occasion or a consent to or approval of any other action.
16. Captions and Headings. The captions and the paragraph numbers appearing in this Agreement are inserted only as a matter of convenience and do not define, limit, construe or describe the scope or intent of this Agreement.
17. No Third-Party Beneficiary Rights. This Agreement is entered into for the full benefit of the Parties and no other individuals or entities are intended to be direct or incidental beneficiaries of this Agreement and no third party shall have any right in, under or to this Agreement.
18. Incorporation of Exhibits. Each and all the exhibits attached to this Agreement are incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in full in this Agreement.
19. Binding Effect. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the Parties, their respective heirs, legal representatives, administrators, successors-in-interest and assigns.
20. Assignment. Participating Member shall not assign any right or interest arising under this Agreement without the prior written consent of USA.
21. Read and Understood. Each Party acknowledges that it has read, and that it understands, this Agreement and agrees to be bound by its terms.
[SIGNATURES APPEAR ON THE NEXT PAGE]
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused this Agreement to be executed by their duly authorized officers as of the day and year above first written. __________________________________________
PARTICIPATING MEMBER
By_______________________________________
Name (printed) _____________________________
Title _____________________________________
UNDERGROUND SERVICE ALERT OF
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA
By _______________________________________
Name (printed) _____________________________
Title
PLEASE SIGN AND RETURN TO
THE USA NORTH 811 CENTER:
4005 PORT CHICAGO HWY, SUITE 100
CONCORD, CA 94520-1122
James L. Wingate
Executive Director
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36 March 29, 2021
RE: Becoming a member of USA North 811
Dear underground facility operator,
Thank you for your interest in potentially becoming a member of the USA North 811 association of facility operators. The purpose of this letter is to make you aware of the legal requirement to become a member and to outline the benefits of membership in our association of facility owners.
California Government Code 4216 defines the relationship between excavators, operators (owners of underground facilities), and regional notification centers (e.g. USA North 811). A few key sections:
• 4216(o) “Operator” means any person, corporation, partnership, business trust, public agency, or other entity that owns, operates, or maintains a subsurface installation. For purposes of Section 4216.1, an “operator” does not include an owner of real property where subsurface installations are exclusively located if they are used exclusively to furnish services on that property and the subsurface facilities are under the operation and control of that owner. • 4216(s) “Subsurface installation” means any underground pipeline, conduit, duct, wire, or other structure, except nonpressurized sewerlines, nonpressurized storm drains, or other nonpressurized drain lines.
• 4216.1 Every operator of a subsurface installation, except the Department of Transportation, shall become a member of, participate in, and share in the costs of, a regional notification center. Operators of subsurface installations who are members of, participate in, and share in, the costs of a regional notification center, including, but not limited to, the Underground Service Alert—Northern California or the Underground Service Alert—Southern California are in compliance with this section and Section 4216.9. A regional notification center shall not charge a fee to a person for notifying the regional notification center to obtain a ticket or to renew a ticket.
• 4216.7(b) If an operator has failed to become a member of, participate in, or share in the costs of, a regional notification center, that operator shall forfeit his or her claim for damages to his or her subsurface installation arising from an excavation against an excavator who has complied with this article to the extent damages were proximately caused by the operator’s failure to comply with this article.
If you own subsurface installations, as defined in 4216(s), and if those facilities are not contained entirely on your property and used exclusively to provide service to your property, you are considered an operator, as defined in 4216(o), and are therefore required to be a member of a local regional notification center, as specified in 4216.1. You are also required to locate and field mark your facilities and/or take other action to protect them from damage that may occur during excavation, as specified in various subsections of 4216. Please consult your legal counsel as needed for interpretation of the law. 37 Underground Service Alert of Northern California and Nevada, commonly known as USA North 811, is the regional notification center that serves 49 northern and central California counties (all California counties except Imperial, Inyo, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Ventura) and the entire state of Nevada. We are a nonprofit 501(c)(6) association that is governed and funded by our 1,500+ member facility operators. The association operates a website and call center (USA North 811) to receive notices of excavation from people that are digging. Instead of contacting each facility owner individually, the excavator can visit www.usanorth811.org or call 811 and we will help him/her create a “ticket” to tell the utility owners what type of excavation work he/she will be doing and the specific area in which underground utility lines need to be located and marked. USA North 811 (referred to as “USAN” throughout the rest of this letter) will deliver the ticket document to the utility owners that have underground facilities in the vicinity of the dig site. Each facility operator is then responsible to locate and mark their facilities at the site to protect them from damage that could occur during excavation. GC 4216 describes the process and responsibilities of each party in detail. It is supplemented by regulations that can be found in California Code of Regulations Title 19 Division 4.
Cooperating with other utility owners to fund a call center is much more cost-effective than having the excavator contact you directly, since we can standardize the process, record the calls, maintain a ticket database, have the ticket system up 24/7, provide records to regulators, create and distribute educational content and training, etc. All of this was done at an average cost to our members of around $0.80 per ticket in 2020. USAN is an excellent example of public‐sector agencies partnering with private‐ sector companies to promote public safety by protecting California’s underground utility infrastructure.
Subsurface installations are damaged by excavation activity thousands of times each year in California.
Damage can potentially result in utility service disruption, down time, repair costs, property damage, environmental contamination, personal injury and even death! Let us help you protect your underground assets by becoming a member of USA North 811.
Please see these documents that accompany this letter:
• Budget and fees explanation
• Contact information form
• Service area mapping requirements
• Membership agreement
• Electronic Positive Response
information
• How to read a ticket document
• Member Best Practices list
• Web TMS information
• Board of Directors list
• Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation
• Operating Procedures
Please contact our Member Services Department at [email protected] or 925-222- 6501 with any questions and to coordinate becoming a member of USA North 811. We look forward to working with you to help protect your underground infrastructure! Respectfully,
James L. Wingate
Executive Director
USA North 811
38 2021 Budget: $ 7,961,012.00
Active Members: 1,502 Budget minus sum of flat fees: $ 7,735,712.00 COLUMN SUM TOTALS: 5,593,022 5,381,240 100.00% $ 7,735,712.00 $ 225,300.00 $ 7,961,012.00 Unique Unique % of > 200 2020
Pay Member Billable Billable Ticket % of > 200 Flat Total Rank Name Tickets > 200 Total Amount Fee Bill
1 852,382 852,182 15.836164% $ 1,225,040.05 $ 150.00 $ 1,225,190.05 2 780,044 779,844 14.491901% $ 1,121,051.76 $ 150.00 $ 1,121,201.76 3 527,399 527,199 9.796980% $ 757,866.15 $ 150.00 $ 758,016.15 4 136,655 136,455 2.535754% $ 196,158.61 $ 150.00 $ 196,308.61 5 82,144 81,944 1.522772% $ 117,797.23 $ 150.00 $ 117,947.23 6 73,663 73,463 1.365169% $ 105,605.51 $ 150.00 $ 105,755.51 7 73,149 72,949 1.355617% $ 104,866.62 $ 150.00 $ 105,016.62 8 71,623 71,423 1.327259% $ 102,672.94 $ 150.00 $ 102,822.94 9 69,758 69,558 1.292602% $ 99,991.95 $ 150.00 $ 100,141.95 10 69,375 69,175 1.285484% $ 99,441.37 $ 150.00 $ 99,591.37 11 69,089 68,889 1.280170% $ 99,030.24 $ 150.00 $ 99,180.24 12 68,582 68,382 1.270748% $ 98,301.41 $ 150.00 $ 98,451.41 13 57,619 57,419 1.067022% $ 82,541.73 $ 150.00 $ 82,691.73 14 50,646 50,446 0.937442% $ 72,517.81 $ 150.00 $ 72,667.81 15 48,301 48,101 0.893865% $ 69,146.79 $ 150.00 $ 69,296.79 16 45,666 45,466 0.844898% $ 65,358.89 $ 150.00 $ 65,508.89 17 40,548 40,348 0.749790% $ 58,001.60 $ 150.00 $ 58,151.60 18 40,182 39,982 0.742989% $ 57,475.46 $ 150.00 $ 57,625.46 19 38,842 38,642 0.718087% $ 55,549.16 $ 150.00 $ 55,699.16 20 35,803 35,603 0.661613% $ 51,180.50 $ 150.00 $ 51,330.50 21 34,288 34,088 0.633460% $ 49,002.64 $ 150.00 $ 49,152.64 22 30,027 29,827 0.554277% $ 42,877.31 $ 150.00 $ 43,027.31 23 29,799 29,599 0.550041% $ 42,549.55 $ 150.00 $ 42,699.55 24 29,374 29,174 0.542143% $ 41,938.60 $ 150.00 $ 42,088.60 25 28,594 28,394 0.527648% $ 40,817.32 $ 150.00 $ 40,967.32 (Only 25 largest members shown) Median 2021 bill: $282.25 Members with < 200 tickets that pay only $150 flat fee: 647 Billing Calculations Explanation - 2021
Tickets received in 2020 used to calculate bill for 2021 Master Billing Spreadsheet 2021
UNIQUE BILLABLE TICKETS: Members that own multiple facility types are encouraged to create a separate member code for each facility type and provide a unique response to the electronic positive response system for each facility type. For example, if City of Urban owns water and power, it could respond to a ticket that water was marked but power was not because it is overhead, and therefore clear, at the dig site. The excavator now knows to look for water markings at the site but not power. In previous years, utility owners have been unwilling to create separate member codes for each facility type because they did not want to be charged multiple times for the same ticket. In 2018 the Board of Directors voted to change the billing policy and begin charging for unique tickets only, beginning with the 2019 billing. So in the example above, even though City of Urban had the same ticket sent to both their water department and their power department, the ticket only counts as one unique ticket for the purpose of billing calculations. Also, only tickets of the type "New" are billable. All other ticket types (Amendment, Cancel, Damage/Exposed, No Response, Re-Mark, and Renewal) are nonbillable and delivered to members at no charge.
CALCULATIONS: The Board of Directors approved an operating budget of $7,961,012 for 2021. This amount is divided among the members based on how many unique billable tickets each member received in 2020 compared to the sum of unique billable tickets received by all members. All members pay a $150 flat fee to receive the services that USA North 811 provides, regardless of how many tickets were sent to them. This flat fee includes delivery of up to 200 unique billable tickets. Thus, small members that receive 200 tickets or fewer pay only $150 total. The sum of all flat fees for 2020 equals $225,300. The remaining portion of the budget amount ($7,961,012 - $225,300 = $7,735,712) is divided among the members that received more than 200 unique billable tickets on a percentage basis. For example, if a member received 1% of the tickets, they would pay 1% of the remaining budget amount in addition to their $150 flat fee. Calculations: $7,735,712 * 0.01 = $77,357.12. Add in the flat fee and the total bill for that member is $77,357.12 + 150.00 = $77,507.12. The top portion of the master billing spreadsheet, showing the 25 largest members (with names removed) is shown below. Average cost per ticket for all members (2021 budget / 2020 total billable tickets) = $1.42 per ticket. However, only 55.41% of tickets were billable. Budget / total tickets delivered = $0.79 per ticket. 39 Best Practice Recommendations for Member Facility Operators In addition to following state law and the Common Ground Alliance best practices for facility operators (Not required or enforceable by USA North 811, but recommended to be a best-in-class operator) Last revised: 3/29/2021
MARKING OF FACILITIES
1. Accurately locate and field mark your underground facilities for every ticket.
2. Respond to every ticket, either by marking or letting the utility owner know your facilities are not in conflict with the excavation. Do this prior to the legal start date on every ticket.
3. Use the Electronic Positive Response system to document how you responded to each ticket.
Record your response in the system before the legal start date of every ticket.
4. If you own more than one type of underground facility, create separate member codes for each facility type so you can provide a unique response for each facility type on every ticket.
5. Use the correct colors, symbols, shapes, and abbreviations when marking your facilities. Follow the CGA Best Practices marking guidelines.
6. Use paint, flags, whiskers, offsets, etc., according to site and weather conditions. Be conscious of property owners and decorative hardscapes and do not apply excessive paint. Use water-based or chalk-based paint as often as possible.
7. Mark newly-installed facilities. Implement a real-time process so a line that you just installed won’t be damaged by another excavator working in the same area shortly afterward. You may consider having the crew that installed the line mark its location before leaving the dig site area.
8. Inform property owners before entering back yards whenever possible. Close gates, etc.
9. Do not paint excessively wide markings that would require hand-digging in an overly large area.
10. Inform the excavator where your facility ends and where privately-owned utility lines begin, especially if your meter or termination point is away from the home or building.
11. Promptly inform the excavator if you discover an error on his ticket so he can correct it. Do not simply ignore “bad” tickets.
12. Promptly inform USA North 811 if you discover an error on a ticket that appears to be the fault of the contact center, such as a mapping error.
13. Respond promptly to emergency tickets. Monitor incoming tickets 24/7 so after-hours emergencies can also be responded to promptly.
14. Respond promptly to No-Response tickets.
15. Respond promptly to reports of damage to your facilities.
MAPPING & RECORD KEEPING
1. Maintain detailed maps and records of your facilities. Record GPS coordinates and other measurements to update your map data whenever you expose any facility to repair, replace, relocate, or inspect it. GPS all new installations. Set a goal to GPS your entire system over time as you upgrade your network of facilities.
2. Ensure all or your facility installations can be located in the field (e.g. install tracer wire). Install and test tracer wire on all new facilities, and add tracer wire or repair damaged tracer wire on existing facilities.
3. Keep abandoned lines in your records. Locate and field mark them as required. 40 4. Accept feedback from excavators that expose your facilities if they report the location to be different than where you marked or what your plans show. Update your records accordingly.
5. Ensure your locators in the field have access to your most current mapping data, including newly-installed facilities. If you hire a contract locator, share this same data with them.
6. Respond to Plan & Design requests from engineers and surveyors in a timely manner.
7. Provide markings in the field when appropriate for Plan & Design requests. Implement a process to provide markings for design requests without a USA ticket so as to encourage engineers to not create regular USA tickets when their project is still in the design phase.
PARTICIPATION WITH USA NORTH 811
1. Keep your contact information current so USA North 811 can direct inquiries about markings, emergencies, damages, mapping, etc., to the correct contact within your company. Review your contact information at least annually and update it promptly when changes occur (this is required by California law).
2. Keep your service area mapping polygon(s) current with USA North 811. Your service area mapping must be sufficiently large to make sure you receive all relevant tickets in the vicinity of your underground facilities, but not overly large so you do not receive irrelevant tickets. Review your service area at least annually and update it promptly when changes occur.
3. Pay your bill to USA North 811 on time to help keep the contact center running.
4. Pay attention to broadcast messages sent by USA North 811 to learn about law changes, procedural changes, budget increases, new technology, etc. Read our annual newsletter and minutes from meetings of the Board of Directors. Disseminate information to all appropriate personnel within your company.
5. Vote in the annual Board of Directors elections. Ask questions, raise concerns, and be involved.
6. Keep copies of your tickets. Use WebTMS, Ticket Search, and other software tools as appropriate to manage your tickets.
7. Support USA North 811’s education and outreach efforts. Put 811 stickers on your vehicles, put a link to www.usanorth811.org on your website, include information in customer utility bills, etc. Actively promote the use of the 811 system.
8. When digging as an excavator, create your tickets online instead of by telephone. Help keep the phone lines open for homeowners and new excavators. Having your employees and subcontractors create tickets online will also lower your costs to fund the contact center. Follow the best practice recommendations for excavators.
41 Best Practice Recommendations for Excavators
In addition to following state law and the Common Ground Alliance best practices for excavators (Not required or enforceable by USA North 811, but recommended to be a best-in-class excavator) Last revised: 3/29/2021
TICKET CREATION
1. Ensure your ticket is correct – dig site address and marking instructions are accurate and complete and your contact information is correct. Review the email confirmation promptly after creating your ticket to ensure the information is correct. If an error exists, fix it immediately.
2. Create your own ticket. You cannot work under any other party’s ticket. A professional excavator cannot pass on the responsibility of creating a ticket to the property owner.
3. Create the ticket only for the area where you will excavate within the life of the ticket.
4. Do not request a larger area to be marked than is needed. If you are not digging in the road, do not request the road to be marked. The utility locators will mark lines that enter the property from the road, just like they will mark lines that enter the property from adjacent lots. Do not waste the time and resources of the utility companies by requesting a larger area than is needed to cover where the actual digging will occur.
5. Respond promptly to questions from utility locators. Provide contact information on the ticket for someone who is knowledgeable about the project (this is required in California law).
6. Delineate (pre-mark) your dig site in white before creating your ticket.
7. Ensure all facility operators have responded to your ticket before commencing excavation. Use the electronic positive response system (EPR) to confirm site markings match the responses.
Confirm all utility operators have responded to EPR before you begin digging.
8. Follow the dates and times on your ticket. Do not commence excavation before the legal start date. Finish excavating before the expiration date or create a Renewal or Re-Mark ticket as appropriate if your project will last longer than the original ticket’s expiration date.
9. Make sure the address is posted and there is open access to the dig site property (gates unlocked, animals contained, etc.).
10. Respect, protect, and maintain the utility markings. If markings are disturbed by weather, vehicles, construction (including by a different excavator), etc., request fresh markings.
11. Inform property owners before digging on their property, including in utility easements.
12. Inform property owners you will be creating a ticket and they can expect to have lines marked on their property.
13. Talk to property owners to find out about privately-owned facilities that may be buried at the site, such as sprinkler systems, water and sewer laterals, and other underground facilities that are not owned by a utility company. Hire a private locator to mark these facilities if needed.
14. Report mismarked lines to the appropriate utility owner so they can update their records and/or provide training to their field technicians as appropriate.
MANAGE YOUR TICKETS
1. Do not create your ticket too early. Wait to create the ticket until you know you will begin digging within 14 calendar days.
2. Do not create your ticket too late. Do not create an emergency ticket if the situation is not a true emergency as defined by law. Plan your projects in advance. 42 3. Do not create a Renewal or Re-Mark ticket after the project has been completed. Make sure communication between your field crew and office staff occurs so a ticket is not created unnecessarily if the work has been completed or the project has been delayed.
4. Keep a copy of your ticket with you on site for the duration of the project and in your records for several years.
5. Do not create a ticket if your project is in the design phase. Use the Utility Contact Lookup tool on USA North 811’s website here to draw your dig site on the map and generate a list of utility company engineering departments. Email information about your project to them so they can provide you with plans, GIS files, etc., to show you where their facilities are. Do not create a ticket until excavation is ready to begin.
6. Be respectful of the time and resources of the utility owners. They fund the USA North 811 contact center and locate and mark their facilities in the field. All of this is done at no cost to the excavator. The cost you bear as an excavator is the cost of planning and managing your tickets. 43 Underground Service Alert
of
Northern California and Nevada
Operating Procedures
Revised 7/29/15
44 Table of Contents
Section ……………………………………………………………………………………………. Page
Table of Contents …………………………………………………………………………………. 2
1. Purpose ………………………………………………………………………………….……… 3
1.01 Primary Purpose …………………………………………………………………………. 3
1.02 The Center’s Major Functions …………………………………………………………. 3
2. Objectives ……………………………………………………………………………………… 3
2.01 USA North’s Objectives ………………………………………………………………… 3
3. Center Operation ……………………………………………………………………………….. 3
3.01 Center’s Address ………………………………………………………………………… 3
3.02 USA North’s Hours of Business ………………………………………………………… 3
3.03 USA North’s Holidays …………………………………………………………………... 3
3.04 USA North is to provide trained personnel ………………………………………….… 4
3.05 Communication and Equipment ……………………………………………………….... 4
3.06 Location Requests ……………………………………………………………………….. 4
3.07 E-tickets …………………………………………………………………………………. 8
3.08 Design Inquiries ………………………………………………………………………….. 8
3.09 Ticket Summary …………………………………………………………………………. 9
3.10 Member Response to Location Requests ……………………………………………….. 9
3.11 Member Mapping Requirements / Service Area Registration (SAR) …………………… 10
3.12 Disaster Recovery Plan ………………………………………………………………….. 10
3.13 Reports …………………………………………………………………………………... 10
3.14 Record Retention ………………………………………………………………………... 11
3.15 Tape recordings, CD ROM’s, and Archiving Media ………………………….………… 11
3.16 Financial Accountant / Bookkeeper …………………… ………………………….…… 12
3.17 Membership Dues ……………………………………………………………………….. 13
3.18 Public Relations …………………………………………………………………………. 13
Exhibit 1 USA North Membership Dues …..……………………..…………………………. 14 Exhibit 2 Member Communication Costs …………………………….…………………….. 16 Exhibit 3 Location Request Information ……………………………………………………. 17 Exhibit 4 USA North Service Area …………………………………………………………. 18 Exhibit 5 USA North Potential Violation of the Common Ground Best Practices or the One-Call Law Report ……………………………………………………………... 19
45 1. Purpose
1.01 The primary purpose of Underground Service Alert (USA North) is to provide a toll free, centralized, one number call system to expedite the location of underground facilities (as defined in USA North's Bylaws) up to 14 calendar days prior to the start of any Excavation Work. For purposes of these Operating Procedures, the following definitions will apply:
a) Excavation Work: Any work that may effect the subsurface of the earth. b) Excavator(s): Any person or entity performing Excavation Work. c) Center: Underground Service Alert of Northern California and Nevada / USA North.
1.02 The Center's major functions are:
a) To receive excavation reports from all Excavators by voice and/or by E-ticketing, two (2) working days up to fourteen (14) calendar days in advance of planned Excavation work. The calls or E-tickets received for this purpose are called “Location Requests” and/or “Tickets”.
b) To transmit the Location Request Information to all Charter, Participating and Associate Members who may have underground facilities at the location of the excavation work.
2. Objectives
2.01 USA North's objectives are to:
a) Promote public safety
b) Eliminate costly damage to Underground Facilities
c) Reduce lost production time due to damage
d) Promote compliance with the CGA Best Practices, OSHA Regulations and State Legislation
e) Help protect the environment
f) Promote membership in USA North
g) Promote use of the Center
h) Encourage active participation in USA North by all Underground Facility Operators, Government Agencies and Excavators
3. Center Operation
3.01 The center's location is 4005 Port Chicago Hwy, Suite 100, Concord, California 94520-1122.
The area covered by the notification center is shown in Exhibit 4.
3.02 The Center's business hours are from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. (Pacific Time) Monday through Friday excluding the Center's holidays. All calls received by the Center after scheduled operating hours will be answered by a recording. A pre-recorded message will advise the caller of the Center's scheduled operating hours, and directs all after hour callers to call the organizations involved directly. The Center will receive E-tickets 24/7.
3.03 The Center observes the following holidays: New Year's Day, President’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, day after Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day.
46 3.04 USA North will provide the trained personnel necessary to carry out the business of the Center and develop and implement performance standards to meet objectives as set forth by the Board of Directors.
3.05 Communication and Equipment
a) The Center will provide sufficient equipment to maintain efficient operation and meet Board standards. Staff will justify all increases in costs incurred to the Board of Directors.
b) Incoming calls received on the 811/800 lines are recorded for liability reasons, except for the mechanical failure of the recording equipment. In addition, all telephone notifications to members are also recorded. Recordings are made in accordance with tariffs on file with the California Public Utilities Commission and local, state and federal law.
c) Location Request information is transmitted to the participating Members via voice, fax, modem, xml, email, and / or IRTHNet system over the Center's outbound communication network. See Exhibit 2 for communication options. d) Members are responsible for maintaining their own communication network and equipment. The Center shall not be liable for failure to notify the members of Location Request information due to any malfunctions of the member's communication network and / or equipment.
1) After business hours the Center will transmit an End of Day Audit to all members using automated communication equipment. The member shall use the End of Day Audit to verify receipt of all Location Request information sent to them, and that their communication equipment is in working order. If a discrepancy is found on the End of Day Audit, the member will be responsible for reporting it to the Center as soon as possible.
2) Members shall check their communication equipment for paper jams, garbled messages, and that the power is always on. Members will be responsible for promptly notifying the Center of any of the above problems. When it has been determined that a member's communication equipment will be out of service for a period of time, and/or the Center is experiencing trouble transmitting location request information to the Members receiving equipment, it will be the member's responsibility to make arrangements to receive the location request information by alternate means, (Email or Fax). The member will be charged the appropriate rate per message for the type of backup service selected. 3) When two or more members share communication equipment / an email address / a modem and printer for the purpose of receiving Location Request Information, the names of all members sharing the printer must be on file at the Center. Arrangements for sharing communication equipment / email address and / or modem and printer must be individually negotiated by the members, under the direction of the Center. All arrangements and processing of location requests shall be according to the Operating Procedures set forth. 4) Notification of relocation or disconnection of communication equipment / email addresses shall be made in writing to the Center at least two weeks prior to the projected relocation/disconnection date.
3.06 Location Requests
a) All voice Location Requests will be received on recorded 811/800 lines. b) When necessary the operator may access a multi-language service, in order to communicate with Non-English speaking callers.
47 c) Design Inquiry Requests will not be accepted on the 811/800 lines. These types of requests will be directed to the USA North Administrative office where they will be processed through the Internet Design Inquiry program.
d) Location Request Information - see Exhibit 3
e) California and Nevada Location Requests are active for 28 calendar days from the date received by the Center.
f) Each Location Request will have a number assigned to it, “Inquiry Identification number”, which will be given to each caller for future reference. g) Night and Weekend work - Callers will be asked the following questions:
“Will any of your excavation work include night work?”
“Will any of your excavation be done on the weekend?”
h) Callers will be given the Legal Working Day Notice date and time:
CA - Two Working Day Notice (20 working hours), up to 14 days NV - Two Working Day Notice (20 working hours), up to 28 days The caller will be asked what date and time their excavation will begin. If the caller is going to begin earlier than the legal working day notice, the short notice begin time will be entered and the caller will be told “Because you have given Short Notice there may be a delay in our Members response to mark their facilities. If you excavate and damage facilities, then you may be liable for those damages. Would you like to change your Begin Time to a Legal Notice”? The Working Day Notice calculation does not include Weekends and/or State and Federal Holidays. i) Premarking the Excavation: Callers who have not Premarked their excavation area will be told the following: “Premarking your excavation is necessary so our Members will know where to mark their lines for you. You may not satisfy your obligation if your excavation is not Premarked”. “Will you Premark your excavation”? h) Explosives - The caller will be asked if explosives will be used during the excavation work.
i) Vacuum Excavation – (CA only) Callers will be asked: “Do you intend to use Vacuum Equipment instead of hand digging to determine the exact location of our member’s underground facilities?” Regardless of the answer, the caller will be advised of the following: “If you intend to use any method other than hand digging to expose the member’s underground facility, you must contact our members directly to get their authorization before excavating.” Member’s contact information is located at www.usanorth.org.
j) Work in street or sidewalk – Callers will be asked if their excavation will enter into the street or sidewalk area?
k) The Operator will verify the excavation location description with the caller, and then submit the Location Request for transmission to all members who have requested notification in the area that the location was mapped.
l) Mile post markers - Where applicable in the street database, mile post markers will be used in place of cross streets when working on or off major highways. m) Parcels - Where applicable in the street database, parcels will be used to delineate the digsite box, eliminating the 200-foot buffer on either end of the identified street segment.
n) At the end of the call, the Operator will tell the caller “If your work is going to continue past your ticket’s expiration date of (mm/dd/yy) you must call back no later than (Update By Date) to extend your ticket”. The Update By Date is the last date that the caller must call in to extend the ticket and give our Members the appropriate Working Days to RE-MARK their facilities. The calculation for the Update By Date takes into consideration Weekends and/or State and Federal Holidays. The list of 48 members notified will be offered to the caller. The CSR will finish the call by saying “After our Members have responded to your request, it is your responsibility to notify USA North if you need the Members to RE-MARK their facilities”. m) The Center will handle any follow-up calls for additional information, member facility re-marking, or failure of any member(s) to respond to the Location Request. This information will be found under Comments on the request. When member facility remarking is requested the following will be appended in Comments:
#2 FOLLOW-UP MESSAGE: RE-MARK YES ORIG DATE 11/26/07-MHS 12/04/07 – SMUD RE-MARKING to be completed by 00/00/0000 00:00:00 AM/PM.
n) A version number will automatically be added to the subject line of each follow-up type email delivered ticket. The version number numerically chronicles additional excavator initiated events on active original tickets, and is used to reduce follow-up administration time.
No Response Follow-Up
This guideline only applies to tickets where;
A two working day notice or more was provided on the original ticket, The start date/time has passed, and
A member(s) fails to respond to the excavation site by the starting date & time of the ticket.
When a member successfully negotiates a new start date/time with an excavator, the negotiated start date/time becomes the start date/time for that excavation notice. Once the start date/time has passed, the excavator should determine if all USA North members have responded. If the excavator determines that a member(s) of USA North has failed to respond in one of these manners the following steps are to be taken.
First No Response Follow-up: Call USA North after the original or agreed upon start date/time, that the work was to begin, and request USA North to send a “First No Response Follow-up” to the member(s) (name the particular member(s)) that failed to respond to your notice. Request the member(s) to call and respond ASAP or call and provide clearance.
Second No Response Follow-up: Wait at least an hour or more, from your last call, to provide our member(s) an opportunity to call and respond to your request. After this time has passed and the member(s) still has not contacted you, call and request USA North to send a “Second No Response Follow-up” to the member(s) (name the particular member(s)) that has failed to respond to your notice. Request the member(s) to call and respond ASAP or call and provide clearance.
Third No Response Follow-up: Wait at least an hour or more, from your last call, to provide our member(s) an opportunity to call and respond to your request. After this time has passed and the member(s) still has not contacted you, call and request USA North, to send a “Third No Response Follow-up” to the member(s) (name the particular member(s)) that has failed to respond to your notice. Request the member(s) to call and respond ASAP or call and provide clearance. Note; once the Third No Response Follow-up message has been transmitted, the Center will attempt to make a call to the member(s) terminal involved and ask the member(s) to respond ASAP. 49 Warning There may be unidentified underground facilities at your job site. The excavator should review the job site for physical evidence of facilities not located, i.e. manholes, valve covers, water meters, sewer cleanouts, vaults, utility maintenance boxes, pole risers, other facility indicators such as pavement patches etc.
Contact phone numbers will be provided to the excavator on the Third No Response Follow-up, when the CSR determines that the caller is getting the run around or when the excavator asks the CSR for the numbers.
o) Damaged/Exposed
1) (California and Nevada) - When a damaged/exposed call is received, a damaged / exposed message will be sent out to all members who may be involved, in addition to providing the caller with each member’s telephone number if known.
p) Renewal of an expired ticket
When a caller wants to renew an expired location request, the operator will process his/her request and notify the members involved. If the caller requests a change to either the nature of work or the location of digging then the operator will issue the caller a new Location Request and no reference to the original ticket will be made.
CA only - the CSR will ask the caller if they need the Members to RE-MARK their facilities, and add either RE-MARK YES or RE-MARK NO to the Renewal message.
The renewal notice will be placed under remarks on the request (RENEWAL OF TICKET RN#000000, ORIG. DATE: 01/01/02, REMARK (YES or NO) & Members Names).
q) Renewal of an Extension ticket (active)
When the caller wants our Members to RE-MARK their facilities on an Extension, but has given less than a Legal Working Day notice for the Members to respond, the system will only allow the CSR to do either a Follow-up message or a RENEWAL of the ticket.
r) Extension - When a caller wishes to extend an active Location Request for an additional 28 calendar days:
1) The operator will inquire on the ticket to verify that it is an active ticket. 2) The operator will then ask the caller, “Do the Members need to re-mark their facilities?”
o If the answer is YES, the system will check to make sure that there is the appropriate Legal working day notice remaining on the ticket for the Members to respond within. If the Legal working day notice requirement is met, the CSR will tell the caller “If you excavate and damage facilities prior to our Members response to Re-mark their facilities, you may be liable for those damages.” “Is your work excavation site still clearly Premarked?” If No, the CSR will say “Will you please premark it so our Members can respond to your request?” The following message will be placed under Comments on the request: #1 EXTEND TO 00/00/00, REMARK YES, ORIG DATE: 00/00/00 (Members Names) REMARKING to be completed by 00/00/0000 00:00:00 AM/PM. A SPECIFIC AREA TO BE RE-MARKED: header, and free formed specific area location information will be added to the RE-MARK message when a Nevada caller gives the CSR a specific area within the original excavation description to be re-marked. If there is less than the Legal working day notice remaining on the ticket, the system will only allow the CSR to do a Follow-up message or a RENEWAL of the ticket.
50 o If the caller does not need the Members to RE-MARK their facilities, and the Legal working day notice requirement is met, then the CSR will proceed with extending their ticket. The following message will be placed under Comments on the request: #1 EXTEND TO 00/00/00, REMARK NO, ORIG DATE: 00/00/00. An extension message will then be generated to all involved members using the original ticket number. The extension information will be found under Comments.
Note: An active Location Request can be extended for a maximum of 5 times / six months in California, and for a maximum of 2 times / 3 months in Nevada. s) When a caller requests a field meet with the Members, concerning a Location Request, the USA North Operator will indicate the caller's request in the Field Meet and Call/Confirm Field of the Location Request. It is the member's responsibility to arrange with the caller the date, time and location of the Field Meet using the contact information given by the caller.
t) The CSR will offer to email a copy of the ticket, with a disclaimer, to the caller.
Delivery of these emails will not be monitored. Callers will be directed to the USA North website’s Ticket Copy link in the case of a failed email ticket delivery. u) The Center will transmit all Location Request information to each involved member as soon as possible after receipt thereof. The Center shall use reasonable judgment in determining the sequential order in which Location Requests are to be transmitted by data or voice.
3.07 E-tickets
The E-ticketing Program will allow Users to enter the following types of Location Request tickets:
Addresses, Intersections, Between Intersections, Continuous, Single / Multiple Point, and Bounded By without having to provide map street verification information along with their excavation site description
The Single Address Ticket Entry Homeowner/Excavator feature of the E-ticketing Program will allow Users to enter a single address location without a username and password.
The E-ticketing Program will allow Users to enter the following types of Follow-up messages:
Follow-ups, Extensions, Renewals, and Cancellation messages.
The E-ticketing Program allows the User to enter short notice tickets:
Any E-Ticket with an original begin date and time less than a two working day notice will not be allowed to be extended and / or renewed. All after hour’s (5:00 pm current day – 7:00 am on the next USA North business day) short notice E-tickets will have an After Hour Disclaimer emphasizing the delay in our Members response. Additionally an afterhours priority notice E-ticket will have a pop up advising to immediately contact our members directly to avoid damaging underground facilities.
The E-ticketing program requires all users to premark their excavation site in White Paint or other suitable markings. Each excavation site entered by the User will not exceed a maximum of (6) ¼ minute grids. The E-ticketing User must agree with and is bound by the E-ticketing disclaimer that defines their responsibilities, and which they must approve of each time they logon to the E-ticketing Program. The E-ticketing Program will be available on a 24/7 basis.
3.08 Design Inquiry
The US A North Design Inquiry program provides the user with the ability to determine which USA North Members are located within their pre-excavation design site. The user selects a 51 grid (up to 6 grids maximum) that covers his / her pre-excavation design site, and the system responds by displaying the member names and engineering contact numbers that are located in the selected grid(s). The cost associated with this service is as follows:
Member Non-member
Center assisted $26 $65
Annual subscription N/A $132 (annual)
Per additional user N/A $30 (annual)
Approved Users will be given their own Account and Password, after completing training provided by USA North. No Design Inquiry ticket will be sent out to the Members.
3.09 Ticket Summary Membership
Annual fee - $132.00 – provides the member with the ability search for their own tickets online. The search filters include callers name, work type, date range, ticket number, county, place, and street. The Ticket Summary member must agree with and is bound by the Ticket Summary disclaimer that defines their responsibilities, and which they must approve of each time they logon to use the Ticket Summary Program. The Ticket Summary Program will be available on a 24/7 basis, and will only allow the member to search on their own company’s / individual tickets, whether they have been entered over the Internet, and/or called over the 811/800 number.
Free service - this allows the user to search by individual ticket number only.
3.10 Member Response to Location Requests
a) Member receiving sites are responsible for prompt handling of all Location Request Information received.
b) Any member who receives timely notification of any proposed excavation work shall respond by the legal start date and time of that notification, by locating and field marking the approximate location of the Member’s subsurface installations, otherwise advise the caller of the location of the Member’s subsurface installations, or advise the caller that the Member does not operate any subsurface installations that would be affected by the proposed excavation. In California excavation cannot begin until the excavator has received a positive response from each notified Members. c) Member’s field marking of subsurface installations will comply with the CGA Best Practice Appendix (B) Guidelines for Operators Facilities Field Delineation. d) It is recommended that members keep a record of all information received from the Center concerning Location Requests, for a six-month period. e) Information received by members regarding Location Requests is confidential information and shall not be shared with non-USA North members. f) If a member makes arrangements to have another entity receive and respond to Location Requests on behalf of the Member, the Member will be responsible for that entity's response or non-response to a Location Request. Any training, mapping verification and liability involving that entity concerning compliance with the USA North Operating Procedures will be the responsibility of the member. g) Each member is responsible to inform the USA North Center of a:
1) Change of their representative to USA North
2) Change of Company name
3) Change of address
4) Change of telephone #, fax #, email address, and/or Emergency # 5) Change in their Service Area Registration (SAR)
52 3.11 Member Mapping Requirements / Service Area Registration (SAR) a) Each member is responsible for maintaining and updating their SAR, and for keeping their Companies SAR Account(s) and Password(s) secure from all unauthorized personnel. The Member will notify the Center of any pending updates to their SAR.
Once notified the Center will verify receipt of the update, and once confirmed with the Member, will activate it per the Members request. New Members who do not have Internet access will submit a Map to the Center, highlighting their Service Area boundaries, which will include all streets, roads, and major highways etc. From the Map submitted by the Member, the Center will create a SAR of the Members Service Area, which will approximate the Service Area submitted. A copy of the Members SAR, as recorded in the Centers Mapping database, will be sent to them for their verification and approval. The Member will be required to keep a copy of their SAR printout on file at their facility, to be used for all annual updating of their SAR. Center support for Non-Internet access Members will include one original copy of the Members New SAR, and one annual update of their SAR.
b) When a Member requests the USA North Staff to make revisions to their New SAR, current SAR or annual SAR update, the Member will be charged $50.00 per revision.
There is no charge for activating a Member’s SAR.
c) Annual mapping update - in the 4th quarter of each year the Center will send out a reminder to all Members receiving terminals, to review their SAR and to update. The Map Change Detection (MCD) software is used to process the Annual mapping update. Members are responsible to review and make corrections to their updated MCD SAR to ensure its accuracy and completeness prior to the cut over date. On cut over day all Member SARs will be activated, whether they have been reviewed and verified by the Member or not.
3.12 Disaster Recovery Plan
a) The Center has taken the following specific steps as a first line of defense against the different types of electrical, communication, hardware and software Disasters that could affect the Centers operation. The in office protective measures include – a backup diesel powered generator, uninterruptible power supply, backup data / map servers and software, backup com servers and software, backup modem banks and LAN switch, backup call routing for the PBX, and backup Internet bandwidth. b) A Cyber center serves as a full and / or temporary backup, and can become active when the system experiences a disaster at the main location in Concord, CA. The Cyber center houses backup equipment, including database, mapping, web servers and modem banks for ticket transmission. If the Center loses its PBX (phone switch) due to a disaster (or other causes), all 811/800 incoming calls will be rerouted to back up phones using AT&T advanced features call routing service. The Center will attempt to notify members of the disaster situation by broadcast message, if sending the notice will not adversely affect the transmission of tickets.
c) Other provisions of these operating procedures notwithstanding, the Center shall use its best efforts to receive and transmit Location Requests in the event of electrical, mechanical, communication, and computer failure.
3.13 Reports
a) Daily Reports
1) System Daily 1
2) Trunk Group Daily 3
3) Trunk Group Summary Interval 3
53 4) Split Skill Call Profile Daily 1
5) Split Skill Summary Interval 1
6) Daily History Report
7) Agent Exceptions by Location
8) Daily Login & Logout Report
b) Weekly Reports
1) Daily Agent Report (Weekly periods)
2) Weekly Split / Skill Report
3) Operator Ticket Average Weekly CSR work performance
c) Monthly Reports
1) % Staff Year To Date
2) End of the Month Daily Agent Report
3) Monthly Split / Skill Report
4) Opening & Closing Average Call Report
5) Membership List
6) California / Nevada Member Billing
7) 811/800 Call Breakdown
8) System Monthly 1
9) Split / Skill Call Profile Monthly 1
10) Average Time Per Transmission
11) Operator Ticket Averages (LOCAL)
12) Member Transmission Report Summary Sheet
13) Ticket Request – CA and NV
14) CA / NV Monthly Totals by Ticket Type
15) CA / NV Monthly Totals by Ticket Type for 800 Tickets CA / NV Monthly Totals by Ticket Type for WEB Tickets
16) Operator Ticket Averages ( INTERNET)
17) Design Ticket Request – CA / NV
18) Ticket Priority
19) QA Review Worksheet (Soft Skills, Hard Copy, E-Tickets) – CSRs 20) Individual QA Review
21) IRTHNet YTD
22) Short Notice Report CA / NV
23) CA / NV Cost Breakdown and Cost Per Ticket / Transmission 24) YTD Revenue Report
25) YTD Budget Report
26) YTD Replacement, Emergency and Contingency Fund Report 27) Member Damage / Potential Violation Reports (See exhibit 5)
3.14 Record Retention
The Center shall maintain a file of all records and tapes of recorded conversations for a period of six (6) years for both California and Nevada. At the end of six (6) years the Center will destroy the above records unless otherwise requested in writing by any member.
3.15 Tape recordings, CD ROM’s, and Archiving Media
To ensure integrity, Center Staff will be responsible for maintaining and controlling all Tape, CD ROM, and Archive Media recorded data, for the use and benefit of members and users of the Notification Center.
54 a) Upon request in writing the Center will provide the member with one copy of a Location Request. Upon request in writing and receipt of $25.00 ($26 via PayPal) the Center will provide the member with one CD recording of a Location Request. b) Upon request in writing and receipt of $65.00 ($67 via PayPal) from a non-member, the Center will provide one copy of a Location Request. Upon request in writing and receipt of $134.00 ($139 via PayPal) from a non-member, the Center will provide one CD recording of a Location Request. The Center will give written notification of the non-member's request to each member to whom the original location request was transmitted.
c) Ticket copies and Member Contact numbers can be researched by ticket number at www.usanorth.org:
3.16 Financial Accountant /Bookkeeper
a) The Center may contract with a third party for the accounting management of the Center under the direction of the General Manager and the Board of Directors. b) The Bookkeeper will bill the members and non-members in accordance with the membership dues, rates, fees, periodic dues, assessments, and subscriptions established from time to time by the Board.
1) Once each month the costs and expenses of the operation and maintenance of the Center, as set forth in the Bylaws of Underground Service Alert, shall be totaled as of the 25th day of the preceding month, hereinafter referred to as the "Billing Month".
2) All expenses charged to the Center will be coded to the appropriate budgeted account, and approved by the General Manager prior to the expenses being incurred.
3) The General Manager will compile a monthly summary of operating costs and current month's billing by member name. This report will be due by the 10th of the month following the month under report. Upon approval, a billing letter and attachments will be sent to the Bookkeeper for billing and posting. 4) The Bookkeeper will prepare invoices to be either mailed or electronically delivered to each member between the 20th day and the end of the month following the month under report, in accordance with the approved rate structure - Exhibit 1 of the USA North Operating Procedures. For audit convenience, each month's billing will be listed by member name. Accounting books shall be retained in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
5) The General Manager will be responsible for adding members, revising membership fees / dues to reflect any changes in billing and will forward all such revisions to the Bookkeeper.
6) Upon receipt of the annual / monthly bill, each member will make payment, by check, made payable to:
Underground Service Alert
4005 Port Chicago Hwy, Ste 100
Concord, CA 94520 – 1122
Optional payment methods:
Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) - Members requesting Electronic Fund Transfer will provide the Bookkeeper with an Electronic Funds Transfer Authorization and Payment Agreement.
55 Credit Card through PayPal - Members and non–members may use their Credit Card to pay their bills. The Center uses PayPal to process all credit card payments. There is a 3% processing fee for each individual item purchased using a credit card.
7) The Bookkeeper will credit the appropriate member's account when payments are received. The General Manager will review a monthly spreadsheet provided by the Financial Accountant of all budgeted items and a Year to Date report will be given to the Board of Directors at each Board Meeting. 8) The Center will maintain all accounting records associated with the Center's operation for a period of seven (7) years. These records are subject to audit by the Board of Directors, and the entire membership of USA North.
3.17 Membership Fees / Dues
a) Each member will be assessed a fee in accordance with the applicable membership fees / dues adopted by the Board of Directors from time to time. A copy of the membership fees / dues schedule currently in effect is attached hereto as Exhibit 1. b) In addition to the monthly membership fees / dues set by the Board of Directors, each member will be billed for communication charges (See Exhibit 2) in accordance with the method of communication utilized.
3.18 Public Relations
a) The Center will maintain current films and video presentations to be used in the promotion of the USA North program. Arrangements may be made through the Operations / Public Relations Manager for presentations to any interested groups. b) The Center and USA North Member's advertisement and promotional materials will designate USA North and the Center's toll free telephone numbers. c) To prevent duplication of effort and to maintain continuity of promotional items, all members are asked to submit to the Center at least one copy of all promotional materials used.
d) A complete file of all promotional media and materials will be kept by the Center. e) Members are encouraged to list in telephone directories the Center's toll-free 811/800 number under their company or agency's name for locating/marking information.
Members will be billed by the Center for these charges along with their monthly membership and communication charges.
56 Exhibit 1
USA Membership Fees – approved 11/12/14
Each Charter, Participating, Associate and Sustaining Member will be annually billed in accordance with the following membership fee structure.
ANNUAL FLAT RATE FEE $150.00
Each USA North 811 member organization will be invoiced an Annual Flat Rate Fee of $150.00 The Annual Flat Rate Fee may be adjusted by the Board ANNUAL % OF TICKETS FEE
Each USA North 811 member organization who receives more than 200 tickets during the previous year (Jan – Dec as recorded by the Center) will also be charged an ANNUAL % OF TICKET FEE The annual 200 ticket threshold may be adjusted by the Board of Directors Annual % of Tickets Fee = % of Individual Member’s Tickets Received X Annual Adjusted Budget
% of Individual Member’s Tickets Received
o Tickets received by the individual member divided by total tickets received by all members’s receiving more than 200 tickets. Ticket Received Types = new, follow-up, renewal, extension, damaged/exposed, cancellation, resend, and forwarded tickets, does not include end of day or broadcast messages
Annual Adjusted Budget
o Total Annual Budget minus Total Annual Flat Rate Fees 12 MONTH ANNUAL BILLING CYCLE OPTIONS
January – December or July - June
ADDITIONAL MEMBER BILLINGS
Each USA North 811 member organization will also be invoiced for all chargeable services – FAX ticket delivery ($100 billing threshold), voice recording researches, and any other Center chargeable services All invoices shall be due as of the billing date and payable within thirty, (30) days-thereof. A late charge of 1.5% per month may be imposed on all bills not paid thereafter.
Monthly Billing (approved 11/19/08, implemented 1/1/09) NOT AVAILABLE TO NEW MEMBERS AFTER 8/1/15 o Members will be charged an additional % per month, above the established annual billing fees, for the monthly billing service o The additional % per month charge for monthly billing will be based on the average earned interest % of the annual billings in the previous year
o The additional % per month charge will be automatically adjusted in January of each year Monthly Billing Calculation - (Annual Flat Rate Fee and the Annual % of Tickets Fee X (average earned interest % of the annual billings in the previous year) = Monthly Billing fee Once a member discontinues monthly billing, it will no longer be available to them as a billing option. 57 Communication Cost - Members who choose FAX for their means of ticket delivery, will be billed additional charges for this service. (See Exhibit 2 for charges) Sustaining Membership Fee
An annual fee shall be determined from time to time by the Board of Directors, but shall not be less than $50.00 per year.
Other Charter and Participating Membership Fees
Contractors, Insurance, or Engineering Associations will pay a flat monthly fee determined from time to time by the Board of Directors.
58 Exhibit 2
Member Communication Costs
AUTOMATED RECEIPT OF TICKET DATA
I. Ticket Management System (TMS) provided by USA North 811, (No charge per ticket) The Member is provided a secure login and password to their own individual TMS ticket management account. Member communications / networks / firewalls etc must be compatible with the TMS system.
II. Email, (No charge per ticket)
The member receives USA North 811 tickets at their E-Mail address over the Internet. The members ISP E-Mail server must be compatible with the Center’s E-Mail server.
V. XML Web Service, (No charge per Ticket)
The member will setup and configure their server(s) to handle incoming, secure XML feeds from USA North 811. The member can configure these messages as they wish through a conventional XML structure
VI. Fax ($1.50 per ticket)
The member receives USA North 811 tickets via a Fax Machine. Each ticket is printed out for the member's use as the data is transmitted. Member fax systems must be compatible with the USA North 811 communication network. There will be a charge for each ticket sent to the member whether or not it is in the member’s service area. Only follow ups, text, retransmitted, and the End of Day Audit messages will not be charged for.
59 Exhibit 3
Location Request Information
Callers ID information:
County where work is taking place:
Will any of your excavation work include night work?
Will any of your excavation be done on the weekend?
Work Begin date and time:
Who is the work being done for?
Is the work site Premarked?
Permit, type and number:
Foreman of the work, including cell phone number:
Does the excavation work include Boring, if so what type? Work Type and/or Nature of the work:
Will Explosives be used?
Do you intend to use vacuum equipment instead of hand digging to determine the exact location of our member’s underground facilities?
Place (City or Community)?
Dig site Types (Excavation work description):
Is your work in the street or sidewalk?
Field Meet and/or Call Requested:
Comments:
60 Exhibit 4
USA North Service Area
California (Central and Northern Counties) 49
Alameda Marin Santa Clara
Alpine Mariposa Santa Cruz
Amador Mendocino Shasta
Butte Merced Sierra
Calaveras Modoc Siskiyou
Colusa Mono Solano
Contra Costa Monterey Sonoma
Del Norte Napa Stanislaus
El Dorado Nevada Sutter
Fresno Placer Tehama
Glenn Plumas Trinity
Humboldt Sacramento Tulare
Kern San Benito Tuolumne
Kings San Francisco Yolo
Lake San Joaquin Yuba
Lassen San Luis Obispo
Madera San Mateo
Nevada (Entire State) 17
Carson City Eureka Nye
Churchill Humboldt Pershing
Clark Lander Storey
Douglas Lincoln Washoe
Elko Lyon White Pine
Esmeralda Mineral
61 Exhibit: 5
USA North Potential Violation (PV) of Common Ground Best Practices (CGBP) and / or One-Call Law (OCL) Report Company Name: Report Prepared By:
Please type requested information below or print neatly. Note Y = Yes, N = No and UN = Unknown Provide date of PV and
the name and mailing
address of the potential
violator of CGBP or OCL.
Location of PV - include
street, near street, or tie in
measurements, City, County,
State or Lat/Long.
Section of
CGBP or
OCL that
was a PV?
Did excavator
call USAN?
Y N UN
USA North
ticket #
Was a two
working day
notice or
more given?
Yes No
Was the PV
prior to the
start date of
excavation?
Yes No
Was the
excavation
area marked
in white?
Yes No
Were hand
tools used
to expose
facility?
Yes No
62