Reminder of Important Membership Responsibilities for Georgia 811 Members
If you have questions or need assistance about any of these items, please contact our Customer Connections Department at CustomerConnections@Georgia811.com or 770.623.5786.
SERVICE AREA MAPPING:
Damage Prevention is a shared responsibility. As a member of Georgia 811 it is your responsibility to ensure that your Service Area Map spatial data is current so you will receive notifications when excavation is being done in an area in which you have underground and/or overhead utilities.
Please take this opportunity to log into the Service Area Editor and review your current spatial data and make any necessary updates. If any changes are made, please be sure to approve them so that they will publish overnight and be put into production.
Service Area Map Instructions: To ensure that you are included on all necessary tickets, Georgia 811 recommends that members establish a protocol where Service Area Maps are checked and updated on a regular basis, either weekly or monthly, depending on the rate of facility installation. At a minimum, members are required to update their map when new facilities are acquired or installed outside of their current service area. Please visit Georgia 811’s Member Resource Page and scroll down until you see Service Area Map Management on the left column. There you will find links to tutorials and instructions on how to update your Service Area Maps.
Consequences: If your maps are not updated, you may be left off tickets where you have underground facilities. If there are signs of an unmarked utility at a dig site, the excavator must stop their work and contact Georgia 811. Unmarked facilities can lead to delays in the safe digging process, service interruptions, costly repairs, injury, and death. Remember, if an excavator finds signs of an unmarked utility at their dig site and the member does not mark their facilities, the member is responsible for paying the cost of the excavator hiring a private locator plus any downtime acquired by the excavating crew (Georgia Dig Law 25-9-7 (f)). In addition, you may be subject to violations and penalties from the Public Service Commission.
POSITIVE RESPONSE (PRIS):
As a Member of Georgia 811, it is your legal responsibility to respond to your tickets using the Positive Response Information System (PRIS). This is a system that is used as a communication method between the utility member and the excavator. It allows the excavator to know if all of the underground utility lines have been located before excavation begins or if there is an issue in locating the lines. This will help to prevent a possible damage to your utility and open communication lines if there is an issue.
Also, failure to respond to PRIS will result in a late notice fee for your company. To avoid this fee, you must respond on or before the “Response by” date that is provided on each ticket.
To learn more about PRIS, please visit our website by clicking here.
MEMBER CONTACT INFORMATION:
Please ensure that we have current contact and ticket information on file for your company. Each year, we notify our members to update and/or verify the contact and ticket information we have on file for the following categories:
- Person of Record (person who would handle official business correspondence from Georgia 811)
- Main Point of Contact
- GIS – Mapping Contact
MEMBER CONTACT NUMBERS FOR TICKETS:
- Phone number for Normal, Design and Overhead tickets
- Phone number for Damage notifications
- Phone number for Emergency tickets
- Phone number for Large Project tickets
It is important to contact us at any time if this information needs to be updated. To review and/or update contact information, please contact our Customer Connections department at CustomerConnections@Georgia811.com or 770.623.5786.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.