Developing an Invitation Letter
- An announcement of a meeting
- When
- Where
- Presenters (if any)
- Type of meeting (i.e.. Breakfast)
- Invitee List
- Name
- Company
- Contact Information
- Focusing on digging safely and damage prevention
Who Do We Invite?
All Utilities, municipalities and excavators in your area. All aforementioned have a vested interest in digging safely, working safely and preventing damages from occurringCommittee Structure
- Membership
- Membership should consist of representatives of the various utility operators and municipal departments and contractor groups in the defined area. A stated interest in becoming a member is normally the only prerequisite for membership.
- OfficersThe Committee should elect from its membership a chairman, vice-chairman and secretary. The recommended term of office is one year.
- MeetingsIt is recommended that meetings be held on a monthly basis. Further it is recommended that the sites or host be rotated. Minutes of the meetings should be published and distributed to all members within 10 days of a meeting. A copy of the minutes should be emailed to North Carolina 811 and they will be published to the NCUCC State WEB page for viewing.
- The email address is minutes@nc811.org
It is recommended that an official representative of the local committee attend the State UCC Meeting held bi-monthly to voice the Local Committee’s issues and concerns at a state level.
Guidelines for the Organizational Meeting
- There should be a set agenda with specific time frames to help make the meeting flow in a smooth transition
- A welcome and introductions
- Purpose of the meeting
- How the Committee operates and the benefits
- Identify the Key Players
- Chairman
- Vice Chairman
- Secretary
- Establish going forward monthly meeting date and time
- Where do we go?
- Consensus of the group
- Develop By Laws and Mission Statement
- Example Mission Statement
- To provide a forum for concerned professionals which helps to prevent unnecessary damage to utilities infrastructure within (County Name)
- Statement of Goals
- Expand membership base to include all public and private utility companies, public works organizations, public service districts, and utility-related contractors in (County Name). All members are encouraged to invite active construction contractors and sub-contractors to participate.
- Conduct an active and on-going public awareness campaign concerning preventing damage to our utilities infrastructure.
- Encourage the practice of “white lining” construction projects as a means of preventing unnecessary damage to utilities infrastructure.
- Encourage voluntary compliance with a standard color scheme for utilities location marking.
- Signed by Chairman, Vice Chairman and Secretaryn
Utilizing this format will afford the opportunity for members to have input and discuss issues of concern and develop dialogue pertinent to issue resolution
Typical Monthly Meeting Agenda
The following is a sample agenda:
- Call to order
- Announcements
- Announcements should be given to the Secretary prior to the start of the meeting
- Recognize new attendees and guests
- Approval of previous meeting’s minutes
- Old Business
- New Business
- Provide the Secretary with a list of topics in advance so that interested parties will be prepared to discuss.
- Damage Report
- Round Table
- Project Report
- Round Table
- Program (Optional)
- Adjourn
Example of Topics to Discuss at Monthly Meetings
This is your opportunity share information relative to business concerns of:
- Job Safety
- Damage Prevention
- Use of the NC 811
- Major Projects under construction
- Up coming major projects
- DOT projects
- Joint trenching projects
- Damage claims
- Contract Locating Services
- State Underground Damage Prevention Law
- Location marks, techniques and what they mean
- Proper digging techniques to expose the utility
- Survey Locates
- Number of damages each committee member has had since previous UCC meeting
- Dig Safely
- Who’s damaging who and how to resolve the problem
- Training needs