Navajo Pipelines, a small, woman-owned underground utility contractor, wanted to ensure it was doing everything it could for the protection of its employees and the utilities they work on everyday. But doing so while also dealing with demanding but necessary 811 ticketing was a heavy burden on Navajo's employees' time. Fortunately, with the help of 811spotter's efficient approach to ticket management, Navajo was able to establish an effective program for handling 811 tickets that truly made a difference.
Although Navajo's underground projects involve the inherent hazards associated with all excavation, the company ensures its employees' safety by strictly following the state's 811 process. However, the process strained company productivity, ultimately challenging its ability to consistently safeguard both its employees and the buried utilities. The company's president, Karen Silva, personally managed their 811 tickets alongside her other day-to-day responsibilities of running the company. Although this process was critical for ensuring the safety of Navajo's workers and avoiding costly damages to existing utility infrastructure, it took valuable time out of her schedule.
“It becomes a very cumbersome process," recalls Silva.
"Before using 811spotter, I spent at least an hour and a half on each ticket—not just making the call, but also manually tracking all the utilities' responses. This was tracked on paper and in a spreadsheet.”
Karen Silva, President, Navajo Pipelines Inc.
Having just one person manually file all 811 tickets proved to be a logistical issue for a company as small as Navajo. According to Navajo's Vice President, Scott Silva, this manual 811 process was particularly difficult to manage because there was no easy way to access relevant information, since only one person in the company had
access to 811 information at a time. "Nothing about our process was centralized," notes Silva. "If the one person managing 811 tickets was unavailable, it was impossible to make any progress." All of these issues took valuable time from Navajo's employees, a difficult sacrifice, given the company's small size.
When Silva heard about 811spotter, she was immediately excited to learn that there was an easier, more convenient way to approach the 811 ticketing process, which would ensure the safety of Navajo employees, reduce damages and free up valuable time.
“Transitioning to 811spotter overall made no difference in my duties, although it was a lot easier to keep a record of 811 tickets. 811spotter made the transition simple and easy.”
Gilberto Ramirez, Field Specialist, Navajo Pipelines
Since 811spotter brings all information related to a given 811 ticket together in one convenient place, Silva no longer needs to spend her time micromanaging individual responses from various utility companies. "811spotter tells me how every utility responded, or if they didn't, in one place," remarks Silva. With its centralized digital system, 811spotter completely eliminated the problems that came from only one employee having up-to-date knowledge of 811 tickets.
The implementation of 811spotter not only saved significant time and effort for people like President Silva, but it also did so in a way that did not inconvenience field workers who were used to Navajo's previous 811 practices. 811spotter's effective logistical tools helped reduce Navajo's utility damages to essentially zero, plus, 811spotter provides documentation to effectively follow up on what little utility damage has occurred, further helping strengthen the company's relationships with various utilities. With the help of 811spotter, Navajo Pipelines saves valuable time and effort while maintaining a more intuitive and accessible 811 ticket process. This allows the company to focus its attention and resources on developing valuable client relationships, ensuring employee safety, and reducing utility claims, damages, and disruptions to its work.
“Tickets are now accessible by everyone in the company at any hour of the day.”
Scott Silva, Vice President, Navajo Pipelines Inc.
Navajo Pipelines, Inc., founded in 1992 and headquartered in Sacramento, California, is a utility infrastructure contractor specializing in excavating, trenching, and general engineering for pipelines, as well as water, sewer, and stormwater systems. As a member of United Contractors since 1994, the company serves public agencies and utilities across Northern California, emphasizing safety, quality, and efficient project delivery.