Page 6 - TN811

It’s spring, the weather is starting to break, and everything is in bloom. You know what that means, right? More locate requests entered by professional excavators, homeowners, and farmers. Not only do you have those spring projects that
are taking place around the house, but you also have excavation projects going on throughout the Volunteer State. Excavation happens year-round here in Tennessee, but spring
is one of the busiest
times of the year for us at Tennessee 811. Speaking of locate requests, what better way to highlight someone who locates underground utilities than to recognize them as an MVP?
For the second quarter of
the year, I will be featuring
Doug Pillar from Paris
Board of Public Utilities
(Paris BPU) in West
Tennessee. Cole Edwards
with Paris BPU made a recommendation to feature
Doug. Cole is the Vice President of Engineering and Metering at Paris BPU. Cole has been with Paris BPU for 20 years in total. Cole told me, “Doug is the type of employee that
we trust to manage our underground electric locates. If he is unsure about something, he doesn’t mind calling or asking for help. He has a great work ethic, is always thorough in his locates and he has not had any complaints or mismarks that I know of. He is also learning the water side as well.” Doug is coming up on his 1-year anniversary with Paris BPU in April, but he has been a locator for close to 3.5 years total. Doug previously worked for a contract locate company where he primarily located telecommunication lines.
4 • Tennessee811
Safety is something we all strive for in the damage prevention world. With that, there are many challenges that locators face daily. It could be inclement weather, traffic, or even the environment they are locating in. I
By Jason Fryer,
Damage Prevention Liaison Tennessee811
to respond to the action taken on the locate request. Whether that is “Located – Facilities Marked” after Doug locates the electric line, or if it’s “Clear – No Conflict” with no underground electric in the area. For job sites that are
clear, Doug also puts down the word “OK” in red paint. This is an additional step to communicate with the excavator that they are clear of any electric lines in the area for that site.
When I asked Doug what one recommendation he would make
for other locators or future locators to be successful, he told me this. “Your relationships with contractors, other locators,
and utilities are
important.” Talking with Doug, he told me it takes time
to build those good relationships and they don’t happen overnight. Doug had previously covered up to 9 counties in West Tennessee and built some great relationships with other stakeholders. Doug told me about the great relationship he has with Paris BPU. “Here, we come in, we cut up, and we’re like a big family. We get the job done, but we have fun doing it. I would never leave this job. They would have to kick me out of here!”
I would like to thank Cole Edwards, Doug Pillar, and all the folks at Paris BPU for being advocates for damage prevention. Remember, always contact 811 before you dig!
Damage Prevention MVP
Doug Pillar
2024, Issue 2
Doug Pillar, Paris Board of Public Utilities
asked Doug what challenges he faces as a locator. He told me, “The challenges have been completely minimized here at Paris BPU. If I know that bad weather is coming in, I work a little harder to stay ahead on locate requests. Working for a public utility, I don’t have a quota of locate requests that I must get done each day. I stay far enough ahead that
I don’t have to rush through locate requests. If I don’t do my job right and locate accurately, then someone could hit that electric line and could die.” Doug completes between 20-30 locate requests daily.
I wanted to highlight a safe digging practice that Doug performs. Paris BPU will go into Positive Response