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Corey Washington and Paula Byrd play an important role in Dominion Energy’s commitment to protecting the safety of its employees and the public as the company provides customers with safe, reliable, affordable, and increasingly clean energy.
Starting with the company more than 15 years ago, Washington, a Dominion Energy damage prevention supervisor, leads a team of specialists in South Carolina and North Carolina working year-round to protect public safety and avoid accidental damage to underground natural gas lines.
Corey Washington
Paula Byrd
South Carolina and North Carolina laws require contractors and property owners to contact 811 at least three full business days before starting any digging activity. Utility companies like Dominion Energy dispatch professional locators to mark underground natural gas and electric lines with flags or paint at no charge within three full days after a call. Once all utility lines have been marked, careful digging around the marks can begin.
Last year alone, Dominion Energy’s damage prevention team had approximately 451,000 gas locate requests across the Palmetto State. The team saw approximately 715,000 gas locate requests in North Carolina.
“We have a huge responsibility,” said Washington, who is from Gadsden, South Carolina. “It only takes one incident. Many people don’t realize how many different utility services are underground. There’s a lot of development happening around the state. It’s important to make sure our lines are properly marked before excavators begin digging.”
While the damage prevention team is working to keep the public safe, Paula Byrd, senior safety specialist with Dominion Energy since 2007, is working hard every day to keep the gas operations team safe in the field.
Byrd said she arrives at work every day with one goal in mind: “I want our employees to be safe and return home in the same condition as when they arrived.”
The Hartsville, South Carolina, native is part of a team of safety professionals whose role includes managing workplace safety and health.
Along with conducting safety trainings for new hires, Byrd observes employees in the field to ensure they’re following proper safety protocols. She also conducts safety investigations.
“Safety education and compliance are very important in an industrial world,” Byrd said. “I see a light bulb go off with an employee during training. I want them to go into the field with the knowledge they need to keep themselves and their fellow employees safe.”
For more information about Dominion Energy’s commitment to safety, visit the safety section of our website. You can also learn more about the importance of safe digging and the 811 process.
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