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Demonstrating the power of safe digging
In a powerful presentation using real equipment and a simulated electrical emergency, Dominion Energy employees demonstrated the dangers of what can happen when a digging project moves forward without proper line marking.
This article is about:
A simulated accidental utility line strike
Safety tips in the context of a real-life scenario
Step-by-step narration of safe digging procedure
Employee actors demonstrating safety protocols
Dominion Energy North Carolina employees participated in a Mock Line Strike in October 2019, where a natural gas pipeline damage incident was simulated to illustrate the importance of calling before you dig, and of using industry best practices when working in close proximity to underground utility lines.
Industry professionals demonstrated each step in the digging process using real equipment while a narrator, employee Jacob Noblit, explained events as they unfolded and shared important safety tips along the way.
The Mock Line Strike demonstration covered a safe digging scenario: from making a call to the one-call center, to line locating and proper excavation tactics. The demonstration also showed an unsafe digging scenario where 811 was not called and there was a subsequent line strike, injury and emergency and news media response to the third-party damage.
In both scenarios, Dominion Energy employees played the roles of the locators and responding pipeline operators. The actors included employees Terry Hudson, Matthew McClamrock, Brian Smith, Jimmy Gray, Leo Brooks, Jacob Noblit and Persida Montanez.
The two-day event also included locating classes, live electric line demonstrations and a program by safe digging educational entity NC PipesPlus (Partners In Protecting Everyone). The NC Mock Line Strike was organized by NC811 and Entech, and was supported by Dominion Energy and other pipeline operators in the state.
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