811 Safety Days coming to Lehigh Valley

811 Safety Days coming to Lehigh Valley

Mar 25, 2022 | Safety and Security

If you do any kind of excavation work as part of a business or at home, you won’t want to miss PA Safety Days events that Pennsylvania One Call System, Inc., is hosting across the state this year, to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

Beginning with Eastern Safety Day at Agri-Plex’s Bill Harris Agricultural Hall, 302 North 17th Street in Allentown on May 17, 2022, the free events provide a chance for excavation professionals, public officials, and others to learn about safe digging practices and promote the protection of critical underground utilities.

We are a proud sponsor of these free events, which have drawn an estimated 28,000 people since 2006.

You can register and learn more about the following events online at pa1call.org/SafetyDay.

  • May 17: Agri-Plex’s Bill Harris Agricultural Hall, Allentown Fairgrounds, 302 N. 17th St., Allentown, PA.
  • May 19: Drexelbrook Conference Center, 4700 Drexelbrook Dr., Drexel Hill, PA.
  • June 7: Monroeville Convention Center, 209 Mall Blvd., Pittsburgh, PA.
  • June 16: York Expo Center, Mid-Atlantic Industrial East and West, 334 Carlisle Ave., York, PA.
  • August 11: Mohegan Sun Pocono, 1280 Highway 315, Wilkes-Barre, PA.
  • Sept. 20: Bayfront Convention Center, 1 Sassafras Pier, Erie, PA.
  • Sept. 22: Blair Convention Center, 1 Convention Center Dr., Altoona, PA.

The Safety Day conferences provide valuable training, networking, knowledge transfer, and continuing education, while featuring hands-on demonstrations and an opportunity for participants to learn about the latest safety practices, tools, and techniques.

Attendees typically include excavators, designers, public utilities, facility owners, project owners, municipal leaders, sewer and water authorities, public officials, emergency responders, locators, damage prevention associates, excavation professionals and homeowners.

Each host venue will follow cleaning protocols recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

Remember to contact Pennsylvania 811 a minimum of three days before you plan to dig. To learn more, please visit Pennsylvania 811 website at pa1call.org.

Call 811 before you dig

Call 811 before you dig

Jul 26, 2021 | Safety and Security

Do you intend to plant trees, shrubs or flower beds in your yard or start up a backyard construction project in the near future? If so, be sure to call 811 before you start!  

Make the call, for your safety and the safety of others.   

Everyone should make the 811 call before any digging project. It costs you nothing, it’s simple and it doesn’t take much time. Plus, it may help prevent a serious injury and costly damages to underground utilities like power or water lines. 

Each year, there are about 6,000 reports of underground utilities being struck in Pennsylvania, according to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. And every year, PPL receives reports of about 60 to 75 digging incidents in which the person doing the digging failed to call 811.  

What’s more, it’s the law. In Pennsylvania, you’re required to place an 811 call three business days before any digging that is done by power equipment like Bobcats, front-end loaders, power augers, rototillers, and aerators. We recommend that you place a call before any digging project, even if it’s with an old-fashioned shovel. 

Once you place the call, a crew will come out and use spray paint, flags or other identifiers to show areas where underground utilities exist. And if you notice a digging project going on in your neighborhood and are unsure whether an 811 call was placed in advance, make the call just to be sure.  

When you make an 811 call, please be prepared to provide the following information: 

  • County and municipality in which the planned dig is located. 
  • The street name and address. 
  • The nearest intersecting/cross street to the address. 
  • Details of the dig site, including the area of the property where excavation will occur and what kind of work is being done. 
  • When the project is scheduled to take place. 
  • The name of the company doing the work (if applicable). 

For more info about the Call Before You Dig law, visit pa811.org. And for more safety info, visit pplelectric.com/safety.