Effective Utility Coordination: Application of Research and Current Practices (2017)

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43 GLOSSARY Damage Prevention Councils/Utility Coordination Councils—State, regional, or local councils of contractors, utility owners, and other stakeholders who meet regularly to share information, discuss utility damage prevention issues, host large project forums, and promote the use of one-call centers with the goal of promoting safety and protecting utility infrastructure. One-Call Centers—Typically overseen by a state board and may operate in various fashions. Their main objective is to track potential disturbances to underground utilities (construction and maintenance) as a free service to those making impacts and with fees paid by utility owners who are members of the center. Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE)—An engineering practice combining civil engineering, surveying, and geophysics to assess and locate utilities with project limits according to quality levels that can also be thought of as risk levels. Project designers/owners can assign quality levels A (highest level) through D (lowest level) according to the risks associated with a particular utility and potential impact. The quality levels determine the amount and accuracy desirable for a particular underground utility. Utility Company/Utility Owner—The public or private entity in ownership of a utility. Utility owner and utility company are often used interchangeably but because some municipalities control ownership of utilities, it is more appropriate to use the term “utility owner” for these entities. Utility Conflict Matrix/Management (UCM)—Frameworks to collect and store potential utility impacts of a transportation project as well as track resolutions and assist in identifying optimal solutions. Utility Coordination—The active effort to communicate, share information, and interact productively with all applicable stakeholders regarding the utility involvement, adjustment, and relocation during all phases (planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance) of the delivery of a transportation project (Thorne et al. 1993).