Page 13 - Alabama 811 Magazine 2021 Issue 3

y Lack of Communication
impossible to do so, especially in light of a 20% increase in ticket volume.
So, the excavator was frustrated that his locates were delayed and the locator was equally frustrated because most
of these tickets had been located many times and with no apparent end in sight.
Instead of trying to arrive at a solution to the issue, frustration and finger- pointing became the norm, then personalities got involved and when that happens the process usually gets less efficient, and it did.
The threat of enforcement seems to get people to the table but at the end of the day, what keeps them there is
the bottom line. Out in the field, stakeholders are looking for solutions to real problems and oft times the solutions are provided by the same stakeholders looking for solutions.
In this specific situation, it was necessary for a commitment to be made by both parties to one another. “Hey, if I do this, can you do that?” The excavator who wants no delays saw the benefit in changing how he called in locates. The locator saw the benefit in going the extra mile with the excavator who was making a good faith effort
to minimize unnecessary work for the locator. These two stakeholders on different sides of the fence created a solution for themselves that might not
work anywhere else or for anybody else and that’s ok.
Will there still be frustrations?
Of course there will be but they’ll continue to work through them because they resolved this one. The first one is always the hardest one and it will build a level of trust that will culminate in respect for one another.
What both were looking for was a solution to an impossible situation. What they found was the solution to their problem that nobody else could provide.
Hey, if the mountain were smooth, you couldn’t climb it. What are you looking for?
2021, Issue 3 Alabama 811 • 11
b