2026 Schedule

Presenter: Khrysanne Kerr, Vice President of Marketing and Outreach, Common Ground Alliance

Navigating damage prevention challenges requires a clear course and the ability to adjust the sails. This interactive session uses real-time polling to guide the discussion around participants’ industry-specific and local challenges. Explore how CGA resources—including Best Practices, damage data, and educational tools—serve as the industry’s damage prevention rudder, helping steer decisions and strengthen practices. Leave with practical ways to apply these resources to your organization’s challenges and chart a course toward safer communities.

Presenters: Larry Oliver, Larry Oliver, Director of Utility Management, GroundBreakers; Lilly Agozzino-Kolisch, Director of Product Solutions, ProStar Geocorp

Traditional utility plans can make complex underground conditions difficult to understand. This session will explore how 3D utility modeling brings together survey, SUE, GIS, and utility data to create clearer, more interactive views of underground infrastructure.

Attendees will learn how these models can help identify conflicts, improve communication and coordination, support safer excavation, and reduce the risk of utility strikes. Real-world examples will highlight how 3D utility modeling can strengthen planning, design, construction, and long-term asset management.

Presenter: Tom Hall, Vice President of Business Development, KorTerra

Most locate operations can track ticket counts, but understanding why performance is breaking down requires a deeper look at the data. Which crews are missing windows, and why? Which areas continue to appear in damage data? Is workload distribution truly built to meet OTP targets, or are hidden inefficiencies getting in the way?

Moving beyond basic volume metrics, the session looks at how locate operations are using data to identify missed windows, recurring damage trends, workload imbalances, and other operational challenges. Real-world examples from large-scale locate operations will demonstrate how greater visibility into field productivity, workload distribution, and damage trends can support stronger performance.

Excavating near natural gas lines presents unique hazards that differ from those associated with liquid fuels. The discussion breaks down how static electricity can develop during the transport of natural gas, the risks it can create during excavation, and the warning signs crews should recognize in the field. Practical guidance will cover how to respond following a line strike, along with a review of a real-world third-party damage incident involving the ignition of a natural gas line.

When a damage occurs, the response that follows can have a significant impact on safety, cost, and liability. Clear communication, thorough documentation, and proper follow-through are critical from the moment an incident occurs.

From making the right notifications to preserving evidence, this session provides practical guidance on the steps contractors should take after a damage event. Session discussion topics include documenting site conditions, coordinating with involved parties, capturing essential details, and taking proactive measures to help mitigate costs and liability. Strong response procedures and attention to detail can make the difference between a controlled incident and a costly escalation.

Presenter: Heidi Cramer, Business Consultant, Florida SBDC at Florida Gulf Coast University

This session will give utilities, locators, excavators and 811 centers a practical way to choose the right AI tool by starting with the outcome they need, such as fewer damages or faster ticket handling, and working backward from there. Learn what to ask vendors, what to do when IT approves only one platform, who should own AI within each department, and which decisions should remain with a person. Attendees are encouraged to bring one task they would like to take off their plate and will leave with a clearer idea of which AI tool may be the right fit and how to build support for using it internally.

Presenter: Joel Heim, Principal Human Performance Consultant, NiSource 

Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) is an operating philosophy focused on minimizing risk and building resilient systems that allow people and organizations to fail safely. This session will explore the six HOP Principles and how applying them can foster a culture of learning rather than blame. We’ll examine the important distinction between error and violation and how asking better questions after events can uncover the conditions that influenced outcomes. Through a damage-prevention lens, we’ll explore the shift in thinking required to put HOP into practice and share practical examples of how these principles can strengthen learning, improve systems, and reduce risk.

Presenter: Mike Iadanza, Senior Vice President, Mason Private Locating

Every successful excavation starts with understanding what is underground and who is responsible for locating it. This session breaks down the key differences between public and private utility locating, including what 811 covers, what falls outside its scope, and where potential gaps can occur.

Coverage will include common types of public and private underground infrastructure, roles and responsibilities in the damage prevention process, and real-world locating challenges across municipalities, campuses, commercial sites, and utility projects. A comprehensive locating strategy can help reduce damages, improve safety and compliance, and keep projects moving efficiently.

Presenters: Larry Oliver, Director of Utility Management, GroundBreakers; Natalie Parks, Senior Project Manager, Kimley-Horn

What begins as a set of record drawings can evolve into a powerful tool for managing and protecting campus infrastructure. This session explores the development of an asset management system that grew from documenting a newly installed fiber line into a comprehensive, living map of campus utilities, pathways, and facilities.

Attendees will learn how accurate infrastructure data can improve visibility, support safer construction, reduce utility strikes, strengthen stakeholder coordination, and inform planning and maintenance decisions. Practical strategies for transitioning from static records to digital asset management will also be shared, along with lessons applicable to campuses, municipalities, utilities, and other infrastructure owners.

Presenter: Abbey Powers, Construction Manager, ElectriCom, LLC’s Buried Power Division

Employee engagement plays a critical role in construction safety, productivity, and overall project success. Engaged crews communicate more effectively, follow safety procedures more consistently, and perform more successfully in demanding work environments. The conversation will distinguish job satisfaction from true employee engagement and identify opportunities to strengthen workforce commitment.

Leaders will examine practical approaches centered on trust, communication, recognition, accountability, and purpose-driven leadership. Real-world examples and actionable tools will offer techniques for improving crew interactions, encouraging meaningful feedback, and supporting stronger safety, retention, performance, and long-term workforce engagement.

Presenter: Mike Iadanza, Senior Vice President, Mason Private Locating

As broadband demand surges, directional drilling crews are moving fast— but many towns and municipalities struggle to keep pace. Limited staffing delayed 811 locates, and the presence of private utilities in public easements create slowdowns, safety risks, and added costs. In this session, fiber partners and utility owners will share how ClearPath helps streamline operations, reduce downtime, and accelerate project timelines. Attendees will see how private locating not only keeps bore crews ahead of schedule, but also supports communities facing limited manpower by identifying sewer laterals, water lines, and other facilities often missed by delayed or incomplete locates. Whether you’re a contractor, municipal leader, or broadband provider, you’ll gain practical strategies for safer jobsites, faster completions, and stronger bottom-line results.

Enhancing safe digging requires more than accurate utility locating. It depends on coordination among utility owners, contractors, municipalities, locators, inspectors and excavators. Clear communication, shared expectations, reliable information, and early collaboration can help reduce underground utility damage and improve overall project outcomes.

This session will explore strategies for identifying conflicts before excavation begins, clarifying stakeholder responsibilities, and building verification into each stage of the project lifecycle. The goal is to create more coordinated workflows that protect infrastructure, improve safety, reduce delays, and strengthen trust among stakeholders.

Presenter: CJ Kowalke, Vice President of Damage Prevention, Irth Solutions

Getting a crew to the job site is easy. Knowing the site is truly “excavation ready” is where the complexity begins. Ticket status, locate responses, and crew clearance all need to align before ground is broken, and when that information is managed through spreadsheets, phone calls, and disconnected systems, the margin for error can grow quickly.

A connected office-to-field workflow can bring those pieces together in real time. This session will examine what dig site readiness looks like when office and field teams are connected in real time: instant 811 ticket visibility, geographic ticket mapping across active job sites, and "Real-Time Office-to-Field Communication" that ensures nothing falls through the cracks.

Presenter: John Brix, International Motivational Speaker

While traditional rumination can lock the mind into cycles of stress and worry, positive rumination focuses repetitive thinking on successes, gratitude, and personal strengths. This presentation examines the cognitive principles behind purposeful positive focus and its potential role in resilience, emotional regulation, and performance.

Practical frameworks will show how to interrupt negative thought loops, savor positive experiences, and direct high-energy cognitive focus in more constructive ways. The goal is to shift from passive reflection to more intentional thought patterns that support well-being, memory, and everyday performance.

Presenter: Jennifer Heller, Environmental Health Specialist, Brown County Health Department

For professionals who spend much of their workday outdoors, tick exposure can be an everyday occupational concern. A single tick bite can lead to a range of health issues, from unusual rashes and allergic reactions to more serious symptoms requiring medical attention, including conditions that can trigger an allergy to red meat.

The presentation covers the latest information on tick-related illnesses and conditions, along with common warning signs, risk factors, and practical prevention strategies. Attendees will leave with guidance for protecting themselves in the field, recognizing potential symptoms, and reducing the risks associated with frequent outdoor exposure.

Presenter: John Brix, International Motivational Speaker

Cognitive growth extends beyond conscious effort, with subconscious processing playing a role in learning, intuition, memory, and problem-solving. This presentation looks at how intentional focus, visualization, and other cognitive techniques can be used to support skill development, decision-making, and memory retention.

Through techniques such as strategic visualization, targeted language patterns, and intentional focus states, attendees will consider ways to reduce mental distractions and make better use of cognitive resources. The session encourages a different perspective on how attention, repetition, and subconscious processing can influence learning and performance.

Presenter: Margie Hofmann, Vice President and second-generation owner, Grimmer Construction, Inc.; David E. Burke, Safety Director, HRP Construction, Inc.; Jeff Hancock, Director of Field Operations, On The Spot; Vernon Cranor-Sr, Director of Operations, GridHawk

Effective communication between contractors and field locators is a critical, yet often overlooked, part of damage prevention. Through real-world challenges and practical examples, this panel highlights how clearer, more consistent communication can help reduce delays, prevent damage, and build stronger working relationships.

Panelists will discuss the importance of pre-planning and site review, clearly communicating project scope and expectations through 811 tickets, and supporting contractor employees responsible for locate administration. The discussion will also examine common communication gaps that can lead to rework, delays, and misunderstandings in the field, with a focus on practical ways to improve coordination, strengthen accountability, and keep projects moving safely and efficiently.