Utility Notification Center - Membership Details

Membership Details

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Modes of Receiving Notifications

EMAIL AND FTP

The preferred method of ticket delivery is by email or FTP. This method is reliable and the most cost effect way of sending locate requests to member subscribers. If you wish to receive your notices by email, please fill out the "EMAIL TICKET AGREEMENT AND RELEASE FORM", and return it with your membership information.

TELETYPE-PRINTERS

There are many teletype-printers and modems that may be compatible with the Center's software. The following serves to highlight the significant parameters used in our environment:

1. Printer must operate between 1200 and 9600 baud rate
2. Printer must operate at either "none" or "even" parity
3. Printer must use "ascii" character set
4. Printer must have "XON/XOFF" flow control
5. Printer must have a bell or buzzer activated by "control g" in order to sound a high priority ticket alarm.
6. Printer must have a "low paper" or "paper out" sensor.
7. Printer must be able to have an "answer back" programmed into it.

Receiving equipment can be obtained from many sources, however, the above requirements must be met to ensure proper transmissions.

Obtaining and maintaining the appropriate receiving gear, including ribbons, paper, etc., is the responsibility of each subscriber. In addition, the installation and maintenance of a dedicated phone line for the receiving gear is the responsibility of each subscriber.

FAX

The Hawaii One Call Center can also transmit messages directly to your FAX machine with a dedicated phone line.

PHONE

If a FAX machine is not available, HOCC can call your company and verbally relay the information. This is the least used option since it requires that we deliver the information to a live attendant at the subscriber's location. This method of delivery is usually reserved for low volume participants, members who receive only a few locate requests a month.

OPERATIONAL GUIDELINES

Operating hours...
The center operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The following holidays are not considered normal business days: New Years day, MLK day, President's day, Prince Johah Kuhio Kalanianaole Day, Good Friday, Memorial day, King Kamehameha I Day, Independence Day, Statehood Day, Labor day, Veterans day, Thanksgiving day, Christmas and General Election Day the first Monday of November of even-numbered years.

Any subscriber, or their representative may visit the Center during normal administrative business hours. Administrative Business hours are 8:00am to 5:00pm (PST)<--- Monday through Friday (excluding holidays).

Duties of the subscribers...
Subscribers shall provide a designated telephone number to receive all incoming calls requesting assistance in locating underground utilities.

Subscribers are responsible for maintaining communications equipment and/or telephone equipment at contact locations.

Subscribers are responsible for notifying the Center of all activity concerning additions, relocation, and disconnection of receiving units.

Subscribers shall furnish and update as required telephone numbers of their receiving location to the Center to verify Emergency requests and for verbal transmission in the event of receiving unit failure.

Subscribers accept the responsibility of providing their own documentation regarding inquiries, investigations or claims relative to damages.

Operational Procedures...

The first transmission sent each day shall be a summary of the total number of requests sent to that location during the previous day. The purpose of this message is to alert the receiving stations to check their receiving units as well as to ensure that all requests from the previous day were received. If an operator has received no tickets the previous day, the audit will show "Zero" tickets. We refer to this as a Zero audit. Some operators who receive very few notices have asked to only receive audits for days where tickets have been transmitted. Should you decide that you do not wish to receive Zero audits, please fill out the waiver form below.

Incoming calls...

The center staff personnel receiving a call for locating service will enter the required information. The caller will be given a ticket number for future reference.

Hawaii law chapter 269E, sets the minimum standards for information required to be submitted by those calling for locating services. The Center cannot process incomplete requests.

After receipt and preparation of the request, the Center's computer will automatically select the appropriate facility owners in the specified area. The request will be transmitted via the network to all involved subscribers.

Messages will be transmitted by the following priority: Emergency messages will be transmitted first, next insufficient notice requests, and last normal notice requests will be sent.

Machine or teletype network failures will necessitate telephoning requests to the subscriber(s) involved. When normal service is restored, the Center will transmit a hard copy of such telephonic communications for each subscriber's records.

A back-up system is maintained by the Center for use in the event of a failure to the primary computer.

Subscribers receiving Emergency requests will immediately be called to verify receipt of the request. Verification of these Emergency calls is logged and kept by the center.

The term "Emergency" means, a sudden, unexpected occurrence involving a clear and imminent danger, demanding immediate action to prevent or mitigate loss of or damage to life, health, property, or essential public services.

All insufficient notice requests shall only be accepted by the Center with the understanding that a commitment cannot be made on behalf of the subscribers. The Center will remind the caller of the advance notice requirement.

DATABASE REQUIREMENTS

The HOCC uses a software application developed by One Call Concepts, Inc., called PRISM. The HOCC's customer service representatives use the PRISM system to collect the work site data from the caller, display a map of the work site on the computer screen, and notify the utilities in the area of the work site by sending an "Inquiry Identification" or "ticket" to each member.

The PRISM system works in conjunction with MSL (Mapping Software Library). The MSL contains a detailed map of each county in the HOCC's territory. These county maps are based on TIGER (Topological Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing) files, which are computerized maps developed by the US Bureau of Census.

PRISM determines notification based upon these computerized maps. Each member must provide the HOCC with a map or maps displaying a "polygon" of that member's service area. This polygon is digitized into PRISM, and the member will receive a ticket for each excavation that show a conflict with its polygon. When completed, the map, along with the "Member Information" form should be sent to:

Hawaii One Call Center
Attn: Database Administrator
305 NE 102nd Ave
Suite 300
Portland, OR 97220

After the polygon has been digitized into PRISM, the HOCC will send that member a PRISM map displaying the polygon as it appears on the computer screen. A member may edit its polygon at any time by redrawing it on the PRISM maps and returning the map to the HOCC. The HOCC will make the correction and return a revised PRISM map to the member for final approval. The HOCC cannot return the original source maps.

NOTE: Members may also submit their mapping information digitally.

Click here for more information about digital submission.

Some points to consider when preparing the source map:

1) The map should feature the same details as the PRISM map: identifiable highways, streets, railroad tracks and rivers. It is helpful if the map also features latitude and longitude. USGS quad maps, for example, are some of the most accurate. Standard city and county road maps are also acceptable.

2) The area in which the member requires notification should be clearly enclosed using straight lines. Circles and curved lines cannot be digitized, and should instead be drawn as a series of small straight lines. A polygon boundary should not be drawn directly over the top of a street, but rather on one side or the other, to indicate whether the street is inside or outside the service area.

3) The map should not show the width of the roads in any great detail, because PRISM maps show all roads as single lines. The process of digitizing requires that the HOCC's database administrator be able to locate four intersections that appear on both the source map and the PRISM map. This allows the PRISM map to "align" itself to the same scale as the source map. If, for example, the intersection on the source map is 1/4" wide, PRISM will have difficulty finding proper alignment.

4) The polygon should include a "buffer zone" to protect the underground facilities from inaccurate caller-provided descriptions of work areas. When drawing polygons, too large is always better than too small. A polygon can always be redrawn later, if a member finds that it is receiving tickets for work sites that are some distance from the actual location of the underground facilities. These situations are known as "nuisance tickets".

5) A member may draw more than one polygon; some large companies may own underground facilities in dozens of locations. Before drawing more than one polygon, however, a member should evaluate whether an excavation is likely to take place between the two areas. If no nuisance tickets are likely, a single polygon should be drawn around both areas.

6) A word about the notification process: When a caller requests a locate, the HOCC operator uses a mouse to draw a "work site polygon" on the computer screen. PRISM sends a ticket to each member whose polygon intersects or contains the work site polygon. The work site polygon is based upon information that the caller provides, and the operators are instructed to draw the work site polygon slightly larger that the actual work site, to ensure that all the proper members are notified.

Therefore, members should avoid drawing two polygons instead of one if it is unlikely that the work site polygon would be drawn between them. Drawing many small polygons within several hundred feet of each other has the same effect as drawing one large polygon in the same area.

7) The PRISM maps may not always show the same details as the member's source maps. If a member has difficulty verifying that the polygon on the PRISM maps is sufficient, then the polygon should be redrawn to ensure proper coverage of the area in question. Again, specific edits can be done at any time to reduce nuisance tickets.

8) The TIGER files that PRISM uses were revised in 2000. New streets are not shown on the PRISM maps, and some streets have since been re-named. If a work site does not appear on PRISM, operators will determine the work site polygon based on the additional caller information to ensure that the work site is covered.

9) Samples of the type of source map that the HOCC requests are below. Note that in all cases the lines are straight, the roads are labeled and the polygons are not unnecessarily complex.

The member information form must be completed click on the link below to download the form.

Member Information Form

The open/close and holiday Form must be completed click on the link below to download the form.

Open/Close and Holiday Form

The email release form must be completed if your company wants to receive via email, click on the link below to download the form.

Member Email Waiver

The zero audit waiver form should be filled out if your company does not want to receive an audit for the previous day if there were zero tickets.

Member Zero Audit Waiver

Instruction manual for Positive Response System.

Positive Response Instruction Manual

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