“Postmen are out in the field every day, and can identify when the GRDF network is exposed to risks”: for Jean-François Le Gall, Operational Hub Manager for Alsace-Franche Comté, the partnership with La Poste and its postmen is a way to bolster safety checks for works on public highways – one of GRDF’s responsibilities – thereby helping to prevent damage to the gas distribution network. The gas company signed a Proxi Vigie contract with the Key Account Sales department at La Poste.
Currently in a three-month trial phase in 33 towns around Mulhouse, the service will be provided by all of our postmen as they do their rounds. Paying attention to works underway on the highways, they will take photos of any damage to the surface or potholes in the road or on the pavement that do not comply with GRDF signposting regulations. The geotagged photos will be analysed by GRDF, who will then take any action it deems necessary. The aim is to identify the works and sites that have not been covered by a start of work notice, therefore helping secure the safety of the site.
“Monitoring and safety, and people. All key values at La Poste”.
“Any business or local authority that performs works on public highways has to issue a start of work notice. These notices provide information about the location of the gas network, and the recommendations made to prevent damaging it”, Jean-François Le Gall explained to postmen in a training session in Pfastatt on 30 August 2017. “As it is, 15% of works are not declared, which incurs a significant risk for people and property.”
The geotagged photos will be analysed by GRDF, who will then take any action it deems necessary
In the Haut-Rhin, this is a crucial problem because incidents on the gas network have tripled in six months. In the towns where the service has been in place since 4 September 2017, GRDF estimates that, given the inspections carried out in previous years, around 500 sites do not conform or are not declared through the single interface. While a proactive approach is in place with companies upstream, GRDF is also trying to harness the postmen network to monitor the gas distribution network. Marie Masson, regional Director of Key Account Sales at La Poste, highlights that the initiative is about “Monitoring and safety, and people. All key values at La Poste”.