[Themaintainers] Maintenance & Underground Damages

[lee vinsel]

Vroon!

I like this a lot. I'm copying the whole list on my reply because several
people have mentioned over the past few years that they would like to
explore the dark sides of maintenance. (As Andy and I try to make clear in
our book, acting as if maintenance is implicitly good is as silly/blind as
acting as if innovation is implicitly good - after all, systems of
injustice and, for instance, greenhouse gas emissions also have their
maintainers.)

I'm wondering if you'd be willing to write your email up into a brief blog
post. It needn't even be much longer than your original message. Then we
could share it with a wider audience. And maybe even start a series on
maintenance's dark sides.

Lee

On Mon, Oct 26, 2020 at 8:47 AM Varun Adibhatla (ARGO) <varun at argolabs.org>
wrote:

> Hello there kindred maintainers,
>
> Varun here. Hope all of you are well and maintaining thyselves through
> trying times.
> I work at a company that uses Machine Learning and Spatial Analysis to
> prevent Damages to Underground Gas Distribution Assets.
>
> Thought I'd share some insights from the 2 years I've spent working
> alongside some of the largest underground (and oldest) utilities.
>
> The Common Ground Alliance publishes the appropriately named DIRT report
> that illustrates the scale of the Underground damage problem. They cause
> the US Economy upwards of $30 Billion every year.
>
> A lot of these damages are caused by excavators (the folks probably
> opening up your street right now) who "move too fast and break things"
> (quite literally). Here's what I found interesting though. A lot of these
> damages are caused by maintenance work.
>
> Specifically, the installation and replacement of road, water and sewer
> infrastructure that tends to be deeper underground than Gas / Electric or
> Fiber Infrastructure. Often this maintenance work has led to not only fatal
> gas explosions, but also  taken out critical fiber infrastructure that
> recently took out Virginia's Voter registration system.
>
> I share this story because it offered me some pause in what has otherwise
> been a celebration of everything maintenance. If any of you are interested
> in talking about leaks, cracks, and holes and digital systems that  offer
> preventative maintenance at scale, give me holler @vr00n on Twitter!
>
> Stay well.
> Varun
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>


-- 
Co-Director
The Maintainers
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