Best Practices Spotlight

This year, the Best Practices Committee approved a few updates and new best practices for inclusion. To increase awareness of new practices and the rationale behind them, we’ll take a closer look at what’s new and what it means to working safely in the field.

This month’s spotlight is BP 4-11 Locate Verification:

Practice Statement: Prior to excavation, excavators verify that all locates have been received and are on site, and that the limits of the locate markings correspond with the limits of the proposed excavation.

Practice Description: Upon arrival at the excavation site prior to beginning the excavation, the excavator ensures that all locates have been received and a complete locate package (including the Notification Service’s Locate Request Confirmation) is on site by cross referencing the Notification Service’s Locate Request Confirmation to ensure a response was received from all Facility Owners listed. Also, that the limits of each locate are clearly identified on the locate form. The excavator verifies that all facilities have been marked, reviewing colour codes if in doubt. The excavator checks for readily visible signs of underground facilities, such as pedestals, risers, meters, new trench lines and service feeds from buildings and homes. Where readily visible evidence of unmarked facilities exists, the excavator contacts the project owner to get them located. Use of a pre-excavation checklist is recommended by insurers and practiced by responsible excavating contractors.

What seems to be a straightforward, common sense step in preventing damage could be bypassed in the field, with potentially disastrous outcomes. Part of the pre-excavation safety meeting should always be a review of the locates that were requested. Identify and confirm the markings or clearances for each utility that was notified on your locate request. Make sure that all assets known to be in the area have been identified and marked before excavation begins. A secondary visual check should be done to ensure that there are no obvious indications of unmarked facilities (example, a pedestal with no corresponding markings). If you suspect markings are missing, contact the notification centre or asset owner to discuss the issue.

With excavators marking their dig site areas online when they place a locate request, it is critical that the area marked on site matches the boundaries of the drawn dig site on the notification ticket. If the entire work area was not marked, call the asset owner or locator to discuss the discrepancy. If the area mapped on the locate request does not accurately represent the full excavation site, then contact the notification centre or go online to obtain a corrected ticket. Effective communication between the excavator, notification centre and locators is the best way to avoid unwanted damages or injuries in the workplace.

Sher Kirk – USP Operations Director