For those in the excavation industry or those breaking any type of ground, understanding and managing risks around buried utility infrastructure is critical. Whether using 811 services or hiring a private locate company, the risks associated with locating buried facilities remain significant. These risks are outlined in the ASCE 38-22 standard, which provides guidelines for collecting subsurface utility data. A key factor in mitigating these risks is having access to the right information - just like completing a puzzle.
In our utility locate industry, the pieces of the puzzle include access to Public Locates, Records, Access, and Site Personnel. When any one of these pieces is missing, the overall risk increases. This is reflected in the puzzle graphic we’re sharing: one puzzle piece has been removed, highlighting how the absence of critical information raises the level of risk when locating buried facilities. The more pieces we have, the more accurate and safer our work becomes.
By examining how the ASCE 38-22 standard applies to both design and excavation locates, we see a clear message: lack of comprehensive information, significantly raises the risk of damaging buried utility infrastructure.
Risk Factors in Locating Buried Facilities
The risks involved in locating buried facilities can be broken down into three main categories: human factors, site limitations, and technology limitations.
Human Factors: Human error remains one of the largest risk factors. Miscommunication, lack of training, inadequate documentation procedures, and even company culture play into the likelihood of errors when locating underground infrastructure. Without proper training, even well-intentioned locators and excavators may overlook critical details.
Work Site Limitations: Site-specific challenges are common and can significantly affect the accuracy of locates. For example, when records for buried facilities are outdated or incomplete, or when site personnel are unavailable to provide insight into utility paths, locating teams are left to work with limited data. The absence of connection points for facilities at a site further complicates the ability to perform accurate locates.
Technology Limitations: Geophysical equipment used for locating facilities also has limitations, especially when handling non-conductive or non-tonable infrastructure, distorted signals from facility congestion, or infrastructure lacking tracer wires. Such limitations restrict the ability of locate equipment to trace all buried facilities accurately.
ASCE 38-22 and Quality Levels
The ASCE 38-22 standard introduces a classification system that ranks utility data for buried utility infrastructure from Quality Level D (high risk) to Quality Level A (little to no risk). In practical terms:
Quality Level D and C (High Risk): These levels rely on available utility records, visual markers, and surface features, providing minimal information about buried facilities. Relying solely on these sources presents a high risk for designers and excavators.
Quality Level B (Moderate Risk): This level applies geophysical methods, such as electromagnetic locating and ground-penetrating radar, to approximate facility positions. Most locate work conducted by 811 and private locators falls under this level. However, without additional data like utility records, site personnel input, or building access, gaps remain, leaving projects at a moderate risk level.
Quality Level A (Little to No Risk): This level involves exposing buried facilities through hand or vacuum excavation, providing precise utility locate data. This approach significantly reduces risk, yet is often impractical and expensive for initial locate work.
Why Removing Information Increases the Risk
811 Locate Technicians and Private Locate Contractors operate at Quality Level B, relying on geophysical equipment like electromagnetic (EM) locators without directly exposing facilities. Without records, site drawings, or knowledgeable personnel, the risk level escalates from moderate to high. This is because EM locators trace electromagnetic fields, not the facilities themselves. Without knowing where to connect or where a facility ends, the signal can distort or "ghost" onto other buried infrastructure, leading to inaccurate results. Missing or outdated records further increase the likelihood of damaging infrastructure, particularly in private locates where non-utility-owned facilities may lack reliable documentation.
Blind locates, where no records or access to facilities exist, exemplify this increased risk. Without adequate information, locators operate with limited knowledge, heightening the chances of striking an unmarked or mislocated facility.
How to Mitigate These Risks
While the risks of damaging buried infrastructure cannot be entirely eliminated, there are steps that can significantly reduce them:
Communicate Effectively: Clear communication between all parties, including locators, excavators, and site personnel, is essential to understanding what buried facilities are present and where they start and terminate.
Request Access to Records and Facility Personnel: Ensuring that the locate team has access to comprehensive records, site drawings, and building facilities where connections are located reduces uncertainty.
Use Hand or Soft Digging When Needed: For high-risk areas, using hand-digging or vacuum excavation techniques as per Quality Level A practices can lower the risk of damage.
Conclusion: A Call for Comprehensive Data
At Know Before You Dig Locates, LLC, we specialize in locating buried infrastructure on private property, where records are often incomplete or entirely absent that inherently raise the risk of damage. In these cases, our expertise in investigating and mapping unknown infrastructure becomes crucial, yet we want clients to understand that every locate involves some level of risk, especially when information is not provided.
To help reduce this risk, we encourage clients to proactively ask the property owner for any available records, facilitate site access, and connect us with knowledgeable site personnel when possible. These steps are vital in supporting our work to safeguard your project. If you need help requesting this information from the property owner, I have written a document that can help with your client.
If you’re interested in learning more or would like to schedule an information session for your management teams or field crews, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’re here to help you make informed, safer decisions before breaking ground.
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