The underground utility network is, by nature, difficult to locate and track. Perhaps the greatest damage prevention challenge is ensuring that all parties communicate their collective knowledge of the location and properties of underground facilities with each other and more importantly, to the individuals performing the excavation work. Properly locating, identifying, and communicating the location of underground facilities should significantly reduce the risks of accidental damage.

Under the current system, excavators call in a ticket to a state-specific One-Call center to notify all utilities operating in the area when and where they plan to excavate. These utilities then mark the facilities themselves or send a locating firm (private contractors) to the work site to mark where their underground lines are buried. One method of this communication is to physically mark the ground with paint. When instituted, this method led to many improvements, but it is still subject to problems caused by inclement weather or other disturbances, including other excavation projects on or near the same utility.

In many cases, these markings are the only communication between the utility/locator and the excavators performing the work. One of the largest benefits of recent technological breakthroughs is the exponential improvement in our ability to share information with multiple parties immediately and simultaneously. This begs the question of why the damage prevention industry is not systemically using the best available technology to communicate the presence and location of underground infrastructure. This is a careful question to consider when facing accidents that can potentially cause death, serious injury, or billions of dollars in economic costs.

First, the best way to eliminate or reduce the number of incidents and bolster damage prevention efforts is to ensure that all parties have access to the best available information at an excavation site. The most ideal way to do this is to create and share digital maps of each dig site to identify the locations of all underground facilities. This information should be shared by all parties. Excavators on site should compare the digital map, photographs, and documentation with what they are seeing in real time at the worksite prior to beginning excavation.

Further, states should ensure that the dig laws and best practices in place within their state are current and strictly enforced while making use of the best available safety tools. States should also review all standing exceptions to dial-before-you-dig laws and determine whether these exceptions create a safety risk, while encouraging digital notice and electronic white-lining to reduce the need for a phone call to the call center.

Finally, ensure the timely reauthorization and appropriate funding for the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA), which regulates and oversees pipeline safety and certain underground utilities.

IS THIS THE BEST WE CAN DO? THE ANSWER IS CERTAINLY – NO

THESE COMMUNICATIONS IMPROVEMENTS ALONE WOULD REAP LARGE BENEFITS.