Excavator
Over the years, even very experienced workers tend to forget some of the basics they learned in the beginning of their careers. This week’s blog is a refresher on excavator responsibilities.
The excavator is responsible for:
- Requesting the one-call notification, it is not your customer’s responsibility.
- Immediately reporting damage or exposure of any underground utility to 811. If a gas line has been hit or damaged, you must also call 911.
- Knowing and following the 18” tolerance zones from the outside edge of facilities. Use only hand tools within the tolerance zone until the underground lines have been exposed.
- Retaining the locate ticket number until the project has been completed.
- Requesting a line locate at least two business days, excluding weekends and holidays, before beginning work.
- Providing accurate driving directions with distances and cardinal directions (North, South, East, West) when working in rural areas.
- Confirming the response of the notified utilities before proceeding with any excavation.
- Notifying 811 after determining that one or more utilities have not responded to a locate request.
- Looking for utility signage at your work site and obeying instructions on the signs.
- Following safe digging practices and maintaining equipment condition to ensure safety standards.
How many are you still practicing regularly?
Until next week, dig safely.
