Page 18 - Alabama 811 Magazine 2021 Issue 3

MClosing the Locating Gap with White Lining
ost all would agree that the locator arrives at the proposed Then follows up with, “The route of properly identifying the excavation site that has been white the excavation is marked with white location of an underground lined, he can focus on locating the exact paint, flags, stakes, or a combination facility is critical in helping location of excavation instead of trying of these to outline the dig site prior
protect the facility. It also allows the to guess where it will take place. to notifying the one call center and
excavator to work more confidently and cost effectively on every job site. When the excavator arrives to the job site and sees the orange, yellow, red and blue marks the message from the locator is “I’ve been here and you can depend on my marks. Dig safely and have a great day.”
White lining is just as important to the damage prevention process. By using white paint or flags, the excavator communicates a vital message to the locator. The message is “This is the area that I need to you to mark. There is no need for you to waste your time locating the entire property or block and thanks for marking on time.”
When the excavator shows up to a job site, he is reasonable in expecting that the job site is marked correctly and on time. And in the same way when
Common Ground Alliance (CGA) Best Practices state, “When the excavation site cannot be clearly and adequately
before the locator arrives on the job. Premarking allows the excavators to accurately communicate to facility owners/operators or their locator where excavation is to occur.”
It has long been confirmed that
white lining is an important piece of the damage prevention puzzle. The
1997 safety study “Protecting Public Safety through Excavation Damage Prevention” by the NTSB reached
the conclusion that premarking is a practice that helps prevent excavation damage. Facility owners/operators can avoid unnecessary work created when locating facilities that are not associated with planned excavation.
Let’s work together to keep Alabama a safer place to live and work!
16 • Alabama 811
2021, Issue 3
identified on the locate ticket, the excavator designates the route and/ or area to be excavated using white premarking prior to the arrival of the locator.”
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