What to Do Before the Excavator Bucket Digs

Key Takeaways

Call 811, or file on your state’s 811 website, before the bucket goes in the ground.
Unless your state sets a different clock, ask for a start at least 2 working days out, and no more than 14 full working days out.
The ticket tells you the real wait and the date the marks die. Those numbers change by state.
Wait until every utility on the ticket has responded. One request notifies about 7 or 8 operators on average.
Read the paint. Red, yellow, orange, blue, green, and purple are buried lines. White is the dig area you marked.
The tolerance zone is state law. Keep the bucket outside it until the line is exposed by the method that state allows.
If the marks are gone, or the ticket has expired, call 811 again before you dig.
Heavy equipment training is where students practice digging only after the ticket and the marks are in place.

The bucket stays up until the locate is done. Call 811, read the ticket, and stay outside the tolerance zone until the line is in the open. The waiting period and the size of that zone come from the state where the job sits.

Who has to call before the digging starts?

Federal construction rules require a locate before the ground opens. The employer finds the estimated path of sewer, phone, fuel, electric, water, and any other buried line the job might hit. Utility owners are asked to mark them. That rule is 29 CFR 1926.651(b).

811 is the national number. It connects you to the one-call center for the place you are digging. All 50 states have a one-call law or an 811 center. You can also file on that center’s website.

The call covers one dig site. Give your name, a phone number, the county and street, the nearest cross road, what you are digging, and when you want to start. Ask them to list every utility that will get the ticket. Keep the ticket number on the job.

Mark the dig area in white before the locators arrive. White paint, flags, or stakes show the patch of ground you mean. That is the proposed-excavation color in the APWA uniform color code.

How long do you wait?

The Common Ground Alliance practice, when state law does not say otherwise, is a start date at least 2 working days after the notice and no more than 14 full working days after it. Your state can require a longer wait. Read the start time printed on the ticket. Digging early is the same as digging with no ticket.

A response matters as much as the clock. Do not start because the wait expired and the paint never showed up. Call the utilities that have not answered, or use the remark or no-show process your 811 center lists.

Marks do not last forever. If you cannot keep them readable, or the job runs past the expiration date on the ticket, call 811 and ask for a remark. That expiration date is also set by the state.

An emergency dig still starts with a call. Tell the center it is an emergency, say why, and follow the start time they give you. Take every step you can to miss lines you have not seen yet.

What do the paint colors mean?

Locators use paint, flags, or stakes. The APWA colors are the national set:

Color	What it marks
Red	Electric power, conduit, and lighting cables
Yellow	Gas, oil, steam, petroleum, or other gas lines
Orange	Phone, alarm, or signal lines
Blue	Potable water
Green	Sewers and drain lines
Purple	Reclaimed water, irrigation, and slurry lines
Pink	Temporary survey marks
White	The area you proposed to dig

A state may add its own rule on colors. The ticket and the local 811 guide control if they differ. Offset marks sit to the side when the ground over the line will be torn up. Read the distance written on them. A wiped-out centerline is not an empty hole.

811 notifies member utilities. A private line on the customer’s side of the meter may never be on that list. A yard light, a building feed, or a customer-owned fuel line can sit in unmarked ground. Ask before you dig there.

How close can the bucket get to a mark?

The tolerance zone is the band around the mark where power equipment does not belong until the line is exposed. State law sets the width. It is printed in the 811 guide for that state, and it is the number on your ticket’s instructions. Do not borrow the number from the last state you worked in.

Inside that zone, expose the line by the safe method the state allows. That is often hand digging or vacuum excavation. The tooth of the bucket is the measuring point, not the tracks.

As you close in on the estimated line, federal rules say the exact spot has to be found by a safe method. Paint is the estimate. It is not the line. While the hole is open, support or protect the line, or have it moved.

A tooth can hook a pipe before you feel the strike. Slow down before you are in the paint. Use a spotter if you cannot see the marks from the cab.

What if the marks are gone or you hit a line?

Tracks, rain, snow, and gravel cover paint. A dead ticket is not a live locate. Call 811 before the bucket goes back in the same ground.

If the machine strikes a line, stop. Tell the utility owner. If gas or another dangerous product is escaping, get people clear and call 911. Leave the damaged line alone. Do not backfill over a strike until the owner has looked at it and told you the line is safe to cover.

On the Sun Prairie yard, the order is the same one a street job needs. Ticket first. White marks for the dig area. Read every color. Stay outside the tolerance zone until the line is exposed. Heavy equipment training is where that sequence gets practiced on an excavator. Utility pole work has its own locate habits too, and those are part of digger derrick training.

Conclusion

The locate is part of the dig. Call 811, wait the time your state requires, and keep the bucket outside the tolerance zone until the line is in the open. Covered paint or an expired ticket means a new call. A struck line means you stop, you report it, and you leave the backfill alone.

Want that practice before you are the person on the controls? See training dates, apply for training, or call ATS at (800) 383-7364. Questions can go through contact ATS. If cost is what is holding you up, ask about financial aid.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How soon can you dig after calling 811?
A: Use the start time on the ticket. When state law does not set its own clock, the Common Ground Alliance practice is at least 2 working days after notice, and no more than 14 full working days after it. Many states require a different wait.

Q: How close can an excavator get to a locate mark?
A: Stay outside the tolerance zone until the line is exposed. The width of that zone is state law, and it is listed with your 811 ticket. Do not use another state’s number.

Q: What do you do if the marks are gone?
A: Call 811 and ask for a remark before you dig. Do the same thing if the job runs past the expiration date on the ticket.

Q: What do you do if the excavator hits a line?
A: Stop and tell the utility owner. If gas or another dangerous product is escaping, get clear and call 911. Do not backfill until the owner has inspected the line.

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