Excavation projects, essential for construction and infrastructure development, carry inherent risks, particularly the danger of striking buried utility lines. These underground facilities, ranging from gas and electric to telecommunications and water lines, are vital for modern life, yet pose significant hazards if accidentally damaged. Vannguard Utility Partners plays a crucial role in mitigating these risks by providing expert utility locating services, ensuring safer excavation practices and protecting communities. Specializing in gas and electric utilities, which constitute 97% of their locating business, Vannguard contracts with a diverse range of utility providers, from large investor-owned corporations to rural cooperatives and municipal entities, to accurately locate and mark buried facilities before any digging begins.
The landscape of utility safety dramatically shifted with the introduction of One Call systems in the 1980s. Prior to this pivotal development, excavators faced a cumbersome and potentially error-prone process of contacting each utility company individually before commencing any excavation. This decentralized approach was not only inefficient but also increased the likelihood of overlooking a utility, leading to accidental strikes and potential hazards. The establishment of state-level One Call systems streamlined this process, mandating utility membership and creating a centralized notification hub for excavators. This transformative system requires utilities to submit detailed maps outlining their service areas to a central One Call center. When an excavator plans to dig within a specific region, a single call to the One Call center triggers a standardized locate request. This request, known as a “ticket,” is then efficiently routed to all relevant utility companies operating within the excavation zone.
Utilities, upon receiving a locate ticket, have a critical decision to make: manage the locating process internally or outsource it to specialized companies like Vannguard Utility Partners. For many utilities, partnering with expert locating services offers significant advantages, including access to specialized expertise, advanced equipment, and the ability to manage fluctuating workloads efficiently. Contracting with Vannguard Utility Partners ensures that locate requests are handled by experienced professionals who are well-versed in the intricacies of underground utility infrastructure.
Once a locate ticket is dispatched to the designated locating entity, a strict timeframe of 48 to 72 hours, varying by state regulations, is allotted for completion of the locate request. Locators, responsible for specific geographic areas, promptly respond to the excavation site. Their process begins with a thorough review of utility maps or “prints” to understand the potential presence and approximate location of buried lines. Following this crucial step, locators utilize specialized equipment to precisely identify and mark the horizontal and vertical paths of underground utilities within the dig area. It’s important to recognize that a single excavation site may involve multiple utility companies, each responsible for marking their own facilities. Therefore, it’s common to see different locators arriving at the same site, each focusing on identifying and marking the infrastructure of their respective utility clients.
This meticulous utility locating service is provided free of charge to excavators, a cost borne by the utility companies as a proactive measure to enhance safety and prevent damage. The collaborative synergy between the One Call center, excavators, and locating services like Vannguard Utility Partners forms the cornerstone of a safe excavation ecosystem. By working in concert, this system empowers excavators to dig with confidence, minimizing the risk of utility strikes, safeguarding communities from potential hazards, and ensuring the continued reliable delivery of essential utility services. Vannguard Utility Partners stands as a vital link in this safety chain, providing expert services that protect both infrastructure and lives.
