New Survey of Utility Contractors Found that Telecom Companies were More than Twice as Likely to Cause 811 Response Delays as other Utilities, as Association Calls for More Timely, Accurate Utility Locates
Nearly two-thirds of the utility line strikes by utility contractors during the past year occurred because the lines were at least two-feet away from where they were marked after the firms called 811 before digging, according to a new survey released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said the results made it clear that even though contractors are using the 811 system, utility companies need to be timelier and more accurate in marking the locations of their lines.
“Contractors are doing their part to make sure they avoid striking utility lines while they are working,” said Jeffrey Shoaf, the association’s chief executive officer. “But it is hard to avoid hitting a line if the utility company says it is one place, when it is really somewhere else.”
Sixty-four percent of survey respondents reported that the utility lines they inadvertently struck during the past year were at least two feet outside of where they were marked by locators after they called 811. 811 is the nationwide number construction firms and anyone else planning to excavate are required to call in advance.
Shoaf noted that construction firms are doing their part to use the 811 system. According to the survey, 99 percent of firms reports they are using the 811 system before starting excavation work. And 95 percent report they are aware of local laws governing the use of the 811 system.
However, many firms report having to wait a significant amount of time after calling 811 before utility firms dispatch teams to mark the location of their lines. Eighty-seven percent of respondents report that it takes longer than one business day for locators to arrive at their job sites. And one-quarter of survey respondents report it takes five or more business days for location crews to arrive and mark utility lines.
Construction firms also reported that telecom companies are more than twice as likely to cause 811 response delays than any other type of utility. According to the survey, telecom companies cause 811 delays 49 percent of the time, compared with 24 percent for water utilities, 21 percent for gas utilities, 19 percent for other energy utilities and 13 percent for wastewater utilities.
Perhaps because of the challenges they are facing with getting accurate and timely 811 responses, many construction firms report they invested in new technologies to avoid striking utility lines while they excavate. Forty-one percent of firms report they are using ground penetrating radar, while 21 percent use drones and aerial surveys and 13 percent use 3-D mapping tools and GIS integration.
View the survey.