Find the lines before you dig
Trenching and excavation 5 min 29 CFR 1926.651
Why it matters
Before you dig, underground utilities have to be estimated and found. That is the rule in 1926.651. Calling 811 is how crews in the United States usually start. That number is not printed in the OSHA rule. Marks fade and can be wrong, so hand-dig near a marked line.
The talk
Spring work is starting on a lot that looks empty. The crew is here to open a trench for a water line, a drain, or a planting bed. Last month someone dug a footing nearby and says they know where the gas and the power run. The paint on the ground is faint, and one flag is knocked flat in the grass. A bucket tooth is already lined up on the old mark because the operator wants to stay on schedule. Under that paint there may be gas, electric, or a communications line. A mark is not the pipe. A memory from last month is not a locate. This dig starts with the utilities found, not with a guess.
Before you dig, the location of underground utilities has to be estimated and found. That is what 1926.651 requires. Calling 811 is the usual way crews in the United States start that work. Do not say the number 811 is printed in the OSHA rule. It is the call people use. It is not a line in the rule. The locate still has to be done, and the marks still have to be read. Marks fade. Marks can be wrong. Paint washes off in the rain. A flag gets pulled by a mower. A line on a drawing can sit off from the line in the ground. Hand-dig near a marked line. Do not let the machine find the utility for you. Do not trust the words we dug this lot last month. Soil gets covered, new lines get added, and memory misses the one that matters.
Before a bucket or a shovel goes in today, confirm the utilities were estimated and found. If nobody has started that, the dig waits. Calling 811 is how this crew starts, and you still do not tell people that 811 is written in the OSHA rule. Walk the marks. If they are faded, missing, or do not match what you expected, stop and get them checked before you dig. Near a marked line, hand-dig. Do not run bucket teeth on that line. Do not use last month's trench as a map. If a mark runs through the planting bed, the footing, or the pipe route, tell the foreman and hold the machine until you know where the line is. A few minutes with a shovel is the right start.
Key points
- Before you dig, underground utilities have to be estimated and found.
- That duty is in 1926.651.
- Calling 811 is the usual way crews in the United States start.
- Do not say 811 is printed in the OSHA rule.
- Marks fade and can be wrong.
- Hand-dig near a marked line.
- Do not trust a memory of last month's dig.
Do this
- Make sure utilities are estimated and found before the dig starts.
- Start with the 811 call without claiming that number is in the OSHA rule.
- Walk the marks and stop if they are faded or missing.
- Hand-dig near a marked line.
- Tell the foreman if a mark crosses today's dig.
Do not do this
- Do not dig because the lot looks empty.
- Do not say the number 811 is printed in the OSHA rule.
- Do not trust the line we dug this lot last month.
- Do not let bucket teeth run on a marked line.
- Do not ignore paint or flags that have faded or been knocked down.
Talk about it
- Have the utilities for this dig been estimated and found, and did we start with 811?
- Which marks are faded, missing, or sitting in the path of today's trench or bed?
- Where will we hand-dig instead of using the machine?
Listens with this phone's voice. Nothing is sent out.
Send to the crew
The crew link opens the talk so each person can read it and sign on their own phone.
Scan at the jobsite. It opens the crew sign-off.