Able1Call Utility Locators

Another successful locate in the books. Some are quick and easy and others really put you to work. So grateful to wake up each day and do what we love. If you need a locate done either residential or company; we would love the opportunity to take care of your locate needs. You can always go to www.able1call.ca to check out more information about our services.

The electric company inspector is testing a line broken during excavation. This was operator error, note the red paint on the asphalt accurately marking the line. The operator did not hand dig to expose within a meter of the red mark. Orange paint was added by the crew after the strike. The job shut down while the crew attended a training session on excavating safety procedures highlighting "hand dig to expose within a meter of an underground facility."

This line is interesting because both the city and electric company came out to inspect and there was no record of it anywhere. It was also not connected to any grid, so putting a signal onto the electric grid could not locate it.

The finding and confirming of known utilities, usually by conduction, would not have discovered this line. Doing an inductive two-person sweep looking for unknown lines adds a extra layer of confidence to a locate.

Looking at the composition of the line, it appeared to be about 100 years old! And it was dead, thankfully.