Excavator Responsibilities

Excavator Responsibilities

Call before you dig
A minimum of two full business days before digging, call Sunshine State One Call at 811 to request a locate ticket so that SSOCOF members that own or operate underground facilities can locate and mark their underground facilities near you dig site. If your dig site is in an area that is underwater, you must call 10 full business days before digging. Day one begins the day after you call.

Excavators who want added convenience and saved time can use Internet Ticket Entry 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to request locate tickets.

Prepare before calling
Be prepared to give detailed directions to the excavation site (driving directions are best) and marking instructions for the specific area where locates are needed. If you're digging in a small portion of a property, DON'T request the entire property be located and marked. You will be required to pre-mark, with white paint, the outer boundaries of where you'll be digging if the following three items are true:

1. The member could not understand from the written description where the locates are needed; and

2. The actual excavation involves a portion of land that is less than 500 feet in length; and

3. White lining will not interfere with traffic or pedestrian control. Note: It is recommended that white lining be done with a non-permanent white paint.

How long is two full business days?
Two full business days represents a time period of 48 hours, NOT including weekends and holidays. Day one begins the day AFTER you request a locate ticket. To ensure that you've allowed enough time for locates, you'll want to do some pre-planning. The graphic below illustrates an excavator requesting a locate ticket on Monday. Day one starts Tuesday. While the due date on the ticket is Wednesday, it is NOT until 11:59 p.m. If a holiday falls within your two full business day time frame, allow an additional day.

Why wait?
The legal waiting period gives SSOCOF members the time to complete one of the following tasks:

1. Let you know that no conflict exists.

2. Physically locate and mark the horizontal location of underground facilities within your excavation site. Note: This does not include the vertical depth of the underground facility.

3. Contact you to schedule a new locate due date and time that is mutually agreeable and will not unreasonably delay your work.

What to do when you hit a facility
STOP excavation and contact the owner of any underground facility that you contact while digging, even if there is no noticeable damage. Online emergency contact information for members is available to members and ITE users or you can call (800) 638-4097.

Keep marks visible
If, during the course of excavation, the marks are destroyed, you must STOP excavation and contact SSOCOF to request a new locate ticket. Reference the old ticket to save time.

Dig Safely
Proceed cautiously when digging within 24 inches on either side of the locate marks. This area represents the tolerance zone, and underground facilities can fall anywhere within that space. The use of any mechanized equipment within the tolerance zone requires supervision by the excavator.

Exemptions
Members or their agents working entirely on single family residential property are exempt from calling SSOCOF if they are digging to a depth of 10 inches or less. However, members or their agents must call when any excavation is going to be done within the utility easements or when excavation will take place where underground utilities exist.

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Types of tickets

Standard Locate Ticket
Request a standard locate ticket when no portion of the excavation will be underwater. These tickets need to be requested a minimum of two full business days before digging or 10 full business days when the dig site is underwater. Members have two full business days to contact the excavator or physically locate and mark the excavation site.

Emergency Locate Ticket
Request an emergency excavation ticket in response to an emergency situation. SSOCOF customer service representatives do not determine whether an emergency condition exists; however, they will ask certain questions to help the excavator determine whether a true emergency exists. Those questions are:

1. Is this excavation necessary to protect life or property?

2. Is there a material or substance escaping from an underground facility?

3. Is there a vital public service that has been interrupted?

4. Was/is there a break in an underground facility?

5. Has a roadway been impaired?

6. How does this “Emergency Excavation” meet the criteria of Florida State Law?

Important: Work-scheduling problems are not considered an emergency.

Underwater Excavation Ticket
Request an underwater excavation ticket when an area is underwater and cannot be marked with paint, stakes or flags. You will be issued two tickets when the dig site is on dry land portion and underwater. Members have 10 business days to locate an underwater excavation site.

Design Tickets
Request a design ticket when you're planning a project where digging will be involved. Often, members do not receive a copy of the design ticket. Therefore, it is the excavator's responsibility to contact the member, using contact information on the design ticket, to arrange for design services and any corresponding fees. All payment for design services must be made directly to the member.

Design tickets are free of charge to associate members and members. For non-associate members, the first design ticket requested is issued at no charge.

Design service can be requested for four levels adapted from the January 1999 Florida Department of Transportation’s Utility Accommodation Manual (UAM), Document Number 710-020-001-d and are summarized below.

1. Review of utility records (Level D in UAM) - This is information obtained solely from a review of individual utility records. This information does not show all underground facilities or structures for a given area.

2. Topographic surveying of aboveground utility features (Level C in UAM) - This information supplements the review of utility records and involves the topographic surveying of visible, above ground utility features such as poles, hydrants, valve boxes, circuit breakers, etc.

3. Designating technologies to obtain the horizontal underground facility location (Level B in UAM) - This is an application where the ground is scanned using designating technologies (i.e. equipment used by locators) to get a horizontal layout of the underground facility and other underground structures on the site.

4. Physical exposure of the underground facility (Level A in UAM) - This provides the highest level of accuracy for facility locations in three dimensions. It involves physically exposing the underground facilities using manual, mechanical and nondestructive (e.g. vacuum excavation) methods to expose the facilities.

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Internet Ticket Entry

Internet Ticket Entry (ITE)  allows you to create, manage and edit SSOCOF locate tickets 24 hours a day, seven days a week using the Internet.

Benefits of ITE

1. Twenty-four hour availability.

2. Access to SSOCOF member emergency contacts.

3. Access to the member's catastrophic contacts.

4. Opt to receive a locate ticket copy by email.

5. View the positive response information system.

6. Visually verify your job site on the system map.

Click here to print out a copy of our ITE manual, offering step-by-step instructions on creating a ticket using ITE.

Positive Response

The positive response system uses codes to notify excavators whether the site has been marked. This information is automatically sent to excavators by e-mail or fax when all members have either responded to the positive response system or the legal two full business day period (10 full business days for underwater tickets) has expired, whichever comes first. Manually access this information by phone at (800) 852-8057 or by clicking on "Positive Response System" underneath Internet Tools in the left column menu.

ITE users can access positive response updates by logging into the Irth System and selecting "View Responses" in "Notice Management." This option allows you to view a specific locate ticket or all tickets that you have requested. If you are not able to access this information, please e-mail Member Services and include your Irth Internet login, but NOT your password.

Any information you get from the positive response system was provided by the member. SSOCOF customer service representatives cannot answer any questions regarding the reasons for a response. It is best you contact the member directly. ITE users can access the contact information on your locate ticket. (Callers do not receive physical copies of their tickets.)

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Extraordinary Circumstances

Members experiencing operating conditions that make it difficult to comply with Chapter 556 provisions, may declare extraordinary circumstances. This relieves members from the legal responsibility of locating and marking their buried facilities. 

Members with underground facilities near your job site will continue to be listed on locate tickets so you know there are buried lines in that area. If you call in tickets, the customer service representative will tell you which members on your ticket have declared extraordinary circumstances. The positive response system will indicate those members declaring extraordinary circumstances with the code 3T. Anyone with Internet access can also get a list by clicking here.

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FAQs

1. Who is required to notify Sunshine State One Call?

Anyone who intends to excavate (disturb the surface of the earth) in Florida, unless a specific exemption listed in s. 556.108, F.S., applies.

2. If I’m a sub-contractor on a job, do I have to get a separate locate ticket or will the general contractor’s locate ticket protect me?

SSOCOF recommends that all excavators request a locate ticket. It is possible that some contractual relationships could prevent the necessity for multiple tickets. Obtain legal advice from your own attorney before relying on the actions of any other party.

3. I’ve hit a facility; what do I do now?

Whether there is visible damage or not, you must stop excavating. If lives or property are in danger, call 911 immediately. Then notify the owner of the affected underground facility directly. Excavators and members may access the emergency contact book using Internet Ticket Entry. Others can call SSOCOF at (800) 638-4097.

4. How do I know if all members have marked or cleared my excavation site?

You can quickly and easily find out whether your excavation site has been marked with SSOCOF's positive response system using the Internet or touchtone phone.

1. To access using the Internet, click here.

2. Internet Ticket Entry users can check multiple tickets easily. To login, click here.

3. To access using the phone, call (800) 852-8057.

5. I’ve waited the required time and there are still no locates. What do I do?

The first thing you should do is check SSOCOF's positive response system to see what positive response code was entered by the members listed on your locate ticket (see question 4). Those members that have not provided the system with a positive response update within two full business days (10 full business days when excavation site is underwater) will automatically be sent a second notice. You do not need to contact the call center. According to Chapter 556.105(5)(a), you may proceed with the excavation using reasonable care and detection equipment or other acceptable means to locate underground facilities. You may also complete a Member Non-compliance Form.

6. Why won’t the members tell us the depth of an underground facility?

Chapter 556, F.S., only requires members to mark the horizontal location of underground facilities. Facility depths may vary due to installation practices, changes in the grade, soil erosion and other variables.

7. Who is liable if I damage an underground facility after I have chosen to excavate after the required time, but before all locates were done?

Chapter 556 does not address specific situations that could lead to liability, but excavators are required to discharge duties imposed by Chapter 556, F.S. SSOCOF cannot advise on liability issues and recommends that excavators obtain legal advice from their own attorneys.

8. What happens if I have a dispute with an excavator or member?

SSOCOF is required to keep records for five years. This includes tapes of phone conversations and electronic copies of locate tickets. If you are involved in a dispute, SSOCOF can provide copies of these records. An excavator or member can obtain records by submitting a written request on company letterhead to: 1) claims@callsunshine.com; 2) SSOCOF, Attn: Claims, 11 Plantation Road, DeBary, FL 32713; or 3) fax number (386) 575-2117. Note: SSOCOF does not resolve or mediate such disputes and has no authority to enforce the law. SSOCOF reserves the right to charge a fee for this service.

9. There are underground facilities on my property, but they were not located. Why?

Information provided by excavators is used to locate facilities. Excavation may be on one side of the property while underground facilities are on another side. Members typically locate only those underground facilities that they own. For example, water and sewer companies will locate main water lines in easements and rights-of-way and lines to a water meter, but may not locate the water facilities from a meter to a home or sewer laterals. Electric companies usually locate their lines to houses and businesses, but not those running to swimming pool pumps and heaters, irrigation systems or another building on the property. Private property owners or tenants with any type of private underground facility on their property would be prudent if they locate those facilities, or hire someone to locate them prior to excavation.

10. I requested to meet with members at my excavation site, but no one showed up at the designated time. Why?

Requests to meet are just that "requests." Chapter 556, F.S., does not require members to attend meetings that an excavator has requested. You may request a meet in the "Remarks" section of a locate ticket; but to schedule the meeting and confirm attendance, you will need to contact the member directly.

11. When can I remove the flags or other physical markings on my property?

Flags or other physical markings are valid for 30 calendar days. Flags or other physical markings that are no longer valid may be removed. Removal of valid flags or other valid physical markings is a misdemeanor.

12. I do not think the locate marks for underground facilities at my excavation site are correct. What should I do?

It is the excavator’s responsibility to directly contact the member whose underground facilities he believes may be incorrectly marked. Contact information is available online for Internet Ticket Entry users and members. You may also get this information by calling (800) 638-4097.

13. What do I do if the marked underground facilities are in conflict with the excavation I plan to do and I need to excavate on them?

An example of this could be placing a fence within the 24 inch tolerance zone of a marked facility. A tolerance zone is 24 inches from the outer edge of either side of a marked underground facility. You may excavate within marks that are present; however, SSOCOF recommends that you hand dig. Use of mechanized equipment within the tolerance zone requires supervision by the excavator.

14. The locate marks at my excavation site have been destroyed. How do I get underground facilities re-located?

To have your site re-located, call SSOCOF at 811 to process a new locate ticket.

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