Excavator Responsibilities
When using Call Okie, follow four easy to help plan your excavation and keep you safe:
- Call before you dig
- Wait the required time
- Respect the marks
- Dig with care
Underground facility owners are dedicated to keeping you and their facilities safe.
Call Before You Dig
The key to a successful and safe excavation is planning. It may sound simple enough, but the Oklahoma Underground Facilities Damage Prevention Act requires excavators to give at least 48 hours notice (two business days) of their planned excavation. Oklahoma One-Call System, Inc. was established to provide a central point of contact to help you notify facility owners and operators of a pending excavation.
Call Okie can be contacted by phone, fax or web to start the process. Call Okie assists both excavators and facility owners in communicating with each other; however, not all facility owners are Call Okie members and must be contacted separately. Oklahoma law requires excavators to notify all facility owners of a pending excavation. Based on the Call Okie list of known underground facility owners in the area provided, the excavator must review and determine if any additional facilities are in the area. This can be done with observation of signage, equipment and knowledge of the area. If the excavator knows of a facility not listed, they must inform the owner of that facility of a pending excavation.
Wait the Required Time
Facility owners will process the locate request, take the required steps to mark the facilities and contact the excavator as required during the next 48 hours (two business days). It is important for the excavator to provide Call Okie with correct contact information, so facility owners can contact them if necessary.
Excavators should wait the required time (48 hours), then inspect the marks and compare the locate request from Call Okie to determine if all facility owners and operators have marked their facilities. Contact Call Okie if 48 hours has passed and a facility owner failed to mark their utilities, so that a second request can be processed and expedited. Your safety is important and marked facilities should be confirmed prior to excavation.
Excavators are encouraged to request an additional notification request to remark the facilities if the excavation exceeds a ten business day window.
Respect the Marks
The underground facility should be marked with permanent signage and/ or temporary flags and paint. The markings represent the approximate location of the facility, however a tolerance zone of two (2) feet should be added to both sides of the facility. No automated or mechanical equipment should be used in the tolerance zone and you must expose facilities by hand. Support and protect the underground facility after it has been exposed to prevent damage.
The excavator should monitor the condition of the markings. Contact Call Okie if the markings become unreadable due to excavation activity, weather or even vandalism, so the facility owners can be notified to remark.
Excavators are encouraged to request an additional notification request to remark the facilities if the excavation exceeds a ten business day window.
Dig with Care
Your safety is very important. In any excavation activity, be aware of the job site and all other activities that may be ongoing. Remember that within the tolerance zone, only hand excavation is allowed. If a facility is exposed, you must support and protect it. If damage occurs to a facility, contact the facility owner for repair, do not backfill until it is repaired and remember – DO NOT REPAIR THE UNDERGROUND FACILITY. The protective layer or coating on a facility must not be damaged. “Near misses” or just damage to the protective coating must also be reported. If the facility damage results in the escape of hazardous gas or liquid, contact local emergency response agencies and leave the area immediately.
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