Archive for Utility Locates
Are Waterlines Important ?
Posted by: | CommentsIts Only A Waterline – It can’t kill you
A very common practice when having public locates completed, is to have the municipality locate the shut-off valve near the street. On most properties, the waterlines on private property are not owned by the water utility and therefore they will not be located. If drilling is being undertaken on private property therefore, the only way of knowing where the waterline is located is to have it properly located by a private utility locator (or daylighted). But “it’s only a waterline, it can’t kill you” is a comment we have heard a number of times.
Although it may be true that striking a waterline is less likely to have an immediate injury related effect like a gas or electrical line, there can be many consequences. Beyond the obvious inconvenience of water service interruption and cost of repair, there can be a number of other consequences. We have now had a number of stories relayed to us about the creation of sink holes and damaged roads and parking lots. In addition, water line strikes have been known to cause instabilities underneath buildings leading to structural issues and building settlement. Suddenly, failure to spend a few hundred dollars to have a waterline adequately staked out by a private locator, could lead to a client giving you an invoice for the cost of demolition and reconstruction of their building.
The broken waterline could create a sinkhole such as the one below
80 ft in diameter and 15 feet deep, as a result of a watermain break in Guatemala.
Major Fine – Incomplete Locates
Posted by: | Comments$180,000 For Locate Problem
This item is a follow up to our feature article in the January 2010 newsletter (still available on our website in the Utility Locate section). Our article was focused on the importance of also having private locates, in addition to 1Call. The article featured some incidents which highlighted the need for private locates at all sites, including residential properties. The Ministry of Labour released an article in OHS Canada Magazine on November 2 related to one of the incidents we cited, indicating that the company was convicted and fined $180,000 (plus 25% victim surcharge) for charges related to not having locates. In a separate conviction for the same incident, the supervisor was personally fined $12,000. The mistake of not having a private locator at a site has not only cost a life, but also some very significant fines. Please read the article by clicking this link.
TSSA Article
Posted by: | CommentsThe Real Dirt On Pipeline Strikes
The TSSA has released an article promoting utility locates as a method of reducing utility strikes. You can read the article by clicking The Real Dirt on Pipeline Strikes TSSA. Although we applaud the TSSA for the proactive educational initiative, we disagree with several statements in the article. Specifically the following phrases:
“Hire the services of a private locate company if unsure.”
“….there may be also underground residential supply lines installed by a contractor at the request or under contract with the homeowner. ………While a homeowner should be asked for locations, they may not have accurate and complete information. If unsure of any underground line, contact a private locator….”
The inference of these statements, is that having a private locator determine the location of onsite utilities is discretionary. We strongly disagree and contend that the only way to safely dig is to have proper utility locates of both utility-owned, and privately owned services. “Ask for locations” and “private locate company if unsure” are not suitable alternatives to valid, up to date, private locates.
Changes to Locate Regulations
Posted by: | CommentsSection 228 of Construction Regulation has been changed
In March 2010, the Ontario Sewer and Watermain Construction Association released a statement regarding changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Act related to utility locates. You can read the notice by clicking OSWCA_Locates_Bulletin.
Section 228 of the Construction Regulation within the Occupational Health and Safety Act has been amended as follows:
Old Wording
228. (1) Before an excavation is begun,
(a) gas, electrical and other services in and near the area to be excavated shall be accurately located and marked; and
(b) if a service may pose a hazard, the service shall be shut off and disconnected. O. Reg. 213/91, s. 228 (1).
(2) The employer who is responsible for the excavation shall request the owner of the service to locate and mark the service. O. Reg. 213/91, s. 228 (2).
(3) If a service may pose a hazard and cannot be shut off or disconnected, the owner of the service shall be requested to supervise the uncovering of the service during the excavation. O. Reg. 213/91, s. 228 (3).
(4) Pipes, conduits and cables for gas, electrical and other services in an excavation shall be supported to prevent their failure or breakage. O. Reg. 213/91, s. 228 (4).
New Wording
28. (1) Before an excavation is begun,
(a) the employer excavating shall ensure that all gas, electrical and other services in and near the area to be excavated are located and marked;
(b) the employer and worker locating and marking the services described in clause (a) shall ensure that they are accurately located and marked; and
(c) if a service may pose a hazard, the service shall be shut off and disconnected. O. Reg. 443/09, s. 6.
2
(2) If a service may pose a hazard and it cannot be shut off or disconnected, the owner of the service shall be requested to supervise the uncovering of the service during the excavation. O. Reg. 443/09, s. 6.
(3) Pipes, conduits and cables for gas, electrical and other services in an excavation shall be supported to prevent their failure or breakage. O. Reg. 443/09, s. 6
Although the changes appear subtle, it is our understanding that the change was made such that the regulation now requires that locates be completed “accurately”. Apparently this was a key problem identified during the investigation of the Bloor Street Explosion, as the contractor fulfilled their requirements by “requesting locates” and the utility fulfilled their obligation by “completing locates”. The key problem was reportedly that the locates were not undertaken correctly or accurately.
We believe that this change in the regulation places more emphasis on the potential liability of environmental consultants and geotechnical engineers to ensure that they have completed the locates properly prior to requesting us to drill a borehole at their specified location.
2008 Utility Damage
Posted by: | CommentsCGA – Dirt Report
The Common Ground Alliance (CGA) has released its annual DIRT Report for 2008 (Damage Information Reporting Tool). This report analyses the data provided by US and Canadian information providers on damage to utilities. The report is a very comprehensive analysis of a lot of data.
The report indicates that in 2008 there were a total of over 82,000 “events” in Canada and the US. An “event” is defined as “the occurrence of downtime, damages, and near misses”. Of this total number, 11% (9,348) were related to drilling. For Canada, 405 events were identified as related to drilling. Of the total number of all events in Canada and the US, 59% were attributed to “Notification Not Made” or “Locating Practices Not Sufficient”.
In simple terms, based on this information, it would appear that in Canada in 2008, there were likely over 200 utility incidents involving drilling, related to not calling for locates or not having them done properly.
The Common Ground Alliance is a US based organization that has an Ontario chapter. They have a lot of very useful information related to utility locates and are currently pushing for the establishment of a true One-Call system in Ontario.
The DIRT report can be found by clicking here
The Ontario Regional Common Ground Alliance (ORCGA) can be found at:
www.orcga.com
The Common Ground Alliance (CGA) can be found at:
www.commongroundalliance.com
811 Coming to Canada?
Posted by: | CommentsCGA Wants 811 in Canada
The Canadian Press is reporting that the Common Ground Alliance is pushing Ottawa to move towards the 811 system used in the US. The article can be read by clicking here.
Kodiak Drilling very much supports the push to having a true 1 Call system, rather than the current 1 Call system, which is usually quite a number of calls.
Driller Killed
Posted by: | CommentsLocate Problem – Explosion – Death
“Around 2:50 p.m. on June 7, the C&H drill team struck Enterprise’s pipeline, causing a 100-foot rupture. C&H auger truck operator James Neese was killed at the scene and eight others on the team were injured.”
“……veteran operations specialist for Enterprise failed to locate and properly mark the pipeline…..”
read how the locate problem killed the driller by clicking here
MOL Charges
Posted by: | CommentsMOL Charges – Utility Locates
Over the May-June-July 2010 period, the Western Region of the Ministry of Labour (MOL) (southwestern Ontario – does not include Toronto) imposed charges under Section 228 of the Construction Regulation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. This section of the regulation is outlined below:
228. (1) Before an excavation is begun,
(a) the employer excavating shall ensure that all gas, electrical and other services in and near the area to be excavated are located and marked;
(b) the employer and worker locating and marking the services described in clause (a) shall ensure that they are accurately located and marked; and
(c) if a service may pose a hazard, the service shall be shut off and disconnected. O. Reg. 443/09, s. 6.
Charges laid over that 3 month period include 2 charges to employers, 1 charge to a supervisor, and 2 charges to workers.
In addition, the Ministry of Labour also provided the following summaries of cases determined during this period.
“An Employer plead guilty to a charge under section 228(1)(a) of Ontario Regulation 213/91 resulting in a fine of $6,500. This was the result of a power line contact from August of 2009 where a 110V line was damaged as a result of excavating without locates for a new residential foundation project in Kitchener.”
“An Employer plead guilty to a charge under section 25(2)(h) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act R.S.O. 1990 c.01 which resulted in a fine of $60,000. This was the result of an incident investigation from August of 2006 at a project in Welland, where workers were drilling holes into the ground when they made contact with an unmarked gas line causing an explosion. It was determined that the locates failed to show the gas line that was ultimately struck.”
We have thus far been unable to obtain the data for MOL charges related to locate problems for Toronto. Our attempts to obtain data from the TSSA related to their charges and orders have been unsuccessful.
Newsletter Feedback
Posted by: | CommentsLocate Newsletter
We have received some very positive feedback on our recent newsletter. The July issue was devoted to utility locate issues and generated some positive feedback. We have enclosed below, excerpts from some of the emails we received.
Thanks for including me on your mailing list. Your newsletter is very informative. It contains some very interesting articles as well as useful information.
….you’ve done a great job on preparing this newsletter. I believe all consultants and their clients should read this through carefully. Informative and helpful.
Thanks for this newsletter. Good reminder on the importance of locates. Cannot be emphasized enough.
….Good article! Informative! If this is the norm, then we should all comply.
Thanks for this newsletter. Good reminder on the importance of locates. Cannot be emphasized enough.
I did receive your newsletter. Very impressive.
Indoor Locates – ON1Call
Posted by: | Comments
Feature Article
One of the problems we often encounter, is misunderstandings related to having ON1Call locates completed for indoor drilling projects. We are facing challenges with locate requirements due to the approach of ON1Call to locate requests that involve drilling inside buildings. The feedback we are getting is that ON1Call is refusing to provide the requisite locates when a request is made that indicates that drilling will be undertaken indoors. We can partly understand the response, as ON1Call needs to make it known to callers that they do not locate privately owned services, which are the predominant utilities normally found indoors. However, we don’t believe that this is fulfilling the regulatory requirements of ON1Call utility members to mark the locations of their infrastructure. Although we are aware that it is rare for member utilities to have infrastructure under buildings, it does occur in some locations. We are not aware of any exemptions within the applicable Acts (and associated Regulations) which specifically exempts one from obtaining locates when the drilling is being undertaken within a building. Discussions with TSSA personnel have suggested that TSSA also interprets the regulations this way.
The problems noted above are leading to very frustrating and costly experiences for Kodiak, our consultant customers, and their property owner clients. We are arriving at sites, prepared to drill, but having to refuse to do the work because the locates are incomplete (i.e., they do not have ON1Call locates). When we are told that ON1Call refuses to do the locates, we are all in a state of paralysis, as we can’t drill without proper locates and consultants can’t obtain them from ON1Call. We are aware that some customers, who are familiar with the issue, are getting around this problem by requesting ON1Call to locate the entire site.
Because of the above noted problems, Kodiak has brought the issue to the attention of Ontario ON1Call. Kodiak concerns were then presented to the Board of Directors of ON1Call, which includes representation from TSSA regulated utility companies. Based on our submission, ON1Call has completed a re-education project of their staff to advise staff that they DO ACCEPT locates for areas on the inside of buildings. Therefore, when calling in for l
ocates, consultants should be able to indicate that their boreholes are inside and still obtain proper locates for their project. ON1Call has asked that if there are any problems with these requests, people should call the Help Desk at 1-866-466-7613 or email solutions@accu-link.ca. We commend ON1Call staff for moving quickly to address this issue and hope that the implementation is as smooth as possible.