Topic
Underground Utility Damage Prevention
Damage prevention and subsurface utility information quality.
Documents
- 20221 Nov
Live sub-surface power cable inadvertently cut
An excavator cut an energised buried power cable during onshore pipeline trenching, without injuries or equipment damage. Incomplete as-built information and misleading drawings left the cable hazard unidentified in risk assessment. The flash highlights isolation, cable tracking during excavation planning and clear communication of stop-work authority.
- 201829 Nov
Ground Disturbance Hazard Alert
This hazard alert addresses buried utility strikes during US onshore upstream oil and gas ground disturbance. It outlines responsibilities for operators, excavators and line locators, including 811 notification, crossing permits, contractor competence checks, locating techniques, excavation method selection and reporting suspected damage rather than concealing it.
- 2017
Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT) - Annual Report 2017
This annual report analyses 2017 underground utility damage submissions from the United States and Canada. It examines root causes, excavation patterns and reporting completeness, using consistent-reporter comparisons and Poisson regression to estimate damage totals. Voluntary reporting and unknown entries limit interpretation of trends.
- 2016
Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT) - Annual Report 2016
Annual analysis of underground utility damage reports from the United States and Canada examines excavation practices, notification, enforcement and reporting completeness. It consolidates duplicate submissions, estimates national damages using regression modelling, and discusses transmission-normalised rates and minimum societal costs. Interactive dashboards support comparisons, with explicit exclusions and limitations.
- 201219 Feb
Near Miss – Track Hoe Contacts 5 KV Power Cable
A near-miss alert describes a track hoe bucket contacting a 5 kV cable during mechanical excavation of two pipelines. Hydro excavation and survey drawings had identified the cable beside the pipeline. The cable subsequently shorted when the ground disturbance supervisor moved it manually.
- 2008Apr
Gasoline pipeline damaged by construction causes fire — Process Safety Beacon, April 2008
A construction excavation punctured a gasoline pipeline, releasing vapours that ignited in a fatal explosion and fire. Ground markings differed from engineering plans, and workers did not verify the pipe’s position with hand tools. The bulletin emphasises underground utility verification, excavation permits, safety reviews and training in emergency procedures.
- Undated
ASCE 38-02 - Standard Guideline for the Collection and Depiction of Existing Subsurface Utility Data
This abridged consensus standard classifies existing subsurface utility information into quality levels A–D. It sets out engineer and owner tasks, combining records research, surveyed surface features, geophysical tracing and minimally intrusive exposure. It also addresses mapping conventions, deliverable formats and the relative costs and benefits of improving data reliability.