Talking Out of Both Sides of Their Mouth

[Mr Blunderbuss]

As far as I know it's on the contractor to first make the dig site safe and accessible for locating. Beyone that, if a facility is unable to be located due to inaccessibility, or safety, it needs to be escalated to the facility owner to make arrangements to get the site cleared. It's one thing to get behind a bush or some thick brush to get to a ped, it's another to spend our time hacking down tons of foliage to get a site located, especially when, in all likelihood, that foliage will be cleared prior to any excavation anyways, rendering our time spent locating in it useless.

Does this include trying to wade through snow up to my "axles", like we had to do for some survey tickets last winter?

[LadyLeatherneck]

Since when did we start locating for survey tickets? We've been told we don't locate for survey tickets! Has that rule changed and nobody told me?

Also - SNOW MELTS!

[frostypeters]

As far as I know it's on the contractor to first make the dig site safe and accessible for locating. Beyone that, if a facility is unable to be located due to inaccessibility, or safety, it needs to be escalated to the facility owner to make arrangements to get the site cleared. It's one thing to get behind a bush or some thick brush to get to a ped, it's another to spend our time hacking down tons of foliage to get a site located, especially when, in all likelihood, that foliage will be cleared prior to any excavation anyways, rendering our time spent locating in it useless.

BBM,

Well said, did I train you?

[gypsygirl]

Oh... the ROW clearing tickets for HP gas mains!! Gotta love those!! I had one that I was in the brush so deep that I had gotten stuck in the thorn bushes!! Had to have the other locator help me out.. or I would have been there for HOURS! Of course no one is going to appreciate the H.*#*% I went thru to mark it to have it cleared out for them....

[TBONE]

Locating companies will tell their locators not to carry personal items in their trucks. UNDERSTANDABLE! In an accident, anything loose inside a truck becomes a projectile. The companies also tell locators not to carry any form of cutting equipment in their trucks for the same reason. And yet, they tell you that you have to mark in areas that are impossible to get into without it being cleared first. Years ago the utility owners were responsible to clear their facilities for ease of access by locators. Should still be. Is it or should it be a locator's responsibility to maintain and keep up a utility owner's equipment? And, how can you clear around pedistals if you have no equipment to clear with. Those bidding contracts should consider this when agreeing to utility owners demands. Also consider the lack of productivity while you are taking care of someone else's stuff. And who suffers?

Another beef, pot holing! Is that not the "power of the paint"? Is that not the contractor's job? How much time is wasted with a shovel in hand while the contractor sits and watches? WHY ARE THESE THINGS HAPPENING?

Sadly we have to pothole high profile cables but only one time once you have seen it then thats it as for the clearing good luck one of our guys last week asked for a row to be mowed by DOT and they said yeah sure no problem still hasnt been done yet so lets see how fast he helps them out next time huh

[LadyLeatherneck]

Many, many moons ago, as a young locator, I came upon a telephone pedestal that you could barely make out. I wasn't in a very good mood that day and was a little upset with that particular contractor, so I used 3 full cans of paint. I've never seen such an orange mess. Afterward, I felt a little bad for doing it, but it was quite funny. Looked like a big orange alien had landed. "Power of the Paint, my brother!" Doesn't work like that anymore.

[big boots mcghee]

BBM,

Well said, did I train you?

Actually, yes, you did. Among other things I learned how to ditch my safety vest before my first locate, how to pass the buck on a difficult locate, and how to clear mass amounts of tickets while enjoying an afternoon at mexican restaurants. Just kidding, sort of, but really a lot of what you taught me is still with me today, almost nine years later. That says a lot, of what I'm not sure, but there's a lot of it so it can't be all bad.