Noob with old questions

[2RUDE]

Just out of curiousity, do private locators have any responsibility on their marks? If you miss something in the ground and it gets hit, what happens? I'm sure the owner is pissed but who pays for it? If it's somethng you had no idea was in there how can you be responsible. And how the hell do you even know it's there in the first place?

That's why most private locators have a release form that's signed by the party you're locating for, releasing the locator from any liability for mismarked, or unmarked facilities.

[Loc8r]

The key issue boils down to communications. When discussing the job with the client you must make sure it is clear that the job is done on a best efforts basis. The locate slip should have the "weasel words" that say no guarantee or best efforts to protect the locator, but it does not remove negligence. If you can show you did your best with what equipment and information is available then it is hard to make anything stick.

When I finish a site, I go over everything with the client and if they are as satisfied with what I did as I am, then we sign off on the work.

[locatetopia]

I agree with Loc8r, private side locating is a little different from public utility locating. I spent 14 years in contract locating and the last 5 in SUE/private utility locating and it has been eye opening. The lack of records and no standard placement practices make some of the projects interesting. I would suggest a good conductive and inductive locator like the Heath Sure Lock if I had one locator to use. Most of the time I use a Metrotech (810 or 9890) and sweep the area with the Sure Lock followed up with a scan of the area with a Mala Easy Locator GPR.

One other suggestion would be to get a non-liability waiver for every client to sign prior to doing any work. None of the companies in my area accept liability for private locating. Some clients do not like paying for locating with no liability for the locator but it would be crazy to charge some one $500 and then have the possibility of a claim 3 times that amount if some thing was not identified.

Hope this helps

[gravy]

More good info! I'm still not sure what we will buy, but I'm learning!

Thanks!