Who feels contract locating has evolved into a 2 man operation?

**USIC1** · May 6th, 2009, 10:31 PM

I think contract locating has finally reached a level of red tape that now justifies a limited quantity of rotating tag teams to cover broader range territories ( 2 locaters working in tandem) to tackle a majority of daily ticket loads excluding lot tickets...

I think there is still a place for individual locaters to run simple lot tickets in wider geographic areas that overlap the tag teams and vice versa...

The only issue would be ironing out the liability...

Each locater would be liable for the utility that they were responsible locating... If only a single lengthy utility is present, then pictures denoting there portion of the locate would classify under there camera...

I truly believe that it could be more effective than standard practices... Whenever I have been exposed to a tag team scenario, I have always overwhelmingly worked more productively and efficient than the ho-hum of trying to conquer a long locate alone....

So this poll is how others feel about this???

The old standard, or a new more LIBERAL attempt to locating???

Okay, I know that lost some FOR's right out the gate... heheheh

**RD_Wrangler** · May 7th, 2009, 01:33 AM

ummm...that's what crew teamwork is for.

If you foster a team mentality within your crew, long or project style locates can be coordinated to be handled by more than one locator.

The last crew I was on ceased even needing the Sup. to coordinate such things. The email/page/text would go out that someone had such and such locate and volunteers responded. People were seldom left hanging. People managed their areas and made sure they had the time to help out. Those that consistently ignored calls for assistance didn't last long within the crew.

**Mke** · May 7th, 2009, 10:12 AM

Yeah.... I'll pass.

Tandem locating is great on paper, and successful under certian circumstances, but you are only as succssessful as your partner. If you have a great working relationship with another locator and you two work great together then this might work. However, i'm affraid that todays Contract Locating companies have their stock in the "warm body" theory. (any warm body can locate) I have been paired up with multiple locators in my career and I would only trust about 10% of them to put in as much effort as I would.

3 of them have openly tried to throw me under the bus for their own mistakes.

I think if the crew is comfortable working that way they should have the option to do so, but it should not be mandatory.

I once worked with a guy who needed help marking a facility. I came out to the sight and he was locating one end of the facility and asked me to start on the opposite end.
In no time I started coming into his marks and they were not only off by greater then 6'' but they were miss labled. He would bleed of on Irrigation control and mark it as Gas. The gas was marked in blue and labled water. When I let him know, he was defensive and wanted me to "correct my marks". I proceeded to tell him to "f" off. Two days later my boss wanted me to go out to the site and correct his marks.

You can say thats an exception to the rule, but its not. There is alot of locators in the contract locating field that don't care as much as some of do, and we are the ones that have to work harder to make up for their lack of care.

mke

**RD_Wrangler** · May 7th, 2009, 03:45 PM

Originally Posted by Mke

There is alot of locators in the contract locating field that don't care as much as some of do, and we are the ones that have to work harder to make up for their lack of care.

mke

Why do you think USIC likes the idea?

**scap** · May 7th, 2009, 08:03 PM

Here's what I did today. It's 2.5 miles...I began at 6:40, and ended around 5pm... (Luckily, the locate didn't eek too far into my beer drinking time.)

The locate consisted of 311 photos. I weigh about 250lbs, if I didn't call another guy to help me on something this long,(in fact, I called the most hardcore motherfkr and ask him to bring me some flags after I was done hehe) no reason anyone else should have to, unless you have a fake leg or something. Learn how to control your body...I load up on carbs the night before, eat a good breakfast and attack projects with determination. Determination.

http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailsh...3/t_=504336023 click 'play slideshow'

This is how we do it in BR. Tag team is for the fishes.

edit: Link fixed.

**scap** · May 7th, 2009, 08:10 PM

Some of us take true pride in our jobs...

**scap** · May 7th, 2009, 08:22 PM

snapfish is pretty nice.

**scap** · May 7th, 2009, 09:32 PM

Link fixed.

**USIC1** · May 7th, 2009, 11:57 PM

Originally Posted by RD_Wrangler

Why do you think USIC likes the idea?

Hey, quit trying to dissect the real buzz of the matter...

As in maybe the other team player will cover any passive, radio, or inductive deficiencys....

**USIC1** · May 8th, 2009, 12:14 AM

Originally Posted by scap

Here's what I did today. It's 2.5 miles...I began at 6:40, and ended around 5pm... (Luckily, the locate didn't eek too far into my beer drinking time.)

The locate consisted of 311 photos. I weigh about 250lbs, if I didn't call another guy to help me on something this long,(in fact, I called the most hardcore motherfkr and ask him to bring me some flags after I was done hehe) no reason anyone else should have to, unless you have a fake leg or something. Learn how to control your body...I load up on carbs the night before, eat a good breakfast and attack projects with determination. Determination.

http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailsh...3/t_=504336023 click 'play slideshow'

This is how we do it in BR. Tag team is for the fishes.

edit: Link fixed.

As I took note of the speed marks, one little knick knack I have discovered over my vast years of expertise aka manipulation, is when speed/distance locating where time is of the essence, diagonals are a safe alternative to protect your limits-
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I know in some cases it may appear newb-ish but does create broader limits in case of a damage... You dont need to be as SLOW and PRECISE when when you buffer your marks implementing diagonals...

**Mke** · May 8th, 2009, 09:56 AM

So Scap.. What took longer? the locate or taking the pictures?

How are you guys suppposed to increase production when you have to take that many pics for a locate?

How has Taking pics benefited you guys?

In other words.... would you recomend taking pics, or not? Depending on the job of course.

mke

**Locateforlife** · May 8th, 2009, 02:25 PM

Originally Posted by Mke

So Scap.. What took longer? the locate or taking the pictures?

How are you guys suppposed to increase production when you have to take that many pics for a locate?

How has Taking pics benefited you guys?

In other words.... would you recomend taking pics, or not? Depending on the job of course.

mke

I know pictures may seem like a bunch of bull but I can tell you that from the liability aspect of our job the pictures have saved our company on ALOT of damages. The crew saying it was never marked, we show them the picture of the area before they removed the marks and their mouths are on the ground. To many times I have heard 'I didn't know you guys took pictures.'

NOW BACK ON SUBJECT;

Two man teams are not the answer. Quit your whinning and get to work.

**RD_Wrangler** · May 8th, 2009, 06:55 PM

Originally Posted by Locateforlife

NOW BACK ON SUBJECT;

Two man teams are not the answer. Quit your whinning and get to work.

Give that man a cigar!

**6feetunder** · May 8th, 2009, 07:46 PM

Yeah I don't know about the 2-man team thing but I do think things would be better off if the project work and single lot locates involved 2 separate departments and 2 separate pay scales. Rather than taking a flat rate on all tickets there should be a clearly defined definition of what constitues a project within the one-call system and there should be a separate rate the company gets paid depending on distance and amount of utilities in the scope. What has happened here is there is a flat rate and they figure everything evens out in the end, but what the utilities and one-call have done to lower their costs and take advantage of this contract is not only allow, but encourage contractors to call more staking in on one ticket rather than having multiple tickets. This hurts the contract locating companies not only on the revenue made but also creates more damages because the actual volume doesn't justify hiring, so you have not enough staff to maintain the projects properly and are pushed into ignoring the projects and doing the singles because that's where the money is. If you have everything separated you can have the newer and/or less reliable techs handle the easy single lots and pay them less and give the projects over to hard working tenured techs and pay them more money to prevent catastrophic damages that may cost the company 10's of thousands or more dollars. This would allow them to watchdog certiain projects and concentrate on the high profile and high risk jobs. At the end of the day it all comes down to having the proper amount of staff, but givin the current state of things it's hard to do.

**scap** · May 8th, 2009, 08:21 PM

Originally Posted by 6feetunder

give the projects over to hard working tenured techs and pay them more money to prevent catastrophic damages that may cost the company 10's of thousands or more dollars.

While I could write a long, drawn out post expressing my true feelings about what should be done about my project crew... and further touch base on what you just said....I'm not going to do it. Because, guys who fight the machine always lose, and I damn sure ain't gonna be that tomato can

I'm just gonna keep doing what I'm doing, and someone's bound to notice.

"I was born one mornin' when the sun didn't shine...I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine....."