One connected approach to safer digging

An excavation inquiry starts the formal safe-digging process, providing information about where work is planned so the relevant underground asset owners can be identified.

Why it matters

Accurate inquiries give the organizations responsible for underground infrastructure the information they need to understand the proposed work and determine what needs to happen next.

Who’s involved

Once an inquiry is received, the affected asset owners need to be identified and notified so they can assess the proposed excavation.
811 and Before You Dig services provide an important connection between the people planning the work and the organizations responsible for protecting underground infrastructure.

Why it matters

Getting accurate information to the right organizations at the right time helps keep the process moving and gives asset owners the opportunity to respond appropriately.

Who’s involved

Once an asset owner receives an excavation inquiry, it needs to assess the request and determine the appropriate response.

For organizations managing frequent inquiry volumes, that can mean balancing response timeframes, manual workload, risk and the need to provide accurate, consistent information.

Why it matters

Not every inquiry requires the same response. Better screening and response workflows help teams keep appropriate requests moving while focusing human attention where it’s needed.

Who’s involved

Some excavation work requires underground infrastructure to be physically located and verified before work can proceed.

That creates its own operational workflow, from receiving and assigning tickets through to field completion, reporting and the information returned from the site.

Why it matters

Better visibility across locate operations helps teams manage workloads, coordinate field activity and capture the information needed to support safer excavation.

Who’s involved

This is the point everything upstream has been working towards.

When excavation begins, teams need access to the plans, responses, locate information and site knowledge gathered throughout the earlier stages of the process.

Why it matters

Information only creates value when it helps people make better decisions where the work is happening. Better preparation and coordination give teams greater confidence as they work around underground infrastructure.

Who’s involved

How PelicanCorp supports this stage

The technology and workflows across the earlier stages help get the right information into the process before ground is broken. The outcome they’re all working towards is safer, better-informed excavation.

What teams discover and record in the field can improve the information available for future work.

Capturing accurate field information and creating a reliable record helps valuable knowledge from the job become part of what happens next.

Why it matters

Better field data can support future planning, improve asset information and provide stronger evidence of what happened on site.

Who’s involved

The safe-digging lifecycle doesn’t end when excavation is complete.

Operational information, field data and damage records can help organizations understand what happened, identify patterns and find opportunities to improve future performance.

Why it matters

Learning from activity across the lifecycle helps organizations move beyond managing individual events and continually strengthen how they prevent damage.
Those insights can then inform future planning, creating a cycle of continuous improvement.

Who’s involved