Contractors
Working as a Contractor
Whether you are completing residential, commercial or infrastructure projects, requesting the correct type of locate and reviewing all responses before excavation begins is an important part of planning your work.
Avoid Risky Digs
Contacting Ontario Dig Authority before you dig helps protect your project from damage, injuries and potential administrative penalties. When you submit a locate request, Ontario Dig Authority notifies the buried infrastructure owners in your dig area. Each owner will either arrange to mark the underground lines, cables, pipes or wires they own, or confirm that their infrastructure is not affected by your excavation and provide clearance to dig. Requesting a locate is free and required by law.
Digging on the Job Site
Before work begins:
- Submit the appropriate locate request.
- Single Address Requests are completed within 5 business days.
- Advanced Requests (projects involving multiple addresses or larger work areas) are completed within 10 business days.
- Wait until all notified infrastructure owners have responded.
- Review the complete locate package with your crew and keep it available on site.
- Follow the written instructions provided by each buried infrastructure owners.
- If the scope or location of your work changes, submit a new locate request before continuing.
Following the locate process helps protect workers, underground infrastructure, and the communities where you work.
Complete Locate Package
A complete locate package is an important document that must be kept at the excavation site. It contains safety information to help protect your crew and support safe excavation. The package includes a confirmation page, responses from the buried infrastructure owners that were notified, and any other relevant information, such as emergency contacts to use if buried infrastructure is damaged, specific safety protocols and company best practices. All crew members must review the locate package before work begins and have access to it throughout the excavation.
Sharing Locates
If multiple people or organizations are performing excavation as part of the same project, locate information may be shared, provided all excavation activities fall within the same approved digging parameters. The easiest way to share locates is to include the additional excavator’s contact information when the locate request is submitted. If that isn’t possible, locate information may still be shared with another contractor by submitting a share a locate request, provided the work being performed matches the scope and limits of the original locate request.
Sharing locates appropriately can help reduce duplicate locate requests and improve efficiency while ensuring all excavators have the information they need to dig safely.
Alternate Locate Agreements, System Filters and Suppressions
In some cases, pre-arranged processes may be available to help streamline locate requests for specific types of low-risk excavation work.
These may include Alternate Locate Agreements, System Filters, or Suppressions. These processes are established in advance between the excavator, Underground Infrastructure Owner, and Ontario Dig Authority, and may help reduce unnecessary field locates or duplicate notifications where the work has been reviewed and determined to be low risk.
These arrangements must be in place before excavation begins and only apply to approved work activities or project conditions.
For more information, contact us.
Design & Planning Requests
A Design & Planning Request provides available records of buried infrastructure to support project planning, design, estimating, and coordination before construction begins.
Please note:
- Design & Planning Requests are for planning purposes only and do not provide valid locate paperwork or authorize excavation.
- Before any excavation begins, you must submit a Locate Request.
- Participation by Infrastructure Owners is voluntary and not required under the Ontario Underground Infrastructure Notification System Act, 2012. Infrastructure Owners that do not participate may need to be contacted directly for planning information.