Category: Best Practices
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Safe Farm Excavation
Gopher State One Call – Connecting Minnesota for Safe Digging. Excavation on the farm can be dangerous work. Hitting or damaging an underground gas or electric line can lead to potentially fatal results along with loss of property such as equipment and buildings. There are over 68,000 miles of pipelines in Minnesota carrying gas and…
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CenturyLink Q&A provided to GSOC
Many excavators have been affected by CenturyLink Inc.’s transition to a new locating company to mark the location of CenturyLink underground facilities in Minnesota as of April 1, 2019. CenturyLink has provided Gopher State One Call with the following list of questions and answers from an excavator’s forum teleconference hosted by CenturyLink on May 6,…
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Be on the Lookout for Private Facilities
Private underground facilities, also called customer-owned facilities, may be found anywhere, including your excavation site. Chapter 216D requires operators of lines buried in the public right-of-way to register with Gopher State One Call (GSOC), so these lines will be marked as the result of a locate request. Privately-owned facilities, like utility lines that serve heaters…
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National Safe Digging Month & Spring Safe Digging Reminders
Photo Credit: call811.com Spring is here, and with it comes the busy excavation season! That’s why April is National Safe Digging Month (NSDM), an entire month dedicated to educating the public about excavation safety. During NSDM, the underground damage prevention industry focuses on reminding the public about the important role they play in protecting the…
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I’ve Damaged a Utility Line. Now What?
MN State Statue 216D defines “damage” as any impact to an underground facility. MN law requires that if damage occurs to an underground facility or its protective coating, the excavator shall promptly notify the affected facility operator. Only the facility operator is qualified to determine if damage requiring repair has in fact occurred. Excavators are…
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GSOC Meet Tickets
What is a meet ticket and when should you file one with Gopher State One Call (GSOC)? Excavators can file meet tickets with GSOC to request an on-site meeting with facility operators at the proposed excavation site to clarify the precise location of excavation, schedule locating, propose future contacts, and/or share other information concerning the…
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Excavation Entities: Defining the Work Area
What is an excavation entity and why should you care? If you’re an ITIC user, creating the excavation entity that identifies your work area is one of the single most important things you do when submitting a ticket. Let’s find out why. An excavation entity is the parcel, circle, route, feature, shapefile, or free-hand/GPS-generated polygon…
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Private Facilities: Are They On Your Property?
Private underground facilities, also called customer-owned facilities, may be found anywhere, including your excavation site. Chapter 216D requires operators of lines buried in the public right-of-way to register with Gopher State One Call (GSOC), so these lines will be marked as the result of a locate request. Privately-owned facilities, like utility lines that serve heaters…
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Utility Markings in Snow
Photo Credit: Dig Safe Canada After filing a locate request with Gopher State One Call (GSOC), we notify the facility operators who have asked to receive requests for locates in the proposed excavation area. These facility operators dispatch locators to the site who mark the location of utilities with different colored paint or flags that…
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Winter Safety Tips
Gopher State One Call (GSOC) consistently strives to promote the message of safety to all Minnesotans. Winter often brings severe storms and frigid temperatures. Stay safe and healthy by planning ahead. No matter how many Minnesota winters you’ve endured, keeping these important tips in mind will help you get safely through this winter: