“Have the facilities been marked?” “Does the locator need to meet with the contractor or are there no facilities in the proposed area of excavation?” Positive response automatically closes the communication loop and answers these questions (and more) on a locate request. We asked Gopher State One Call’s general manager Kim Boyd a few questions about positive response and what makes it such an important feature for excavators and locators.
Why is positive response important? Why is it called that?
Positive response is a way for excavators to know how and when a facility operator has responded to their locate request prior to excavation. The electronic positive response system allows excavators to view the positive response before heading out to a site.
Remember that under Minnesota Law an underground facility operator can respond to a ticket in several ways. First, the underground facility operator may either mark the underground facilities in the field or place a Clear/No Conflict flags in the field. Alternatively, the underground facility operator may respond through the GSOC positive response system.
How does participation in positive response help to improve excavator safety?
Facility operators can provide a positive response status such as Marked or Clear/No Conflict on their GSOC ticket. Excavators use the positive response system to see which facility operators have responded prior to going to a jobsite. The positive response system is another form of communication between the excavator and the facility operator.
How do I use positive response?
As a facility operator, GSOC offers a FREE ticket management system (Locator Ticket Management) that can be used to provide positive response status on locate tickets. If you are interested in a demo for the ticket management system, or would like to get setup, please reach out to our Database Department at 877-848-7472 or imap@gopherstateonecall.org.
If you’re an excavator, you can view the electronic positive response through the email copy of the ticket you received after processing your locate request or by using the Search feature on the GSOC website.
How do I see my positive response history?
When viewing your ticket through any online GSOC portal (link on ticket, ticket search on website, ETM/My Tickets) there is a Status History button in the Facility Operators Notified section (to the right of the phone numbers). This button will show you time stamps for all positive response actions that have occurred on your ticket.