Damage Prevention Training
Others are counting on you.
A Responsibility You Carry Before Work Begins
Damage to buried infrastructure rarely happens because people intend to do unsafe work. It happens because risks are misunderstood, limitations are ignored, or critical information is missing before ground disturbance begins.
Every cut, bore, trench, or penetration carries consequences that extend beyond the jobsite. Crews, property owners, utility companies[, and the public are all affected when buried facilities are damaged. In many cases, those risks could have been reduced or avoided through better awareness, clearer roles, and a realistic understanding of what locating can and cannot confirm.
Damage prevention training exists to close that gap. Not by memorizing rules, but by helping people recognize real-world hazards, understand locate limitations, and make informed decisions before work starts.
At Know Before You Dig Locates, our training is grounded in decades of field experience investigating damages, performing public and private locates, and reviewing incidents where assumptions led to serious consequences. Our goal is simple: help people understand what lies below, what remains uncertain, and how to manage risk responsibly before it becomes an incident.
KNOW Before You Dig Training
We want our clients to understand buried infrastructure and damage prevention at the same level we do.
In partnership with Own Your Safety, we provide access to the Know Before You Dig training program, designed to give participants a clear, practical understanding of buried infrastructure awareness and risk management before ground disturbance begins.
This training focuses on how locating really works in the field, including the differences between public and private locates, common limitations, and the role each party plays in preventing damage. The goal is not compliance for the sake of compliance, but informed decision making based on real conditions.
Because public locate systems, pipeline operators, and regulatory frameworks vary by region, we also encourage clients to seek out additional public locate and damage prevention training available in their local jurisdiction. Many regions offer training specific to their One Call system, pipeline operators, and public infrastructure management practices. Understanding how public locates are handled where you work is an important part of overall risk awareness.
When combined, regional public locate training and private property focused training provide a more complete picture of underground risk and responsibility.
Topics covered in Know Before You Dig training include:
-
Consequences, risk, and shared responsibility in ground disturbance
-
Roles and communication between owners, locators, and contractors
-
Legislation, standards, guidelines, and best practices
-
Identifying buried facility structures and appurtenances
-
Public locates versus private locates
-
Locate technologies and how to respect ground markings
This approach helps ensure crews are not just relying on markings, but understand what those markings represent and where uncertainty still exists.
Tailored Learning Sessions
If there is a specific topic you want addressed related to damage prevention and buried facilities, or if you prefer focused group or in-class training, we can tailor learning sessions to meet your needs.
Our virtual and in-person learning sessions can be structured around your operations, project risks, and experience level. Sessions can be delivered remotely and are flexible in length, making them suitable for small teams or larger groups across multiple locations.
These sessions are designed to move beyond theory and focus on real-world conditions, decision making, and risk awareness encountered during ground disturbance work.
Whether you want to review past incidents, reinforce best practices, or supplement online training with focused discussion, these sessions are designed to support safer planning and better decision making before work begins.
Some topics commonly covered include:
-
Private locate hidden hazards and limitations
-
Geophysics applications for GPR, EM61, and EM31
-
Sewer locate challenges and practical solutions
-
Managing public and private locate limitations
-
Safely working near unlocatable or unidentified facilities
-
Interior versus exterior locating considerations
-
Working within easements on private property
-
Rules and expectations for ground disturbance near buried infrastructure
-
How to perform and document a damage investigation
-
Lessons learned from real incidents
-
Roles and responsibility following a facility strike
-
Underground storage tank locating limitations
-
Any topic related to utility infrastructure awareness and risk management