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SouthCarolina811
Call Before You Dig User Manual
Call or Click Before You Dig
Portal web ticket (10/16/13)
Table of Contents
Introduction
SC811 Vision Statement
SC811 Mission Statement
Portal Signing up
Fill out all fields
Additional information for entering a web locate notice
The Call
Why should I call 811 before every dig
How much does it cost
When can I call
Wait the Required Time
Call Time Line
SC811 Holidays
What happens after the Call
How long does a Member have to respond to the request
How do the utilities mark their lines
What do the colors mean
How long are the markings good for
SC811 Member Utility Companies
Some Common Causes of Damages
SC811 Web Notice Types
Information for entering Web Update Notices
How to White-Lining Your Next Project
Legal Matters
Link to the South Carolina State Law
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Introduction
This manual has been written for the one time or infrequent user. It is intended to be a
reference tool for interacting with SC811 Call Before You Dig Center (by the website or
via telephone call). It does not take the place of the South Carolina State law. Keep this
manual on hand for future references when questions or issues arise. Familiarity with
the contents of this manual will be of great value.
Please feel free, and we encourage you, to distribute this manual to anyone associated
with the damage prevention process.
SC811 Vision Statement: To be South Carolina’s foremost damage prevention
notification resource.
SC811 Mission Statement: To provide excellence in damage prevention notification
services to our member utilities, excavators, and the public.
How will SC811’s strive to accomplish its “Vision” and “Mission”?
By:
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Notifying our members of construction activities in their areas
Ensuring notice quality and call center reliability
Providing excellent customer service
Implementing effective best practices
Maintaining highly motivated, skilled employees
Increasing the public’s damage prevention awareness
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Portal Signing up
Each user will now need to sign up by creating a username and password.
Once you are signed up then log in.
Depending on what you would like to do there are different views.
To Submit a Ticket
Click on the Submit Ticket button at the top. Verify all information on the left side of the
view panel.
If any information is incorrect please
click the update information button at
the bottom and make the necessary
changes.
Once the information has been
verified then enter the
information of where the
excavation work will take place.
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Fill out all fields
Remember the information you provide is for where your excavation work will take
place.
Work Type: Description of work
Select from the drop down box the type of excavation that will take place (water line,
installing a swimming pool, landscaping, electric power pole replacement).
Done By: Who is the work being done by
Who will be onsite doing the actual excavation work. This field is for the name of the
company or person doing the excavation specified in the "Work Type" field on the
Notice. It is important that this information is entered correctly, especially if the digging
work will be done by someone other than the company given in the "Company" field on
the Notice. The company or person given in the "Done By" field is covered on the Notice
for the type of excavation work that is given in the "Work Type" field.
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Duration: How long will the work take in hours, days, or week?
How long will the excavation portion of the job take?
4 Questions
If the answer to any of these questions is Yes, place a check mark in the box to the left.
1 - Will there be explosives used on the site?
2 - Has the dig site been Premarked? (Premark is marking the exact lotion with white
flags, stakes or paint.)
3 - Will there be any drilling or boring?
4 - Is the excavation site near a railroad?
Subdivision:
Will the excavation take place in a Subdivision, if so, place the name of the subdivision
in the box.
Done For: Who is the work being done for:
If the excavation work is being completed for another company, state the name of this
company in the box.
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Addr In Instr:
Will there be more than one address for this excavation location? If so, please a check in
the box. The actual addresses will need to be entered in the Instructions box and not the
address box.
State:
This will always be SC for South Carolina.
County: Select a county…
Select from the drop down list the county the excavation work will take place in.
Place:
Select from the drop down list the city, town or community the excavation work will take
place or type in your place if it’s not one of the selections.
This field will be greyed out until the county has been selected.
Once county has been selected the Place: field is now editable.
Address:
Enter the house number of the excavation site, remember if there is more than one this
field is left blank and the house numbers are entered into the Instructions box. Only 5
addresses per locate request and they must be side by side on the same street; same
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with apartment numbers, buildings and lots. (Example Lots 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 on Any Street;
these lots are side by side on the same street)
Prefix:
This is the direction in the name of the street the excavation is taking place on.
For example: N Main St, N would be placed in this field.
Street Name:
This is the road name the excavation work is taking place on. If the work is not taking
place at an address or on a road, unknown will be placed in this field with a very detailed
description typed in the Instructions box (Example: this is for a power line right of way
starting 500ft off the edge of State St traveling northeast for 700ft from intersecting
street).
Type:
This is the road name type some examples are ST, DR, AVE and CT.
For example: N Main St, St would be placed in this field.
Suffix
This is the direction in the name of the street the excavation is taking place on.
For example: HWY 21 S, S would be placed in this field.
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Intersection: Nearest cross street
Enter cross or intersecting streets, if possible within a quarter of a mile from the
excavation site.
Directions:
Enter the directions to the excavation site. This is normally from a main road or
highway. Remember: it’s helpful to provide 2 additional cross streets and directions to
the excavation site.
Instructions:
Enter the information as to where the underground facility lines need to be located.
Examples: Locate the entire property and both sides of the road for a possible road
bore; At the intersections of Happy St and Apple Rd, locate 50ft in all directions and
both sides of the road.; start at the intersections of Dutch Square Blvd and Bush River
Rd going north mark both sides of the street for 1000ft
If the area has been marked in white paint, flagged or staked, you must explain where
these marking are located on the property. For example: There is a red stake in the
back yard near the property line, locate 30ft in all directions of this stake.
Abbreviating Street/Road Names: All street and road names must be spelled out in their
entirety. Street and road names are not to be abbreviated due to the abbreviation
interpretations can vary.
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Latitude:
If known, enter the latitude of the work site location. Latitude values should be entered
the decimal degree format.
Longitude:
If known, enter the longitude of the work site location. Longitude values should be
entered the decimal degree format.
Verify all information is correct and then click the submit button.
Once the button has been click the follow pop-up appears.
Click yes if you would like to enter a new locate notice and no if you are finished.
When you have competed entering your locate notice remember to log out.
Once the center has processed your locate notice, an email copy will be sent with all the
needed information, including the locate notice number, work date and time, update and
good through dates.
SC811 Member Utility Companies
Please click the link below to view a list of SC811’s member utilities.
http://www.sc1pups.org/Excavators/memberslist.aspx
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Additional information for entering a web locate notice
Distance: No more than a distance of 1320 feet (a quarter of a mile) should be put on
one locate notice. If the distance is more than 1320 feet, this will require more than one
locate notice according to the distance. (Example: a 4000ft of area would require 4
Notices, etc.)
Corner Lot:
Easements/Right of ways: For request giving an address and easement or right of
way to be marked requires 2 locate notices, one for the address and one for the
easement/right of way. A locate notice to have an easement/right of way to be marked
going down more than one street, requires a separate locate notice to be issued for each
street. The street that the easement/right of way is off of will go in the street field.
(Example: in the easement between Devine Street and Blossom Street; when enter one
road in the Street Field, other road in the Intersecting Road Field and put marking
instructions in the Where on Worksite Do Lines Need to be Marked?)
Intersections: A request to have an intersection located requires only one locate notice
when the work is being done at the intersection alone and does not continue down any
of the streets or if the caller requests a 50 feet radius of the entire intersection.
(Example: Mark complete inters; 50ft radius of the entire intersection; or north side of
the intersection, etc.)
Locates involving 2 or more streets: A locate request for a location that has
distance going down two (2) or more streets intersecting or joining together requires a
separate locate notice for each street on which work will be done. Each locate notice
must include a starting and stopping point.
The street on which the work will be done goes in the SITE STREET NAME field and the
streets the work will be going from and to in the NEAREST INTERSECTING STREET
field. Example: Excavation work will be going down south side of Main Street from
Elm Street to Pine Street and going down the west side of Pine Street from Main Street
to First Avenue.
On the first locate notice put "Main Street" in the SITE STREET NAME field and "Elm
Street and Pine Street" in the NEAREST INTERSECTING STREET field; in the WHERE ON
WORKSITE DO LINES NEED TO BE MARKED? field put the marking instructions "Mark on
the south side of Main Street from Elm Street to Pine Street".
On the second locate notice follow the same procedures in entering the information for
Pine Street.
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The Call
When calling into SC811, the One Call Agent will ask you a series of questions
concerning the dig site. The following questions were designed to comply with the South
Carolina State law as well as input from our members, in order to provide enough
information to correctly locate the underground facilities.
Information you need to know before you call:
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County
Place (City or Township)
Location of work -- Street Address or road the work will be on
2 Intersecting Streets/Roads
Distance From Intersection/Direction
Give directions to the site.
Where will the work take place (front yard, back yard, entire property)
Type of Work
Will there be any drilling, boring or blasting?
Is this near a railroad?
Will the area be white-lined?
Caller's Name, address, phone and the company they are with
Contractor/Contact Number
Contact Person/Additional Information
At the end of your call you will be given a Notice number. This will be your reference
number and the proof of your call. You will also be given a list of the MEMBER utilities
that will be notified of your request. Not all utilities are members with our service. You
will be responsible for notifying any non-members that may be in that area.
Why should I call 811 before every dig?
Don't gamble with your safety — if you're a professional excavator or a homeowner,
smart digging always requires a call to 811. Knowing where underground utility lines are
buried before you dig will help protect you from injury and prevent damages to utilities,
service disruptions and potential fines and repair costs. Whether you're planting a tree
or shrub, or installing a deck or pool, every job requires a call—Even if you've called
before for a similar project. The depth of utility lines varies, and there may be multiple
utility lines in one common area. Marked lines show you the approximate location of
underground lines and help prevent undesired consequences such as injury, service
disruptions to an entire neighborhood, or costly fines and repair costs. It’s the law.
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How much does it cost?
SC811’s service is FREE to anyone digging.
When can I call?
SC811 is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm. Web Notices may be
entered 7 days a week, 24 hours a day (will only be processed during these hours). The
toll free number is (888) 721-7877 or 811 (the national call before you dig number).
Wait the Required Time
Each excavator is required to provide no less than three (3) full working days (not
including the day of the call), not more than 12 working days prior to excavation work.
This will exclude weekends and Holidays. (Holidays are located in this manual.)
Call Time Line
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SC811 Holidays
2014 Holidays
January 1 (Wednesday) New Year's Day
January 20 (Monday) Martin Luther King Jr’s Birthday
February 17 (Monday) President's Day**
May 9 (Friday) Confederate Memorial Day**
May 26 (Monday) Memorial Day
July 4 (Friday) Independence Day
September 1 (Monday) Labor Day
November 11 (Monday) Veteran's Day
November 27 (Thursday) Thanksgiving Day
November 28 (Friday) Thanksgiving Day Holiday
December 24 (Wednesday) Christmas Eve
December 25 (Thursday) Christmas Day
December 26 (Friday) Day After Christmas**
**This is a legal holiday, SC811 will be open, the 3 full working days notice will be
calculated from the next business day
What happens after the Call?
After the notice has been created, it is forwarded to all SC811 member utility companies
or their representatives in the area of the dig site. SC811 maps every locate request so
that only the Members who are in the dig site area receive the request. Underground
facility owners mark the locations of facilities at the excavation site, which they
maintain.
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How long does a Member have to respond to the request?
In most cases, members have 3 full working days (not including the day of the call) to
respond to the locate request. However, there are other types of priority locate
requests, such as Emergencies. It is at the discretion of the member as to how soon
they will locate the lines on emergency notices.
Note: “Working Day” means from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every day except Saturday,
Sunday, and South Carolina legal holidays.
Benefits of Locating Line Before You Dig
Calling before you dig will prevent costly repairs to damaged lines, pipes, etc., delays in
construction, wasted crew time and personal injury or property damage.
How do the utilities mark their lines?
Utilities may use paint, flags or other kinds of markings, but they should all mark
according to the APWA uniform color code.
What do the colors mean?
SC811 member utilities mark only the underground utility lines they maintain. For
example, water and sewer companies only mark their lines they install and maintain up
to their meter or taps.
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How long are the markings good for?
The Notice will be good for 15 working days from the date of the 3 full working days
notice (not including the day of the call). It will need to be updated on the 12th working
day if the work will take longer than 15 working days.
SC811 Member Utility Companies
Please click the link below to view a list of SC811’s member utilities in the county your
excavation work will take place: http://www.sc1pups.org/excavators/memberslist.aspx
Some common Causes of Damages
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Working without a locate request.
Working outside the area described on the locate request.
Beginning excavation before the 72 hour notice (date and time).
Beginning work before the member utilities have been on site to locate lines.
Assuming the depth of a facility.
Assuming that the approximate location marks are exactly accurate and digging
right up to the paint marks or flags.
SC811 Web Notice Types:
Normal - This is a locate request taken in a normal routine. 3 full working days notice
(not including the day of the call); if more than 3 full working days notice (not including
the day of the call) is requested, it can be scheduled up to 12 full working days in
advance and will expire in 15 full working days from the date it is scheduled.
Updates - Updates are to be used for people whose digging work will last longer than
15 full working days and the work has already started or is in progress. An update will
keep markings visible for the job duration. An update does not change ANY information
on the original locate notice. If any information needs to be changed a new notice must
be entered.
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Information for entering Web Update Notices
Locate notices are only good for 15 working days and need to be renewed on the 12th
working day if the job will not be completed by the 15th working day.
Excavators can enter update locate notice request via the website 24 hours a day. An
email confirmation will be sent back to the email address entered on the website.
To update a locate notice online the following is needed:
You will need to be the person that typed in the original locate notice, have the ticket
number. Nothing can be changed on the original locate notice. If anything needs to be
changed a new notice will need to be entered.
Enter the ticket number
Click the update button at the top of the screen and the locate notice will be processed
right then. It will email a copy to the original email address on the locate notice and
provide the locate notice number at this time.
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How to White-Line Your Next Project
White lining is a very effective way of communicating an intended dig area. In many
cases, meetings at proposed dig sites are deemed unnecessary when white lining is
employed. Whether the job is large or small, white lining eliminates assumptions and
digging delays, which saves time and money for all parties involved.
Please refer to these guidelines when white-lining a digging project. This will help insure
consistency and avoid confusion on future projects.
I. Notification
When calling in the locate request, advise the SC811 operator that white-lining will be in
place prior to the due date of the locate request.
II. Marking Method
Outline the entire area with white paint. Use 2” x 12” strips every 10 feet.
Draw an arrow at the starting point of the job pointing toward the end of the job. In the
middle, draw an arrow pointing both directions. At the end of the job, place an arrow
pointing toward the beginning of the job. (This would be for digging in a straight line. If
curved, the white paint should show the curve with arrows in both directions)
Use either white flags or stakes with white ribbon if the intended digging area is sandy.
Sandy soil will not support paint during construction.
If utility poles are being replaced, the old pole should be marked with an “X”, and the
intended area for the replacement pole should be marked with a circle.
When marking water leaks, signposts, tapping point for water/sewer, etc., also mark
with a circle.
III. Restrictions
No white paint should be sprayed on pavement that may interfere with traffic or
pedestrian movement.
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Legal Matters
SC811 maintains a record of all locate voice recordings and locate requests for a
maximum of three (3) years. Assistance is available in providing copies of these Notices
in the case of a dispute, which may involve a fee in record retrieval.
SC811 has various methods of searching for these locate Notices. The best method is by
Notice number. Notices can also be searched by telephone, company name and work
address, but the process is more difficult. The more information provided, the quicker
the proper Notice can be found.
South Carolina State Law also known as South Carolina Underground Facility Damage
Prevention Act
Please click the link below to view our web page for a copy of the state law.
http://www.sc1pups.org/SCStateLaw.aspx
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