Call 811 before you dig

Say this

1. Call 811 before any digging, even post holes.
2. Wait for every utility to mark or clear.
3. Red is power, yellow is gas, orange is communication, blue is water, green is sewer.
4. Hand dig or vac inside the tolerance zone.
5. Marks gone or ticket expired? Call again.

Ask the crew

• Where on this site today does "call 811 before you dig" matter most?
• What would you do first if it went wrong?
• Who do you tell, and how?

Hazards on today's tasks

• Utility locate (call 811): Gas line strike: fire, explosion
• Utility locate (call 811): Electric line strike: shock, arc flash
• Utility locate (call 811): Water main or sewer break flooding the hole
• Fencing and post driving: Utility strike from post holes and driven posts
• Fencing and post driving: Head and shoulder injuries from manual post drivers
• Fencing and post driving: Auger kickback twisting the operator

How to give it

Hold it where the work is, at the start of the shift, standing up. Read each point out loud, then point at the real thing on this site: the trench, the ladder, the machine, the cord. Ask the questions and wait for answers; the quiet ones often know the most. Keep it to about 5 minutes so it gets done every day.

Write down anything the crew raises and fix it before the work starts. Everyone signs, including subs and visitors working that shift. Keep the signed sheet with the day's JHA; it's your record that the training happened (29 CFR 1926.651(b), and 29 CFR 1926.21(b)(2)).

Sign-in

Goes with the JHA for utility locate (call 811), fencing and post driving.