The vast majority of buried utilities are privately owned; therefore, you need someone to scan for ALL underground utilities prior to digging or designing, which is NOT something Miss Utility “811” does. 811 also relies solely on their as-built drawings that can be and have proven to be documented improperly. 811 is about quantity not quality and has a two-foot margin of error on each side of their marks. This is quite large when it comes to thoroughness and accuracy. We guarantee our marks because we are dedicated to quality, thoroughness, accuracy, and safety.

811 was created specifically as a “Call Before You Dig” service. 811 is NOT a “call before you design” service and NOT to be relied upon for finding ALL underground utilities. Calling a private utility locating company will eliminate changes having to be made to project designs because of utilities missed during the design process. 811 also has a two-foot margin of error on each side of their marks, which is quite large when it comes to thoroughness and accuracy in design purposes. We guarantee our marks because we are dedicated to quality, thoroughness, accuracy, and safety.

811 is a free service and is not always sufficient prior to a ground disturbance, due to miss-marks or by not scanning for all other signals/utilities. You can’t ever be too safe by adding an extra layer of security by protecting underground utilities, you, and your company for a minuscule price versus having to pay for potential damages, project delays or other costly complications during your project. 811 also has a two-foot margin of error on each side of their marks, which is quite large when it comes to thoroughness and accuracy. We guarantee our marks because we are dedicated to quality, thoroughness, accuracy, and safety.

A ground distrubance is any activity that disturbs the ground within a project area. Some examples of ground disturbances are: digging, excavating, pounding stakes, fence posts, pounding T-post, silt fence, stripping topsoil, trenching, directional drilling, landscaping, blasting, tunneling, soil boring/testing, test-pitting, augering, plowing, asphalt milling, concrete jackhammering, leveling, backfilling, structure footing, sign installs, grading, construction, site development, and more.

Prior to any ground disturbances it is the client’s responsibility to always call 811 and follow their guidelines. Private utility locating companies, like Armor Utility Locating LLC, do not replace the 811-call required by law. Armor Utility Locating LLC is an extra layer of protection to the public utilities marked by Miss Utility, but more importantly is offering protection to ALL utilities by scanning for ALL utilities – public, private, abandoned, conduit, unknown, and more.

Public utilities are those which are owned by public sectors like your Electric, Water, and Gas Companies, etc. Public utilities are only marked up to the service meters/structures by Miss Utility. Private Utilities are those which are privately owned on private property like businesses, schools, hospitals, government, and airports, or utilities running from building to building, etc. Private utilities can be considered any utilities not marked by Miss Utility or those that Miss Utility refuses to mark.

For a small cost and time to eliminate potential safety hazards, utility damage, or worse and as an added layer of protection and security – yes, you should hire a private locator to perform a thorough scan over a lot that appears to be un-developed or is considered undeveloped. In the past, public and private companies would take advantage of these lots for future developments and did not properly document/as-built these utilities or they did not make record of these utilities at all.

The spray paint colors follow the APWA Utility Color Code:

*We use an “A” for “Armor” to distinguish our marks from other companies.

Armor Utility Locating LLC’s temporary utility markings expire 15 business days from the date marked or earlier if markings are compromised by site conditions and/or environmental conditions, whichever occurs first.

Most of the time sewer and storm drains are not locatable. If they are not locatable this is usually due to the material type and/or rubber insulators that are used where a metal-to metal contact is not present. Generally, by opening all manholes and arrowing off the direction of the pipes (providing a line of sight) is sufficient. If accuracy is needed, then Armor Utility Locating LLC can use their traceable duct rodder by inserting it into these lines to provide a more accurate and thorough mark for these utilities.

If there is access to these lines, Armor Utility Locating LLC can use their traceable duct rodder by inserting the rodder into the pipes and will then be able to locate these lines.

EM or Electromagnetic also known as RF or Radio Frequency locating equipment uses a transmitter and a receiver to generate a signal around the utility. The transmitter creates the signal and the receiver is able to pick up and read the signal.

Active Locating requires two pieces of equipment, the transmitter and receiver. This locating method is the preferred method for finding all underground utilities within an area. This includes direct connection (best and most accurate locating method), induction clamp, and induction (least accurate method). Induction should be used as a last resort when you can’t gain utility access points for direct connection/induction clamping or if those methods can’t be safely performed. Inductions are also used for scanning an area for any further signals within the area. Sometimes a combination of all three active locating methods is necessary for confirmation purposes. The combination of active locates and passive locates will ensure all utilities are found making for a safe dig site or completed design/survey project.

Passive Locating is also known as a Cable Avoidance Tool. This type of locating uses a single piece of equipment that has the capability to pick up the natural Power or Radio frequencies that radiate from underground utilities. This method is generally used as a secondary piece of equipment after active locates are performed to ensure all signals are found and marked or again for confirmation purposes. The combination of active locates and passive locates will ensure all utilities are found making for a safe dig site or completed design/survey project.

Utility Designating is finding the approximate horizontal location using electromagnetic/radiofrequency equipment. Utility Locating is finding the precise horizontal and vertical location of utilities by way of uncovering or exposing them through several different methods. One method of uncovering utilities is through non-destructive vacuum excavation, which is a service that Armor Utility Locating LLC provides. These terms are often used interchangeably within the industry, however they technically mean something very different.

Subsurface Utility Engineering, also referred to as S.U.E., is a branch of civil engineering practice as defined by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Standard 38-02, which is the “Standard Guideline for the Collection and Depiction of Existing Subsurface Utility Data”. ASCE Standard 38-02 outlines a system for classifying the quality of the existing subsurface utility data, which includes four quality levels of data collection:  Quality Levels A, B, C, and D. Armor Utility Locating LLC provides all four quality levels of utility data as described in our services page.