Workshop reviews electronic positive response codes, seeks clearer communication between operators and excavators

The Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety convened a workshop in Sacramento to gather feedback from utility operators, excavators and one-call center representatives on electronic positive response (EPR) codes used to communicate locate status under the DigSafe Act, Office policy analyst Henry Salim said.

The workshop focused on whether current EPR codes clearly tell excavators when it is safe to begin work, how internal utility ticketing systems map to standard EPR codes, and whether proposed removals and revisions to the code list improve field communication. Stakeholders said mapping mismatches, removed codes that formerly flagged safety or field-meet needs, inaccurate contact information on tickets and the absence of a timely dispute mechanism are common problems that delay work and sometimes create unsafe conditions.

"The term that I'm hearing nationally is what they're calling excavation readiness," said James Wingate of USA North 811, describing a proposed metric that would show whether a ticket is ready to be excavated compared with its legal start date. "How long until…