Stakeholders at Underground Safety Board workshop urge better training, coordination to cut utility-dig incidents

At a workshop convened by the California Underground Safety Board in Sacramento, contractors, utilities and locate companies outlined gaps in excavation safety that they say lead to routine underground utility damage and near misses.

The discussion centered on what participants called the chief causes of damage—failure to contact 811, inaccurate or incomplete marks, locator staffing shortages and confusion around abandoned or unclaimed lines—and on ways state and industry stakeholders can coordinate training and outreach to reduce risk.

The issue matters because excavation strikes can cause service outages, lengthy project delays and safety risks. Todd Weinstein, representing the Southern California Contractors Association, said “the number 1 issue is failure to contact 811,” and several speakers called for training and public outreach that targets not only professional contractors but landscapers, homeowners and smaller firms who frequently do not call 811.

Participants agreed the nationally cited top causes in the Common Ground Alliance’s DIG report mirrored California experience but that the state also faces local variants. Michael Wurster of USIC, a locating company, said locator technician shortages and…