|
 |
| Understanding the Tolerance Zone |
|
| Everyone’s resources have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. You can help prevent locate delays by pre-marking your proposed dig area in white and notifying 811 of your planned excavation with as much lead time as is possible: 20 days in Indiana. To learn more about NIPSCO’s response to COVID-19, click here. |
|
|
| The tolerance zone is a safety area that spans the width of a marked underground utility plus a specified distance from each indicated outside edge of the utility. This specified distance is 24 inches in Indiana. |
|
|
|
| Some states require you to first hand dig to expose and visually verify the precise location of all marked utilities before power digging or using mechanized equipment in the tolerance zone. Other states do not allow any mechanized equipment or power digging within the tolerance zone; only hand digging or other non-intrusive methods are permitted. It is the excavator’s responsibility to know and follow the requirements in their state. Always contact your state 811 center before digging and for the most current requirements. |
| Dig with Care |
| When digging in the tolerance zone, use these nondestructive methods: |
| • |
Hand dig with a rounded or blunt shovel. Never use a pickaxe or pointed spade, and never stomp on a shovel with both feet. That’s a sure way to damage a utility line. |
|
| • |
Start your digging off to the side of the marked utility line. Use a gentle, prying motion to break away soil as you approach the utility laterally. |
|
| • |
Never pry against a utility line to remove soil. |
|
| • |
Vacuum excavation. This method uses suction and water to quickly and safely remove soil. Be mindful of water pressure; use lower pressure and tips with multiple nozzles. |
|
|
| Proceed with Caution |
| Take all necessary precautions to protect buried utilities from damage. Always expose buried utilities to verify their location before power digging in or near the tolerance zone. Once exposed, proceed with extreme caution. Power-digging equipment can damage an underground utility in no time. Even hand digging can compromise buried utilities by removing supporting soil, scraping protective coating, or nicking or denting conduit or pipe. |
| Would You Like to Know More? |
| Additional utility safety tips, case studies, instructional videos and training tools can all be found, at no charge to you, on NIPSCO's e-SMARTworkers website. |
|
