DIRT Report

2022 Individual Damage Root Causes

As has been noted in past DIRT Reports, the top six root causes have been consistent year-over-year and also represent the vast majority of all damages, making these key targets for reductions. These consistent top individual root causes will be discussed in more depth in the next section of the Report.

Minor Fluctuations in Root Cause Groups Reflect Increase in Excavator Submissions

The slight changes in root cause groups over time can be explained by expanded excavator reporting. Locating practices root causes edge up while the no locate request root cause declines in the three-year comparable dataset. This trend strengthens when examining the full 2022 dataset, which includes newer excavator reporters not yet meeting the three-year threshold of the comparable dataset. With excavators identifying locating issues in most of their reports, their inclusion pulls locating practices higher compared to the consistent reporting set. This may not mean there has been a increase in locating issues, but rather more balanced stakeholder data. Still, it underscores collective responsibility across the process.

The Liability Trap: Catch-All Root Causes

In order to start driving down damages, where should we look? First, we should understand that some of the top individual root causes are essentially catch-alls for their respective root cause groups. Many facility operators and contract locators base their DIRT root cause selections on information they collect to support repair claims (determining who is billed for repair costs). Regulatory agencies use code enforcement data (determining who is penalized for a rule violation). These catch-all buckets may adequately serve those purposes. However, they often mask more complex root causes that must be addressed in order to reduce damages. The following sections discuss how this phenomenon can play out within the major root cause groups.

No Locate Request

"No locate request" stands as its own group, consistently the top root cause and responsible for 25% of 2022 damages. Without contacting 811, the damage prevention process fails from the start. No-notification damages can mask other underlying issues:

• Expired or invalid tickets may be checked only superficially before assigning no notification. Issues like work area deviations or mismarks may go unaddressed.
• When marks are inaccurate, lack of a valid ticket might support repair bills and penalties, but the mismark is the true root cause of the damage.

If excavators fail to pothole/maintain clearance while also not having a valid ticket (e.g., expired or “piggy-backing”), the damage may be recorded as no notification rather than an excavation practice.

Excavation Practices

The excavation practices root cause group made up 33% of damages with a known root cause in the 2022 full dataset. The majority (59%) of damages in this group point specifically to failure to maintain clearance and/or failure to pothole. These individual root causes are combined in our analysis because they are closely related, often selected interchangeably in damage investigations and involve safe excavation within the tolerance zone. The leading types of work when failure to maintain clearance or failure to pothole are the root cause are: telecommunication, water, sewer, natural gas and electric.

In the top six individual root causes table, failure to maintain clearance and failure to pothole were numbers three and six respectively. Improper excavation (practice not listed elsewhere) was number five, and one of the “catch-alls” referred to earlier. As seen in the following graph, improper excavation typically makes up a quarter to a third of this root cause group (comparable dataset, 2020-2022). It likely includes some events that in reality are failure to pothole or maintain clearance, but the root cause investigation did not delve deep enough to reveal it. Excavator failed to protect/shore/support facilities is also fairly high on the individual root cause list at number seven, and likely makes up a portion of improper excavation.

Locating Practices

About two-thirds of damages attributed to locating practices specify locator error as the primary root cause. Indeed, they are numbers two and four on the top six list. Additional follow-up has shown locator error is often selected when a more specific root cause is not collected. For example, an excavator may only know that marks are inaccurate. A locator or facility operator may be better able to determine if it was a mapping, tracer wire or abandoned facility issue by reviewing maps or records the excavator does not have access to, and/or by reconstructing the markout process used for the original marks.

Invalid Use of Request

Invalid use of 811 requests accounted for 6% of damages with a known root cause in the full 2022 data set. About two-thirds resulted from digging on expired tickets or outside stated work areas. As with the other root cause groups, the comparable dataset largely shows consistency in invalid use of request damages from 2020-2022. These incidents stem not from a lack of 811 awareness, but from excavators’ mistaken or incomplete understanding of regulations governing the process.

CGA’s new video series, "Tips for Effective Use of 811," educates excavators on the proper use of the system. Clear communication and understanding of process requirements are critical for excavators to avoid misusing 811.