07/11/2026
First thing that happens on our job sites when we arrive is getting a good lay of the land and seeing what we are up against.
We walk the entire area to verify and document the existing utility marks. If you ever spot our crews working, you'll notice one of the first things we do is measure at least 24 inches off the other utilities' flags.
That tells our operators where they can work up to safely with a machine. It also tells us where we need to get some of the laborers set up to dig and expose those areas by hand, because anything closer than that cannot be safely dug with an excavator.
It slows us down a little on the front end, and we are fine with that. Those flags mark gas, water, electric, and fiber lines that somebody's home or whole street runs on. Hitting one is dangerous and expensive, and it is almost always avoidable when you take the time to find it first and dig it out by hand.
This is the part of the job nobody sees and nobody thinks about until something goes wrong. We would rather spend the extra hour with a shovel than explain to a homeowner why their power is out. Dig safe, call 811, and know who is working in your yard.
