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Job Type
Full-time
Description
POSITION SUMMARY
The Line Locator identifies, traces, marks, and documents underground pipelines, cables, and other utility lines before excavation, remediation, construction, maintenance, and repair activities begin. The position reviews locate requests and available records, conducts site inspections, uses approved electronic locating and detection equipment, applies required surface markings, and communicates facility information and unresolved conditions to project teams, contractors, clients, and field personnel.
Working under the direction of the Environmental Foreman or Project Manager, the Line Locator supports damage prevention and safe environmental field operations across oil and gas facilities, rights-of-way, remediation sites, customer locations, construction areas, and remote field locations. The Locator must recognize the limits of maps, records, equipment, and surface markings and must not represent a locate as a guarantee of exact depth or position. Required excavation controls, tolerance-zone practices, potholing, hand exposure, vacuum excavation, and positive facility verification remain necessary as applicable.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Locate Request Review and Work Planning
- Review one-call tickets, private locate requests, work orders, excavation plans, maps, drawings, as-built records, GIS information, customer instructions, prior locate information, and site access requirements.
- Confirm the request limits, excavation type, work area, facility owner, customer contact, required completion time, priority, marking requirements, documentation, and special conditions before beginning the locate.
- Identify missing, inconsistent, outdated, or incomplete records and obtain additional information or field assistance before closing the request.
- Plan travel and daily workload to meet routine, short-notice, emergency, refresh, remark, and project-specific locate deadlines.
- Coordinate access, escorts, gate information, customer notifications, site orientation, personal protective equipment, and other prerequisites before entering controlled locations.
- Escalate requests outside assigned service area, competency, equipment capability, authority, or available information to supervision promptly.
Field Investigation and Site Assessment
- Conduct a thorough visual inspection of the requested area for pipeline markers, valves, meters, risers, tracer wire, pedestals, vaults, handholes, conduit, warning signs, disturbed soil, previous markings, and other facility indicators.
- Walk the proposed excavation area and identify structures, roads, fences, pipelines, drainage, overhead lines, traffic, equipment, restricted areas, terrain, vegetation, and other conditions affecting the locate.
- Compare field conditions with available records and investigate discrepancies in route, equipment, ownership, connection points, abandoned facilities, and apparent facility continuity.
- Contact the excavator, customer representative, facility owner, operator, or project personnel when the work area, scope, markings, access, or expected facilities are unclear.
- Establish a safe work position and use appropriate traffic, pedestrian, equipment, and public-exposure controls before performing locating activities.
- Do not enter electrical enclosures, vaults, manholes, excavations, confined spaces, or restricted areas unless trained, equipped, authorized, and all entry requirements are satisfied.
Electronic Locating and Facility Tracing
- Use approved electromagnetic, radio-frequency, conductive, inductive, sonde, passive, acoustic, ground-penetrating-radar, or other locating methods within individual training and equipment limitations.
- Select appropriate frequencies, connection points, grounding methods, gain, sensitivity, modes, and search patterns based on facility type, material, depth, congestion, interference, and field conditions.
- Trace facilities from known points whenever possible and confirm continuity, direction, signal strength, depth indications, current direction, and consistency using multiple sweeps or methods as appropriate.
- Identify and evaluate signal distortion, bleed-over, coupling, congestion, poor grounding, parallel facilities, electromagnetic interference, broken tracer wire, nonconductive materials, and other limitations.
- Use alternate connection points, frequencies, modes, access points, equipment, records, or verification methods when initial results are weak, inconsistent, or unreliable.
- Do not open, disconnect, connect to, operate, energize, de-energize, ground, or otherwise alter pipeline, electrical, communications, or utility facilities unless trained, qualified, and specifically authorized.
- Stop and obtain assistance when a facility cannot be confidently traced, expected facilities are not found, records conflict with field conditions, or the signal cannot be distinguished from adjacent facilities.
Marking and Identification
- Mark the horizontal path of located facilities using approved paint, flags, stakes, whiskers, chalk, offsets, or other methods required by law, customer standards, site conditions, and the locate request.
- Use the required color, abbreviation, ownership identification, line type, route indication, and marking interval appropriate to the assigned facility.
- Mark changes in direction, connection points, terminations, crossings, congested areas, and other important features clearly enough for the excavator to understand the indicated route.
- Use offsets, diagrams, photographs, measurements, stakes, or other durable references when paint or flags are prohibited, ineffective, likely to be disturbed, or insufficient for the work.
- Communicate known limitations, inaccessible areas, unlocatable segments, abandoned or unknown facilities, inconsistent records, and areas requiring positive exposure or additional investigation.
- Do not mark a facility as clear, absent, abandoned, exact, or safely excavatable unless supported by approved processes and available evidence.
- Avoid unnecessary or excessive markings and protect environmental, cultural, customer, roadway, landscaped, and sensitive areas from avoidable disturbance.
Depth Tolerance Zones and Positive Verification
- Provide depth information only when equipment capability, procedure, customer requirements, and individual authorization allow and clearly identify it as an estimate unless verified by exposure.
- Do not represent electronic depth readings or surface markings as confirmation of exact facility depth, width, alignment, or condition.
- Communicate applicable tolerance-zone and excavation requirements to affected project personnel when observed work conditions may create damage risk.
- Recommend or request potholing, hand digging, vacuum excavation, soft digging, additional locating, or facility-owner assistance when positive identification is needed.
- Support positive exposure and verification activities from a safe location by confirming markings, tracing exposed facilities, updating documentation, and identifying route changes.
- Stop work and immediately notify supervision when excavation occurs without required markings, verification, clearance, or damage-prevention controls.
Ticket Management Documentation and Closeout
- Update locate-ticket status accurately and within required response times using approved one-call, customer, company, or project systems.
- Document arrival and completion times, methods used, connection points, equipment settings, facilities located, clear areas, limitations, access issues, contacts, remarks, and required follow-up.
- Capture clear photographs showing the work area, markings, facility indicators, connection points, route, conflicts, ticket limits, and relevant site conditions.
- Prepare sketches, measurements, GPS points, map updates, redlines, or other records needed to support construction, future locating, as-built information, billing, or customer documentation.
- Maintain traceable records of positive responses, cancellations, re-marks, refreshes, no-access conditions, unlocatable facilities, emergency responses, and escalations.
- Do not close or clear a ticket when the requested work area has not been fully addressed, required communication is incomplete, or unresolved risk remains.
- Protect confidential customer, facility, system, location, security, project, and company information and use approved systems for storage and transmission.
Coordination with Excavation and Construction Crews
- Meet with excavators, foremen, project managers, equipment operators, customers, and facility representatives to review the excavation area, markings, known facilities, limitations, and verification needs.
- Explain the limits of the locate and identify areas where records, signal quality, congestion, access, ownership, nonconductive facilities, or other factors reduce confidence.
- Remain available for clarification, refreshes, re-marks, changes in excavation limits, exposed-facility confirmation, and emergency locate support as assigned.
- Observe excavation activities only when assigned and immediately communicate encroachment on tolerance zones, missing marks, unexpected facilities, damaged markings, or unsafe conditions.
- Do not direct excavation means and methods or authorize contact with, movement of, or excavation around a facility unless specifically delegated the required authority.
- Escalate scope changes, customer disputes, conflicting ownership, unidentified facilities, damage concerns, and additional-work requests to supervision.
Equipment Inspection and Care
- Inspect locating receivers, transmitters, leads, clamps, ground rods, sondes, radar equipment, GPS devices, tablets, batteries, chargers, measuring tools, marking supplies, and personal protective equipment before use.
- Verify equipment is functional, charged, current, calibrated or checked as required, and appropriate for the facility and environmental conditions.
- Protect electronic equipment from impact, moisture, dust, extreme temperatures, contamination, theft, improper storage, and unauthorized use.
- Maintain an adequate inventory of paint, flags, stakes, batteries, leads, clamps, forms, traffic-control devices, and other routine supplies.
- Report damaged, unreliable, missing, or malfunctioning equipment promptly and do not use equipment that may produce misleading or unsafe results.
- Maintain assigned vehicles, tools, storage areas, and equipment in a clean, secure, organized, and serviceable condition.
Safety Traffic and Environmental Responsibilities
- Participate in pre-job briefings, job hazard analyses, journey planning, site orientation, and emergency planning appropriate to the assignment.
- Follow company, customer, site, roadway, and job-specific safety rules, personal protective equipment requirements, stop-work expectations, and access restrictions.
- Treat pipelines as pressurized and electrical lines, conductors, equipment, enclosures, grounds, structures, and customer systems as energized unless their status has been established through authorized procedures.
- Maintain required separation from pressurized and energized facilities and use only approved connection methods and access points within individual qualification and authorization.
- Use high-visibility clothing, warning lights, cones, signs, barriers, spotters, or other controls when working near roadways, traffic, moving equipment, or active operations.
- Recognize hazards involving electricity, H2S, pressure, pipelines, traffic, excavation, wildlife, heat, severe weather, unstable ground, slips, trips, and remote work.
- Exercise stop-work authority when access, traffic, electrical exposure, facility identity, locate confidence, excavation activity, weather, equipment condition, or other conditions are unsafe or unclear.
- Immediately report injuries, near misses, utility contacts, damaged facilities, arcing, escaping product, odors, spills, property damage, and significant unsafe conditions.
Utility Damage and Emergency Response
- Immediately stop locating or nearby work and establish a safe position when a utility strike, electrical contact, arcing, fire, leak, release, or other emergency occurs.
- Notify emergency services, the facility owner, customer, supervision, and other required contacts in accordance with company and site procedures.
- Do not touch equipment, vehicles, lines, structures, soil, water, or facilities that may be energized, pressurized, contaminated, or otherwise hazardous.
- Preserve the scene and relevant locate records, photographs, equipment settings, markings, ticket information, communications, and site conditions as directed.
- Provide factual information regarding the locate process and observed conditions without assigning blame, accepting liability, or making unauthorized commitments.
- Participate in incident review, root-cause evaluation, corrective actions, retraining, or process improvements when requested.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
- High school diploma or GED required; technical training or certification in utility locating, surveying, GIS, construction, pipeline operations, or a related field is preferred.
- One or more years of utility locating, electrical, pipeline, construction, surveying, telecommunications, oil and gas, or comparable field experience; equivalent training may be considered.
- Ability to use or learn electronic locating equipment, GPS devices, mobile applications, maps, drawings, as-built records, measuring tools, and marking methods.
- Basic knowledge of underground pipelines, cables, utility systems, common materials, route indicators, damage-prevention practices, environmental considerations, and excavation hazards.
- Ability to distinguish colors and markings required for utility identification and to recognize facility and equipment indicators in varied field conditions.
- Ability to read and follow one-call tickets, maps, drawings, customer instructions, procedures, warning signs, labels, and field documentation.
- Ability to organize multiple time-sensitive tickets, travel independently, maintain accurate records, and communicate promptly when work cannot be completed.
- Valid driver's license with an acceptable driving record consistent with company requirements.
- Ability to complete company-provided and customer-required training, qualification, medical evaluation, fit testing, and site-access requirements.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Two or more years of underground utility locating experience, preferably involving oil and gas facilities, pipelines, telecommunications, electrical distribution, water, sewer, or other underground infrastructure.
- Experience with electromagnetic and radio-frequency locators, conductive and inductive methods, sondes, ground-penetrating radar, GPS, GIS, and electronic ticket-management systems.
- Knowledge of one-call processes, positive response, tolerance zones, marking standards, private utility locating, potholing, vacuum excavation, and damage-prevention requirements.
- Experience reading electrical one-lines, utility maps, pipeline alignment sheets, site plans, survey information, redlines, and as-built drawings.
- Current first aid/CPR, defensive-driving, flagger, H2S, excavation, electrical-safety-awareness, or similar job-relevant training.
KNOWLEDGE SKILLS AND ABILITIES
- Use systematic search patterns, multiple locating methods, field indicators, and available records to develop a reasonable and supportable facility route.
- Recognize signal distortion, interference, bleed-over, poor grounding, parallel facilities, broken tracer wire, nonconductive facilities, and conditions requiring additional verification.
- Maintain skepticism when records, field indicators, signals, markings, ownership, and excavation limits do not align and obtain assistance before closing the request.
- Communicate locate results, limitations, hazards, ticket status, and required follow-up clearly to excavators, customers, field crews, and supervision.
- Work independently in remote areas while maintaining schedule awareness, personal safety, accurate documentation, and timely communication.
- Demonstrate dependable attendance, attention to detail, sound judgment, professional conduct, customer service, and care of vehicles and equipment.
PHYSICAL AND WORK ENVIRONMENT REQUIREMENTS
This position performs field work in rights-of-way, roadsides, yards, wellsites, customer facilities, construction sites, industrial locations, and remote areas throughout the company's service territory.
- Frequently stand and walk for extended periods while carrying locating equipment and inspecting large or uneven work areas.
- Frequently bend, stoop, kneel, crouch, reach, twist, push, pull, grip, drive ground rods, place markings, and use repetitive hand and arm movements.
- Frequently lift or carry items weighing up to approximately 40 pounds and use team lifting or mechanical assistance for heavier or awkward equipment.
- Work on uneven, muddy, rocky, gravel, sloped, roadside, vegetated, elevated, or restricted-access surfaces around traffic, moving equipment, excavations, electrical facilities, and industrial operations.
- Work outdoors in heat, cold, wind, dust, rain, storms, noise, vibration, insects, wildlife, and changing weather while wearing required personal protective equipment.
- Drive frequently between assignments, including remote locations, and work early mornings, extended shifts, nights, weekends, holidays, emergency call-outs, and irregular schedules as business needs require.
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES
This position has no supervisory responsibilities. The Line Locator may provide locate-specific information and damage-prevention guidance to project personnel and excavation crews but does not independently direct excavation work or manage employees unless formally designated.
DISCLAIMER
This job description summarizes the position's general duties and requirements and is not exhaustive. Management may modify duties or assign additional responsibilities to meet business, legal, safety, and operational needs. Employment remains subject to applicable company policies and requirements.
Standard Safety & Supply is an Equal Opportunity Employer.