09 Mar What is Dial Before You Dig
What is Dial Before You Dig? (DBYD)
There seems to be a bit of confusion around exactly who and what Dial Before You Dig (DBYD) is. DBYD is essentially a database of the plans that all asset owners are obliged to keep after they install underground pipes and cables in certain public areas.
What they are:
- An organisation who will supply you with available plans for underground utilities in a defined area
- Free, and very easy to register
- A great guide
- A list of the services that need to be investigated at a minimum
What they aren’t:
- They’re not someone who will come and locate your pipes and cables
- They’re not accurate enough to trust, they’re only an indication of an underground asset’s location.
- A complete set of plans for all underground services
- The plans that DBYD keep are very useful for distribution services or mains, but they’re not comprehensive.
- They’re not likely to have any or much information on the feeds from main utility lines to the consumer. Which is a huge proportion of underground services. This is why you always need the advice of a trained and experienced service locator.
What you should do:
- Register with Dial Before You Dig
- Submit a request for your work area
- Call a service locator if there are services present (even if they’re not shown on DBYDs)
- Order your plans at least 5 days before the locator arrives to allow all the asset owners time to respond (some are slow)
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