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Diggers Hotline Debuts Voluntary Positive Response

April 23, 2020

Diggers Hotline is implementing a Positive Response program.  Positive Response refers to utility locators providing field locate status information to excavators.  Locators provide the locate status to the Diggers Hotline ticket system so excavators can view it either through our online ticket portals or by automated email notices sent by our system.

 

It is important to note that in Wisconsin there is no statute requirement for Positive Response, so the program is being implemented on a VOLUNTARY basis.  Utility companies can participate if they so choose, but are not required to participate.

 

Additional information about positive response for excavators can be found here.

 

Because Positive Response is voluntary, should any utility company decide not to provide Positive Response, they will be clearly identified as “Not Participating” by the system.  That way, excavators will know those companies are not providing that data and may need to contact them directly with questions about the status of the locates.

 

If a utility chooses to participate, the information they provide will show their Company Name, type of facility they are locating, a contact phone number, and what the status is for that locate.  The status options are:  Marked – Complete, No Conflict – Complete, System Cleared – Complete, No Response, Not Marked – Response Pending, Ongoing – Working with Excavator, Not Marked – Delay, or Canceled/Corrected/Updated.  “No Response” will display if the utility has not provided any response.  The other response options will be triggered by the utility providing it to the Positive Response system.

 

If you are an excavator, you can view Positive Response information for your ticket(s) online in several ways.  Positive Response will display in both the ProPortal and Portal-Lite.  You can find information about the online ticket filing portals at:  https://www.diggershotline.com/file-a-request

 

If you do not want to sign up for one of the Portals, we also offer a generic ticket search function on our website where you can simply type in a ticket number, search for that ticket, and then see the ticket information and the Positive Response information.  To sign up for a Portal or to just use the generic ticket search, click this link:  https://geocall.diggershotline.com/geocall/portal

 

The “Find Tickets” link in the upper-left of that webpage is the generic search.

 

Diggers Hotline will also email automated Positive Response notices to excavators.  If you call in your tickets and want to get the automated Positive Response notices, please provide an email address to our customer service representative.  In addition to receiving a confirmation ticket, the system will send an automated Positive Response if all the utilities on your ticket provide Positive Response prior to your ticket’s start date and time OR at the start date and time of your ticket if all utilities do not respond by the start date and time.  You will only receive 1 automated response per ticket.

 

If you are a utility company member of Diggers Hotline and want to provide Positive Response information, you can do so in one of two ways.  If you use software internally to track and log your tickets, including locate status, you can have your system input Positive Response directly into our system on an automated basis.  That is called “Bulk Responding.”  Diggers Hotline can provide a document which your software people can use to set up your system to input that data directly.

 

If you do not use software to track your tickets and locating, you can manually enter your Positive Responses by signing up for our Member Portal and accessing the Positive Response section of that application.  The Member Portal allows you to see tickets transmitted to you as a member of Diggers Hotline, including the worksite polygon associated to the ticket, retransmit tickets to your receiving station, and enter Positive Response information.  You can sign up for Member Remote by clicking the “Sign Up” option on this webpage:  https://geocall.diggershotline.com/geocall/portal.

 

If a member does not respond by 2 weeks after the start date and time, the Diggers Hotline system will automatically close that member response with the status message, “Closed by DHL – Max Time Allowed for Response.”

 

Positive Response can be a valuable resource to both excavators and utility companies.  Excavators can have a clearer picture of their locate status.  Utility companies can avoid receiving relocate tickets due to excavators not knowing if an area is clear or has not been marked, or direct calls from excavators regarding locate status.

 

We hope excavators will appreciate Positive Response and utility companies embrace the chance to provide that information.

 

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact Diggers Hotline.