Third-Party Damages to Underground Utilities: The Critical Need for Root Cause Analysis
Publication: Construction Research Congress 2024
ABSTRACT
Third-party damages to the subsurface infrastructure are a persistent issue that negatively impacts the integrity of the underground infrastructure and its vital services. Hundreds of thousands of third-party damages occur every year in the United States. These damages are more likely to reoccur when ignoring the value of learning from them. Therefore, this study investigates 16,937 damage reports that occurred in North Carolina in 2020 and were reported to North Carolina 811. The findings suggest that undesirable excavator practices contribute the most to third-party damages, followed by locator practices, general industry practices, and utility owner practices. In addition, the finding shows that most of the reported causes represent the direct causes of damages, not the root causes. Identifying the root causes is critical for a sustainable approach to significantly reducing damages to underground utilities. Overall, this study identifies the current direct causes of damages and weaknesses that hinder the industry from acquiring the needed knowledge to prevent damages to subsurface utilities.
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Construction Research Congress 2024
Pages: 712 - 719
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Published online: Mar 18, 2024
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