How to apply for enrollment in the Gold Shovel Standard program
Simply put, you’ll provide four documents for review…
1. Excavation Statement: A statement signed by an officer of your company that is substantially
similar to the Sample Excavation Statement attached to this document (you can use the Sample
Excavation Statement as a template).
2. Training Program: The training curriculum that your company uses to train your employees on
excavation safety. This is the content from the training, typically in a document or PowerPoint.
3. Corrective Action Plan: A document that details how you investigate an incident when
excavation related damage occurs and your subsequent measures taken to mitigate it from
happening again.
4. Employee Safety Acknowledgment and Accountability Statement: A document that all
employees sign, confirming their attendance at training, and agreement to following certain
procedures.
Overview of key concepts required throughout.
Documents must reference specific laws - Documents need to reference specific laws, listed by
name. For example, in California, documents and statements should reference California
Government Code 4216 and Cal-OSHA Title 8 Construction Safety Order Chapter 4, Subchapter 4,
Article 6, Section 1541
Ticket physically at job sites - A best practice is to make sure that a valid and not-expired 811
ticket physically present on all all worksites with excavation; the key is that the ticket is both valid
and actually at the job site
Expired tickets - 811 tickets must be renewed before they expire if work is to continue past the
ticket expiration
Tolerance zones - Using only hand tools in tolerance zones. For example, California law requires a
24-inch tolerance zone from the outside diameter of the buried facility. One must hand excavate
within 24" of the outside diameter of the facility. Facilities that are in conflict with excavation are to
be located with hand tools and protected before power equipment is used
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Maintenance of marks - If, during the course of the job, an operator’s markings become no
longer visible, excavation must stop, a call to 811 is made with a request for the operator to remark the lines
Facilities not found as marked - If a utility cannot be found where a mark was placed, excavation
stops, a call to 811 is made, and work resumes after the operator has confirmed the location of the
facility
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NOTE – There are checkboxes throughout this document. This is the same checklist used when
reviewing your application. As you prepare your documents, please review each checkbox in this
document to confirm that your submission is wholly complete.
(DOCUMENT #1) Excavation Statement (Management Commitment Document) (typically 1 page)
This is a document that is signed by an officer of your company that obligates your company to
safe digging practices and other items as a condition of participation in the Gold Shovel
Standard program. For simplicity, a template is attached to this document as the last page, and
the content can be used exactly as is. If another document is used, it should include all of the
elements that are contained on the attached template.
Excavation Statement (Management Commitment Document) signed by officer of
company
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(DOCUMENT #2) Training Program (Training Policies, Curriculum and Test) (typically many pages in
length)
Provide documents with details about your training program along with the content from that
training. Note – it is not sufficient to cut and paste from the 811 handbooks.
First, discuss how your company goes about training. At a minimum, this part of the document
must cover the following topics:
Your company's Gold Shovel Standard training frequency (monthly, quarterly, annually,
etc.)
Your company’s policy for training new hires / new hire orientation policy (new hires
should be trained on excavation policy prior to ever entering a jobsite)
Next provide the actual the training curriculum used to train on employees on excavation
safety.
Note: Your training must meet the specifics of the states in which you will be working. For
example, California’s One Call Laws (California Government Code 4216 and Cal-OSHA Title 8
Construction Safety Order Chapter 4, Subchapter 4, Article 6, Section 1541), requires a 24”
tolerance zone, and your training would be specific about 24”, as opposed to some other
more general discussion of tolerance zones.
Commonly, submitting your training curriculum means providing the PowerPoint slides that are
used during your training. Include the training materials that cover the following topics:
The requirement to have a valid and current 811 ticket on all sites—an industry Best
Practice
The requirement to renew locating tickets prior to expiration
Establishment of Tolerance Zones (what they are, what’s required in the states in which
you work – 24” for California, etc.) and proper use of hand tools/power-operated
excavation equipment
What to do if marks are no longer visible during a job (maintaining marks on job sites)
What to do if a utility cannot be found as marked
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Most 811 operators provide much of this content on their websites. For example, USA North
provides a handbook at this web address (http://usanorth811.org/wpcontent/uploads/2014/08/CA-Excavation-Law-Handbook.pdf) and can be used while preparing
your training curriculum. Note – it is not sufficient to cut and paste from the 811 handbooks.
Finally, include how your company goes about confirming that trainees understand the training
material. Most typically this means including the actual test used at the end of the training.
Commonly, this is a multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank test, testing the trainees
understanding of the material.
Test question(s) about the requirement to have a valid and current 811 ticket on all sites
Test question(s) about the requirement to renew locating tickets prior to expiration
Test question(s) about Tolerance Zones (what they are, what’s required in California –
24”, etc.) and proper use of hand tools/power-operated excavation equipment
Test question(s) about the process for establishing and maintaining marks on job sites
Test question(s) about what to do if a utility cannot be found as marked
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(DOCUMENT #3) Corrective Action Plan (typically between 2 and 5 pages in length; occasionally much
longer)
This is a document that details what your company will do in the event of a dig-in. The
document will have three sections and is typically numerous pages in length.
Section 1 – What you will do to investigate and determine a root-cause
The first section details what you will do to investigate a dig-in, immediately after it
happens. Most commonly, it will include the who, what, where, when and why. Also, as
part of that, please include recording the names of everybody that was there, getting a
statement from each of them about what happened, taking ample pictures and videos
from various angles, taking measurements between all relevant items, etc.
Next, the document should describe the process for identifying root causes of why it
happened. Specifically it will answer the question, “how does your company determine
what the root cause of an incident is?” If your company does not currently have a
procedure for preparing a root cause analysis, a good starting point is to Google “Root
Cause Analysis” and “OSHA Root Cause Analysis”.
The process for identifying root causes (how your company investigates and
determines a root-cause)
Pictures
Videos
Measurements
Statements at the time of incident
Weather conditions at the time of incident
Section 2 – Outline the various steps you will take once a root-cause is determined, i.e. now
that you know what happened, how will you keep it or a similar incident from happening
again?
The second section details the various disciplinary or corrective action measures taken
for employees and the circumstances surrounding those conditions. Examples include
providing additional training, giving verbal or written warnings, suspension or
termination depending on the severity of the incident.
Corrective actions for employees (define and describe the steps that will be
taken)
Section 3 – Paragraph affirming policy of recording damage in the DIRT tool within 3 days
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The third section is usually a short paragraph that reiterates the company’s policy that
all damages will be recorded in the California Regional Common Ground Alliance
(CARCGA) Damage Reporting Tool (DIRT) within 3 days of an incident. Note – it is an
obligation of the Gold Shovel Standard program that all incidents be recorded within 3
days.
Paragraph affirming the policy of recording damage in the DIRT tool within 3
days
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(DOCUMENT #4) Employee Safety Acknowledgment and Accountability Statement (typically 1 page in
length)
This is a document each employee who works on a jobsite that includes excavation must sign.
You do not need to provide the copies signed by employees; only an unsigned sample should
be submitted. It is not necessary that every employee has signed this page prior to submitting
your application for enrollment; it is however necessary that every employee has completed the
training and signed this page prior to being enrolled in the Gold Shovel Standard program.
(Training and signatures on this page can be completed while the enrollment process is
occurring, prior to being awarded a Gold Shovel Standard certificate). This Employee Safety
Acknowledgment and Accountability Statement page must have the following elements:
A place for the employee to sign and date
A date and statement confirming when they attended the training
An affirmation that they understand the safe excavation requirements
An affirmation that they agree to always follow procedures in the training, safe
excavation practices and the laws, specifically mentioning the laws of your state(s) and
agreeing to follow them. For example, California Excavation Laws are California
Government Code 4216 and Cal-OSHA Title 8 Construction Safety Order Chapter 4,
Subchapter 4, Article 6, Section 1541.
A statement encouraging the attendee to speak up, without fear of retribution, when
they observe a situation that is in conflict with safe excavation policies, rules or laws
An affirmation that an 811 ticket is physically required on all job sites
An affirmation that 811 tickets must be renewed before the expiration date
An affirmation of the company’s policy relating to the specifics of the state’s
tolerance zone. For example, a 2-foot Tolerance Zone is required in California and
Nevada. As such, you would reference the 2’ tolerance zone and the requirement to
use of hand tools during excavation.
An affirmation of the company’s policy to stop work and call 811 for a re-mark if marks
are no longer visible on a job.
An affirmation of the company’s remark policy to stop work and call 811 if a utility
cannot be found where it was marked.
Some sample statements that might be included are below.
“I have been trained on safe excavation practices and agree to always follow those procedures
and the law including California Excavation Laws (California Government Code 4216 and CalOSHA Title 8 Construction Safety Order Chapter 4, Subchapter 4, Article 6, Section 1541)”
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“I will make sure that there is a valid 811 ticket is physically on all worksites with excavation.”
“I will notify the 811 center of continuing work and obtain a ticket renewal before a ticket
expires, if work is to continue past the ticket expiration.”
“I understand that California law requires a 24-inch tolerance zone from the outside diameter
of the buried facility. I understand that I must hand excavate within 24" of the outside diameter
of the facility. Facilities that are in conflict with my excavation are to be located with hand tools
and protected before power equipment is used.”
“If, during the course of the job, the operator’s markings become no longer visible, I will
stop work and request the operator to re-mark the lines within two (2) working days.”
“If a utility cannot be found where it was marked, I will stop work and call 811, and resume
work when the operator has properly marked the facility.”
“I know I have the ability to speak up without fear of retribution when I observe any unsafe
situation or a situation that is in conflict with safe excavation policies, rules or laws.”
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SAMPLE EXCAVATION STATEMENT
It is the policy of [COMPANY NAME] that all employees supporting or directly involved in excavationrelated policies or activities will follow California Excavation Laws (California Government Code 4216
and CAL/OSHA Title 8 Construction Safety Order Chapter 4, Subchapter 4, Article 6, Section 1541.
It is the policy of [COMPANY NAME] that 100% of employees on a job site, including any recent or
new-hires, will have completed [COMPANY NAME’S] excavation safety training curriculum prior to
being on any job site, which includes any excavation of any type or sort.
It is the policy of [COMPANY NAME] that all employees who work on any job site will have completed
[COMPANY NAME’S] excavation safety training curriculum on a [WEEKLY, MONTHLY, QUARTERLY,
BI-ANNUAL, ANNUAL] basis.
It is the policy of [COMPANY NAME] to encourage and empower all employees to speak up, without
fear of retribution when they observe situations that are unsafe or in conflict with [COMPANY’S]
policy on excavation-related work.
[COMPANY] understands that all damages to any buried infrastructure (gas, electric, water, sewer,
telecom, etc.) must be reported to the CGA DIRT tool within 3 business days of an incident as a
condition of maintaining a valid Gold Shovel Standard certification.
In the event that [COMPANY NAME’S] status in the Gold Shovel Standard program may be in
jeopardy, the following senior leaders should be notified.
Name of Senior Leader #1
Title
Email
Cell Phone
Name of Senior Leader #2
Title
Email
Cell Phone
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Name of Senior Leader #3
Title
Email
Cell Phone
I understand that my signature below as an officer of [COMPANY] is obligating my company to
maintain the policies listed above as a condition of continued participation in the Gold Shovel
Standard program.
Name of Corporate Officer, Title
Date
Email
Cell Phone
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