RC125 JulyAug 2026 - Magazine - Page 25
THE HIDDEN LINK IN THE CHAIN
Why underground facility locating workforce readiness matters
by Jamie Andersen, Reena Sahney, Ashley Lawson, and Katie Kapscos
ODERN INFRASTRUCTURE depends on what we cannot
see. Beneath roads, rights of way, industrial
sites, and urban corridors lie an increasingly
dense network of energy, water, telecommunications, and municipal services that enable daily
life and economic activity. In Canada, the collective length of oil and gas pipelines alone (about 760,000
kilometres) could circle the globe almost 19 times. Identifying and marking these underground facilities is the role
of locators, an essential but often underappreciated function. Locators are among many practitioners that help to
preserve existing underground infrastructure while other
infrastructure projects move through early design through
construction, operations, and long-term maintenance.
Despite its critical role, underground facility locating
as part of the “click before you dig” process is frequently
treated as a compliance task, triggered late in the project
lifecycle and framed primarily as a regulatory checkbox rather than a foundational risk control. At the same
time, the locating sector is facing mounting workforce
pressures driven by retirements, limited career visibility,
and challenges in skills development and transfer. These
pressures are no longer an abstract industry concern; they
are translating into tangible project risks that a昀昀ect safety,
cost certainty, schedule reliability, and asset integrity
across energy and municipal infrastructure systems.
Reframing how the industry understands and invests
in locating, and the workforce that delivers it, is becoming
essential to resilient infrastructure delivery.
GETTY IMAGES
M
Locating as a system function, not a field service
At its core, underground facility locating is about managing uncertainty. Locators translate incomplete records
into actionable information that allows engineers, constructors, and owners to make safe decisions about where
and how to build. This function supports far more than
excavation safety alone.
During early project planning, reliable subsurface information informs design choices, constructability reviews,
and cost estimates. During construction, accurate and
timely locates help prevent utility strikes and support e昀케cient sequencing and execution of project work. Over the
life of an asset, well-documented subsurface knowledge
improves maintenance planning and emergency response.
When locating capacity or quality erodes, uncertainty
expands. That uncertainty shows up as in昀氀ated contingency allowances, schedule bu昀昀ers, or worse, unantici-
pated failures in the 昀椀eld. In this sense, locating is not a
discrete service but an important risk management tool.
Workforce pressures beneath the surface
The locating workforce is under strain. Across North
America, a signi昀椀cant portion of experienced locators are
approaching retirement, taking with them decades of tacit
knowledge about local infrastructure, utility behavior,
and site-speci昀椀c anomalies. Replacing this expertise is not
straightforward.
Further, locating has historically been a “hidden” career,
as it has lacked visibility as a potential career path. It is
rarely discussed in high schools, engineering curricula,
construction management programs, or workforce development strategies, despite its technical complexity and
safety critical nature. Entry into the profession often occurs
by chance rather than design, and progression pathways
can be unclear. As a result, recruitment struggles to keep
pace with demand, particularly as infrastructure investment accelerates and locate request volumes increase.
Training presents additional challenges. While technology has advanced (for example, introducing digital ticketing systems, improved detection equipment, and data
management tools), the fundamental work of interpreting
signals, resolving con昀氀icts, and exercising judgment
in complex environments remains deeply experiential.
Transferring this judgment from senior locators to new
entrants requires time, mentorship, and structured learning frameworks that are not consistently available across
the industry. The result is a growing disparity between
the demand for locating capacity and the workforce available to deliver.
When workforce gaps become project risks
The e昀昀ects of workforce shortages and inconsistent skill
levels do not remain con昀椀ned to the locating sector; they
propagate outward into project execution.
One of the most visible consequences is an increased
risk of utility strikes. The interpretation of complex subsurface conditions requires an experienced practitioner,
given adequate time, space, and support. Constraints to
these resources, whether from workforce gaps or project pressures, increase the likelihood that facilities are
missed, misidenti昀椀ed, and subsequently damaged. Utility
strikes carry immediate safety hazards ranging from
service disruptions to 昀椀res, explosions, or electrocution.
However, their impacts can extend much further.
Jamie Andersen is
Co-Owner of First Alert
Locating Ltd..
Reena Sahney, P.Eng.,
MSc, MBA, is the Founder
and President of Jiva
Consulting.
Katie Kapcsos is a research
analyst, technical writer,
and project manager with
Jiva Consulting.
Ashley Lawson, P.Eng.,
is Project Manager with
Jiva Consulting.
JULY/AUGUST 2026 – RENEW CANADA 25
