What Do All Those Colored Flags Mean? Our Excavation Safety Process Explained

Double B Excavations & Grade LLC

SAFETY FIRST, OF Course

Ever drive past a yard full of different colored flags and wonder what's going on?

We were just out in Pickerington this morning, planting those same flags (with our four-legged supervisor Finney keeping watch).

Those little flags might not look like much, but they're actually one of the most important parts of any excavation job.

Think of these flags like a map of what's hiding underground.



Before we fire up any equipment or put a shovel in the ground, we need to know exactly what's down there.

Water lines, gas pipes, electric cables - there's a whole world of utilities under your feet that you can't see.

But don't worry - that's exactly why we have this flagging system.

Let me break down what all those colors mean - it's actually pretty simple once you know the code.

Think of it like a rainbow that keeps everyone safe:

Red flags? Those are marking electric lines.

You definitely don't want to hit those!

Orange tells us there's communication stuff down there - think internet and phone lines.

Yellow is for gas and oil pipes, and blue marks your water lines.

Green flags show where sewer and drain lines run, and purple marks irrigation systems.

When you see us out there marking a property (like we were doing in Pickerington today), we're creating a complete map of what's underground.

Sometimes it looks like a lot of flags, but each one has a specific purpose.

The more flags you see, the more utilities we need to work around to keep your project safe.

Here's exactly how we handle it: First, we walk the whole property, getting a feel for where we'll be working.

Then we mark out our planned dig areas with white flags or paint - that's our way of telling utility companies exactly where we need them to check.

After that, we call for utility locates.

This brings out professionals from each utility company to mark their lines with their specific colors.

Might take a few days, but it's worth the wait.

During this time, we're planning the best way to work around whatever they find.

Think of it like putting together a puzzle.

Once all the flags are in place, we can see the whole picture.

Maybe we need to adjust where we're digging, or use different equipment in certain spots.

Sometimes we even hand-dig near important utilities just to be extra careful.