Buried Pipeline
& Utility Locating Services

What is Line Locating?

Q.  How does 3-D locate underground facilities?

Your project is gearing up and now you need some locates done, but you’ve got some questions about what exactly the line locators are going to do. Well, read on for a brief summary of what our crews do for our clients!

We use a combination of specialized equipment combined with certified and competent technicians working in teams of TWO. These teams walk in a grid formation across the work site and determine where buried facilities are.

The equipment consists of two main parts, a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter emits a frequency selected by the operator that induces onto nearby pipes and cables. The receiver detects these radio frequencies, and the operator is able to accurately locate and trace the pipes and cables.

Locate Technician and his assistant locating on site.

Our workers will then mark out the facilities using stakes and flagging or spray-paint.  The different colours of paint or flagging will inform the people digging of what is buried below. 

Read our post on What Do All The Marker Colours Mean? to learn more.


Once the lines have been located on the site, the Locate Technician will also create a map of the work area with all the buried facilities marked out. This map can be used to help locate and dig safely around the lines.

Maps typically include measurements, GPS coordinates, conflicting utilities, target work areas and much more.

Utilizing Line Locators, and the knowledge they bring to a project, is critical to the safety of a project, as studies show that “each year damage to underground infrastructure costs Canadians 1 billion dollars” (Dig Safe Canada).

Give us a call and find out how out team of professionals can hep you 1-888-748-2224



3-D Line Locating Ltd is a privately owned Buried Pipeline and Utility Locating, Ground Disturbance Management and SCT Services company. For over 20 years, we have been at the forefront of the Damage Prevention industry in Western Canada. Although the industry has changed significantly over the last 20 years, we have been very fortunate to have been at the leading edge of the evolution and still maintain the highest levels of quality, accuracy, consistency and customer satisfaction in our industry.

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