| Definitions of Commonly Used Types of Work | |
| Quick Terminology | |
| Main Trunk Primary Express |
High transmission, volume or power. |
| Service Secondary |
Lower volume or power, usually for services. |
| Types of work | Descriptions |
| Abandon service | a service (bell, hydro etc.) which is no longer active but it is still in the ground. |
| Addition | building an addition onto a building. |
| Aeration | removing sod plugs to allow the circulation of air (Aerate Soil) |
| Anchor | a steel cable run from the pole on an angle to the ground for support. Has grounding rod |
| Anodes | steel anchor shaft |
| Archaeological | digging for archaeological discovery |
| Auger holes | digging holes with an auger machine, (an auger is like a giant cork screw) |
| Basement & sewer | putting in basement & sewer for a house/building |
| Blasting | putting dynamite into ground to blow up rocks for construction |
| Bore holes | very deep holes which are usually used for soil sampling |
| Box & rod | is the water service box and the pipe (rod) which drops down to the pipe which connects to the house & to the main |
| Bridge construction | constructing a bridge |
| Bridge demolition | destroying a bridge |
| Buried service wire (bsw) | miscellaneous digging for burying service wires |
| Buried shut off | burying shut off valve |
| Bus stop installation | erecting a bus stop/shelter |
| Cable - installation | bury/place cable |
| Cable drop | when an ariel cable is connected at the top of a pole dropped down the side of the pole and into the ground |
| Cable pit | cut a hole in the ground to repair/splice cable (usually for Bell) |
| Cable removal | removing cable from ground |
| Cable repair | repairing buried cable lines |
| Cable TV (CATV) | burying TV cable |
| Catch basin | for storm sewers catches rain/groundwater run off located where road and curbs meet |
| Catch basin removal | removal of a catch basin |
| Catch basin repair | repair of a catch basin |
| Cistern | tank for storing water, underground reservoir |
| Concrete base | depends which company, platform (base) for a hydro transformer or Bell pedestal |
| Conductor | a material or device that conducts heat or electricity |
| Conduit | cable in plastic case or tube protecting insulated wires |
| Conduit repair | repair of conduit |
| Construction | miscellaneous construction |
| Corrosion | wearing away by chemical reaction |
| Culvert | for redirecting water (large cylinder) underground |
| Culvert repair | repairing culvert |
| Curb | building curbs on edge of roadway |
| Curb box repair | gas or water shut off located near the curb |
| Cut off service lines | removing service lines for specific area |
| Deck | building deck onto house, putting in posts |
| Demolition | removing structures & foundations on property |
| Design & planning | architects need to know where services are for planning new building projects (technically should not need locate) |
| Directional boring | drilling horizontally from point A to point B long distance |
| Ditch | putting in a ditch |
| Drain | putting in a drain |
| Drain repair | repairing a drain |
| Drain tile repair | repair of drain tile |
| Drilling | digging a very deep hole |
| Driveway | digging up existing driveway to put pavement down for new driveway; asphalt, interlocking, stone/brick |
| Duct | concrete structure made to encase and protect high power cables |
| Duct repair | repair of a duct |
| Easement | right of way over another’s property |
| Electrical | digging to put in electrical services |
| Electrical main installation | putting in electrical main |
| Electrical repair | repairing electrical services |
| Electrical service installation | install electrical service |
| Encap | buried pedestal |
| Encap pit | the hole they are digging for the encap |
| Environmental spill | digging to clean up a spill |
| Excavation | miscellaneous digging (eg. projects) |
| Fence | installing a fence or gate, putting in fence posts |
| Fibre (placing) | placing fibre |
| Fibre optic | miscellaneous digging for burying fibre optic cable |
| Fibre optic repair | repair buried fibre optic cable |
| Footings | put in at the corner of large structures (i.e. decks, buildings) for extra support |
| Foundation | putting in the foundation (basement) of a house |
| Foundation (new subdivision) | building foundations for new homes in a developing subdivision |
| Foundation & services | putting in basement of house & installing all services (gas, hydro, etc) |
| Foundation repair | repair foundation of house |
| Fuel tank change | changing an underground fuel tank |
| Fuel tank removal | removing buried fuel tank |
| Garage | building a garage or repairing garage |
| Gardening | putting in a garden on property |
| Gas | miscellaneous excavation for gas |
| Gas disconnection | disconnecting gas |
| Gas joint repair | a joint is a connection of two pipes coming together |
| Gas lateral | vertical pipe (see lateral) |
| Gas leak | repairing a gas leak on buried gas lines |
| Gas line | miscellaneous excavation to bury gas lines |
| Gas line repair | repairing a gas line |
| Gas main | miscellaneous digging for burying gas main |
| Gas main & services | digging for burying gas main & services |
| Gas main installation | burying gas main |
| Gas main repair | repairing gas main |
| Gas meter install | installing a gas meter (usually at point of entry) |
| Gas pipeline installation | installing gas pipeline |
| Gas repair | repairing gas main/lines |
| Gas service installation | install gas lines & installing to house |
| Geotechnical drilling | drilling boreholes to find out ground stability, environmental tests |
| Grading | leveling ground/driveway, usually by using a grader |
| Ground rods | long steel rod for grounding |
| Guard rail | wooden posts and steel on the sides of roads |
| Heavy machinery | moving heavy machinery, causing pressure on the ground |
| Home construction | building a new house, installing services |
| Hydrant | installing a fire hydrant |
| Hydrant removal | the removal of fire hydrant |
| Hydrant repair | repair fire hydrant |
| Hydro | miscellaneous hydro work |
| Hydro cable | burying hydro cable |
| Hydro installation | installing hydro services & burying hydro cable |
| Hydro pole | putting in new hydro pole |
| Hydro repair | repairing hydro cable |
| Hydro service | miscellaneous digging for hydro services |
| Hydro trenching | trenching to install hydro |
| Install guy & anchor | installation of the steel anchor from the pole into the ground and concrete block |
| Iron bars/ground | SIB (Standard Iron Bars) , mark survey points or snow fence bars etc. |
| Irrigation system | install a sprinkler system |
| Kiosk installation | installing small booth (i.e. ticket booth) |
| Lamp post | install a light post, repair lamp post |
| Landscaping | gardening, planting shrubs, flower etc. |
| Lateral | any vertical pipe |
| Lateral repair | repairing pipe |
| Laying sod | laying of new grass |
| Leveling ground | excavating to level ground |
| Lining pit | lining a trench or pit with supportive material so as not to collapse |
| Machine bury | burying by machine |
| Mailbox | installing a mailbox |
| Main abandonment | leaving main, but not removing |
| Main removal | removing abandoned main |
| Maintenance work | doing maintenance to u/g lines, encompassed in specific utilities |
| Manhole | putting in new manhole or repairing of manhole |
| Meter guard | Metal bars placed to protect (usually gas) meter from being backed into by vehicles, at industrial bldgs. |
| New building construction | building a new building |
| Oil tank | remove or install an oil tank (UST) |
| Parking lot | putting in a new parking lot |
| Parking lot repair | repair an existing parking lot |
| Patio | put down patio stones or wood |
| Paving | pave a driveway or parking lot, asphalt or road |
| Pedestal | junction box where all mains enter, able to disconnect services |
| Piers | structure built into the water, support of an arch, span of a bridge |
| Pipeline inspection | inspecting pipelines |
| Pipeline install | installing pipeline |
| Pipeline removal | removing buried pipelines |
| Pit | digging a pit |
| Placing wire | excavating to place wire |
| Planting hedges | plant hedges |
| Planting shrubs | plant shrubs |
| Playground | erecting new playground |
| Pole bases | where pole enters ground and below |
| Pole hole | digging a hole to put in a pole |
| Pole installation | install a pole |
| Pole relocation | moving a pole to a new location |
| Pole replacement | replacing old or broken pole |
| Pond | making a pond |
| Pool | put in an in ground/above ground pool |
| Porch | put in a porch onto property |
| Post installation | install a post |
| Post replacement | replacing a post |
| Primary rebuild | repairing primary cable |
| Propane tank | burying a propane tank |
| Railroad | putting in new railroad/railway ties |
| Ramp | upward slope of road |
| Relocate meter | relocating utility meter (any utility but mostly gas or hydro) |
| Removal soil | removing soil |
| Removing sod | remove sod |
| Removing tank | the removal of a tank (could be an old oil tank) |
| Renovations | to renovate a building |
| Repair shut off | repairing water or gas shut off valve |
| Replacing mainline cables | removing & replacing mainline cables |
| Retaining wall | wall built to hold ground in place |
| Retire gas service | put out of service permanently |
| Road construction | digging for new road construction |
| Road repair | to repair road |
| Rod-off | working on the rod in a water/gas box |
| Rototilling | tilling the ground with a rototiller |
| Sanitary lateral repair | repairing sanitary sewer vertical connection pipe |
| Sanitary sewer | a culvert used to remove and transport human waste |
| Seismic | putting blast into ground and monitoring f\ground levels/texture with geophones |
| Septic system | waste removal system, (same as sanitary sewer or sewer) |
| Septic system repair | repairing waste removal system |
| Septic system replacement | replacement of waste removal system |
| Service box | water/gas shut off, access points |
| Services | miscellaneous digging for all services (gas, phone, hydro etc..) |
| Services repair | to repair all services (gas, phone, hydro etc..) |
| Setting poles & anchors | installing poles & anchors |
| Shed | erecting a building, storage shed |
| Sidewalk | putting down cement to create a sidewalk |
| Sidewalk/curb/gutter | to do make/repair sidewalk/curb/gutter |
| Sign | installing a sign |
| Sign footings | installing cement footings/base for a sign |
| Sign posts | installing a post to put a sign on |
| Signs & posts | to fully install both the sign & post |
| Sink holes | when ground has a void beneath surface and ground above falls in and collapses |
| Site services | install/repair/remove services on the site (gas, hydro, phone etc..) |
| Soil sample | digging a hole to take soil for testing |
| Sprinkler system | install under ground sprinkler system |
| Stanchions | vertical post or support, bar or frame for livestock |
| Standpipe | vertical pipe extending from a water supply for a temporary tap into a main |
| Storm drain | a culvert and grate that is used to control the flow of storm wat |
| Storm drain repair | repairing the storm drain |
| Storm lateral replace | replacing vertical pipe/connection to the main run |
| Storm sewer | a culvert & grate that is used for overflowing water |
| Street lights | to erect street lights |
| Surveying | surveying property for selling a home & future development |
| Tank removal | to remove a buried tank |
| Telephone cable installation | install telephone cable |
| Telephone line | install telephone line |
| Telephone line repair | repair buried telephone lines |
| Telephone wires buried | digging holes to bury telephone wire |
| Tent | to put in poles to erect a tent |
| Tent stakes | the stakes that are put into the ground to hold a tent up |
| Tracer wire | piece of conductive material (wire or paper) which lines a nonconductive buried material (i.e. fibre or pvc pipes) so it can be traced out |
| Traffic ducts | underground ducts housing traffic communication lines |
| Traffic signals | putting in the pole to erect traffic signals (green, yellow, red) |
| Transformer | (TX) electric junction box used to reduce or increase the voltage of a cable |
| Tree planting | planting trees |
| Tree removal | removing already planted trees |
| Tree stump removal | remove a stump of tree that has been cut down |
| Trenching | digging a trench for various reasons, (i.e.: installing hydro/gas/bell mains) |
| TX pad | transformer base (concrete pad) |
| Underground services | install underground services |
| Underground storage tank | removal of a UST |
| Vacuum excavation | truck which uses high pressure water onto surface of ground. The water breaks up the ground and a vacuum sucks up excess water and dirt to create a hole with no damage to existing plant |
| Valve | shut off for gas or water |
| Valve repair | repair a valve |
| Walkway | installing a walkway, interlocking is used here |
| Water | water hook-up |
| Water & sewer | install, replace or repair water & sewer |
| Water box | access point for turning on/off water |
| Water lateral | vertical pipe which connects to the horizontal main/service |
| Water leak repair | repairing a buried water line |
| Water line | pipe carrying water |
| Water main | installing water main |
| Water main repair | repairing a water main |
| Water main freeze | repairing a frozen water main |
| Water proofing | water proofing foundation |
| Water service | pipe for water to feed smaller amounts (i.e. to a house) |
| Water service repair | repair of water service |
| Water valve | on/off switch |
| Water, sewer & power | install, replace or repair water, sewer & power |
| Waterworks | place which manages water supply |
| Waterworks repair | repair of water works |
| Weeping tile | tube with holes that regulates water passage |
| Weigh scale | large scale for heavy machinery (i.e. trucks) to weigh what they are carrying |
| Well | to dig deep into the ground to put a well in for water |