Electronic Positive Response (+Response or EPR) is communication from the utility member (contract locator) to the excavator regarding the status of a DigAlert ticket. California has always had +Response in the law by requiring members to notify the excavator with status or mark the area to be excavated on site. What changed in Government Code 4216 on January 1st, 2017, is that Electronic Positive Response can now be made through the Notification Center starting January 1st, 2018. However, DigAlert began offering this service starting November 1st, 2017.
This means that members must respond to DigAlert's servers about the marking status of the ticket. DigAlert will then allow the excavator to check the responses through the website, SMS and apps anytime during life of the ticket. In addition, DigAlert will email the excavator at the start date and time listed on the ticket a complete status of responses, if the excavator has supplied an email address on the ticket and given permission to send emails.
Once a ticket is created, it is sent out to all utility members who asked for notification in that area. As members clear or respond to the site they can then send a response back to DigAlert with information about what was completed. For example; "locate area marked", "no access to area", "clear - no conflict", etc. DigAlert will store that information with the ticket along with a date & time stamp. Members can make multiple responses to the same ticket however responses can't be edited or deleted. This means that all responses will show with their corresponding date and time.
There are four ways for members to submit responses to DigAlert. Through the use of DigAlert's WebTMS system (Web Ticket Management, an optional paid service see https://digalert.org/webtms for more information), manually via web portal/mobile app, manually via a link on the ticket delivery, through a web service/TCP connection (this requires you to already have a ticket management system or application that can send TCP requests to our server). Technical documents can be found here → Automated Electronic Positive Response via TCP Connection or via a REST API. REST API documentation can be found here → Automated Electronic Positive Response via REST API.
To use Electronic Positive Response as a utility member (or contract locator) you must;
- Be a member in good standing of DigAlert (for contract locators, the company you are locating for must be a member in good standing)
- Be assigned at least one active member code (done at the time of joining)
- Notify DigAlert you wish to use EPR through the center by calling the administration office at (951) 808-8100
- Decide how you will submit your responses to DigAlert from one of the 4 above methods
Warning!
If you have multiple facilities (water, electric, sewer) and you only have ONE member code, when you respond you CANNOT respond differently per facility. There can be only one response PER member code. This is why we recommend one code per facility type
Important Information!
DigAlert recommends that if you have multiple facility types (water, electric, sewer, etc) that you have a member code for each type.
| Ticket Type | Ticket Type Description | Response Required | Optional Response Accepted if Sent (Only applies to NO Response Required) | Response Required Date/Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNCL | Cancel | NO | NO | None |
| DMGE | Damage | NO | YES | None |
| EXPD | Exposed | NO | YES | None |
| NEW | New | YES | Legal notice or Work Date/Time on ticket (whichever is later) | |
| NRSP | No Response | NO | YES | None |
| REMK | Request Re-marks | YES | Legal notice | |
| AMND | Amendment | NO | YES | If before the original Work Date/Time on the ticket or Legal notice then the response due date/time remain the same. If after the response required date/time become legal notice. |
| RNEW | Renew Only | NO | YES | None |
| RTRN | Return Trip | YES | Legal notice or Work Date/Time |
For the member, EPR is an effective means of reducing the number of retransmits that they receive because the excavator saw no markings at the dig site.
For excavators, EPR provides them with information about the member facilities prior to arriving on the job site. If they provided an email address when the locate request was called in they will receive an email confirmation after the start date & time listed on the ticket.
Testing is available for members that wish to test posting responses using the Automated Electronic Positive Response via TCP Connection and Automated Electronic Positive Response via REST API methods ONLY. If you wish to start testing, please contact our IT department for access after you have signed up from our member services department.
