User Manual

38 Utility AirSpade Technical Applications Bulletin
Glossary
Airspading: Soil excavation techniques utilizing a proprietary
compressed air-powered tool incorporating a supersonic nozzle.
Approved Contractor: Operator with sufficient education, training, and
experience in vacuum excavation and airspading.
Backfill:Refilling the void created by excavation.
CFM: Cubic Feet per Minute (cu ft/min). Measurement of the rate of
flow of air passing through an orifice.
Compressed Air Excavation: Non-mechanical, non-destructive
process utilizing compressed air and paired with avacuumto
simultaneouslyexcavate and evacuate soil.
Damage:Impact or exposure that results in the need to repair
an underground facility due to weakening, or partial or complete
destruction of the facility. This includes, but is not limited to, the
protective coating, lateral support, cathodic protection, or housing for
the line, device, or facility.
Damage Reporting:Immediate report of damage caused or discovered
in the course of excavation or demolition work to a One Call Center,
occupants of premises, or emergency responders.
Emergency: Sudden or unforeseen occurrence involving a clear and
imminent danger to life, health, or property. Interruption of essential
utility services or blockage of transportation facilities requiring
immediate action.
Excavate or Excavation:Operations using non-mechanized or
mechanized equipment, demolition, or explosives in the movement of
earth, rock, or other material below existing grade.
Excavator:Person(s) or companies engaged in excavation or demolition
work.
Facility: Underground or submerged conductor, pipe, or structure used
to provide electric, telecommunications, gas, oil or oil products, sewage,
water, storm drainage, or other services.
Finish Grade: Elevation of surfaces after completion of construction
or excavation.
Hand-Digging: Soil excavation using hand tools such as shovels and
picks to expose facilities.
Hydro Excavation: Non-mechanical, non-destructive process utilizing
pressurized water and paired with avacuumto simultaneouslyexcavate
and evacuate soil.
Joint Trench:Trench containing two or more facilities that are buried
together by design or agreement.
Keyholing: Specialized version of potholing using soft excavation where
the objective is to minimize pavement disruption.
Locate:Confirm the existence of lines or facilities by establishing a
mark through the use of stakes, paint, flagging, whiskers, or some other
customary manner that determines the location of that line or facility.
Locator: Person or company with the job of locating underground lines
or facilities.
Muck: Waste material consisting of soil and water as a byproduct of
hydro excavation.
Near Miss: Event where damage did not occur, but a clear potential for
damage was identified.
Planning:Gathering information before the start of a project to aid in
decision-making regarding the route or location of a proposed excavation
based on constraints, including the location of existing facilities,
anticipated conflicts, and costs of relocating existing facilities or
construction of proposed facilities.
Potholing: Excavation method creating a test hole to expose
underground infrastructure to determine the location and/or repair the
facility.
Pre-Marking or Positive Site Identification: Marking of the proposed
excavation site/work area consistent with APWA guidelines.
PSI: Pounds per Square Inch (lbs/sq in) measurement of air pressure.
Root Cause: Primary reason an event occurred.
Safety Excess Flow Check Valve: Automatically closes if a downstream
air hose is cut, ruptures, or accidentally uncouples, thus preventing
the hose from whipping. Automatically resets, after repair to the air
system. Also referred to as an “Air Fuse.”