Pipeline damage by equipment operated in proximity to existing underground utilities costs millions of dollars each year and poses considerable hazard to workmen and the public. Excavation in proximity to buried facilities is a long‐established fact of life and the probability of damage is recognized to be directly proportional to the preparation, investigation, and notification activities that have preceded actual excavation. In order to alleviate this problem and provide a simple and effective notification method, utility and pipeline operators in many areas banded together to establish one‐call notification systems. It has been well demonstrated that these systems have substantially reduced damage costs.