Nevada Regional Common Ground Alliance

08/29/2025

Saddle Up!!! The NRCGA invites all Nevada professional locators to compete in the 6th Annual Utility Locate Rodeo - a thrilling showcase of precision, speed, and skill! Visit www.nrcga.org/rodeo

🕖 October 11th 7am-3pm
📍 College of Southern Nevada - Charleston Campus
🆓 FREE Entry for Competitors
💰 Cash Prizes & Bragging Rights
🏆 Division Winners + Jackpot Locate Champion
🆘 Volunteers are needed! Be part of a great event.

Thanks to our generous sponsors, 70% of sponsorship funds go directly to division winners, and 30% fuels the Jackpot prize.

08/25/2025

Help Track Encounters with Facilities Embedded in Sidewalk & Pavement
By Charles Folashade Jr.

Nevada’s excavation work relies on solid data. Now you can play a vital role in improving safety across the state.

The Embedded Facilities Form captures critical information whenever shallow utilities in sidewalks, streets, or other paved surfaces are discovered or damaged. This documentation equips us to understand when, how, and why these incidents occur. Ultimately, this helps champion more effective preventive strategies.

Who Should Use the Form
✅Excavators encountering unexpected shallow utilities
✅Locators marking facilities during pre-dig inspections
✅Facility owners identifying damage in the course of repair or maintenance

Why It Matters
Every anonymous submission helps fill key gaps in our understanding. Whether it's a fiber conduit, a shallow gas line, or another embedded utility, tracking these encounters strengthens our ability to safeguard people, projects, and infrastructure statewide.

The Task Force Behind It
The Facilities Embedded in Sidewalks Task Force, a temporary collaboration between the NRCGA and NUCA, is guiding this effort. The task force aims to achieve consensus between excavators and utility operators on how to address these embedded facilities, and will dissolve once a working solution is in place.

Submissions Are Anonymous and Open to All
We encourage everyone—on all sides of the excavation process—to participate. Your input is confidential, straightforward, and impact-driven.
Submit an encounter here:

Visit the post for more.

08/03/2025

Great night for baseball! Silver Shovel winner Derek Puffer, from C and S Company, Inc., will be throwing out the first pitch at 7. There are perks to being a safe digging winner!

08/01/2025

Hydroexcavation: Safe Digging with Precision and Control
By Charles Folashade Jr., NRCGA Technical Solutions Committee Chair

Digging around buried utilities is never routine, and for many contractors in Nevada, hydroexcavation has become the preferred way to expose facilities safely and efficiently. Instead of relying on mechanical equipment, hydroexcavation uses high-pressure water and vacuum suction to remove soil without damaging the infrastructure underneath.

Several NRCGA members specialize in this technique, bringing deep expertise and field-tested workflows to complex excavation projects.

👍Hole Hogz, known for their well maintained fleet and nimble response times, often step in on tight urban jobs where immediate response is critical and risk is high.

👍Flippin's Trenching brings years of experience using hydroexcavation in joint trench and utility install projects, especially in new developments and fiber corridors.

👍Las Vegas Paving and 👍Byrd Underground, LLC have also incorporated hydroexcavation into their projects as part of a broader push for damage prevention, particularly in sensitive areas near high profile gas and telecom lines.

Whether it’s potholing before a bore or exposing main lines ahead of a crossing, hydroexcavation gives crews more control and project owners more confidence. As utility networks grow more congested, the demand for precision digging continues to rise.

Photos below: Hole Hogz vac truck on the left (photo credit: Felicia Tarin), and Las Vegas Paving truck on the right (photo credit: Scott Allen).

07/23/2025

The NRCGA will be there! Stop by the table mentioned below to say hello and pick up some cool 811 swag!

Celebrate 811 Day early with $8.11 Baseball Tickets!

We're teaming up with the Las Vegas Aviators on August 2nd to celebrate 811 Day a little early and you're invited!

Stop by our 811 booth for free giveaways, safety information, and a chance to connect with others who help keep Nevada digging safely. Whether you're an excavator, utility operator, or just a fan of good baseball, this night is for you.

Click the link below or use promo code 811CALL to get your special ticket price: just $8.11 (plus tax & fees) while supplies last. 🎟️

https://www.gofevo.com/event/811CallBeforeYouDig1

07/14/2025

Registration for the NRCGA's 4th Annual Golf Tournament is open! Check out https://nrcga.org/golf/ to register your foursome or to sponsor.

07/11/2025

Ticket Management Tools: How Excavators Are Staying on Top of Their Requests
By Charles Folashade Jr., NRCGA Technical Solutions Committee Chair

Managing 811 tickets is a critical but often overlooked part of safe excavation. Across Nevada, excavators use a range of tools to organize tickets, track responses, and stay compliant from advanced platforms to basic spreadsheets.

DigContrax, a Nevada native NRCGA member, provides a full-featured ticket management system tailored for utility contractors. It supports ticket tracking, automated notifications, work order integration, and team coordination in the field.

811spotter, also an NRCGA member, offers a more regional option with a modern mobile-first design. Nevada users especially appreciate features like:

🏧 Automated ticket renewals
💰 Unlimited users at no extra cost
💻 Integration with project management systems like HCSS, Procore, and Irth
📅 Utility response predictions, showing a 180-day track record of how quickly each utility typically responds
🧹 A clean interface with a mobile app that’s built for real-time use in the field

Some contractors still manage tickets using spreadsheets, in combination with the Open System Portal from Underground Service Alert of Northern California & Nevada. While this manual approach lacks the automation and usability of dedicated platforms, it can still work well for smaller teams that have tight workflows and consistent oversight.

As excavation projects become more complex, the need for clear, timely ticket tracking grows. Whether using a robust platform or a simple manual system, staying organized is key to avoiding delays, preventing damages, and protecting crews.

07/07/2025

NEW MEMBER ALERT! Welcome, National Trench Safety, to the team!

National Trench Safety supports damage prevention through rental and sale of trench and traffic safety equipment, expert engineering services, and OSHA-compliant training. By promoting safe excavation practices and regulatory compliance, NTS helps stakeholders protect workers, prevent utility damages, and keep projects moving safely and efficiently.

07/07/2025

NEW MEMBER ALERT! Welcome, Advanced Spade Company, to the team!

Advanced Spade Company manufactures locate equipment, develops damage prevention software, and provides field services for private utility locating and drone mapping. As both a manufacturer and service provider, the company focuses on making locating and mapping more efficient, understandable and reliable for professionals in the field and office.

07/02/2025

NEW MEMBER ALERT! Welcome, Terra Contracting Inc, to the NRCGA!

Terra Contracting is a self-performing utility and infrastructure contractor with over 30 years of experience in the Las Vegas Valley. Committed to damage prevention, Terra partners with key stakeholders and invests in workforce development through a rigorous two-day training program that blends classroom learning with hands-on fieldwork in a live training yard. Their combination of technical expertise, local insight, and safety-first culture helps safeguard critical infrastructure and advance safer, more efficient job sites.

07/02/2025

NEW MEMBER ALERT! Welcome, Subterranean Consulting Group, to the NRCGA!

Sub-T & Locating Dynamics, founded by Adam Zeciri, is a NULCA-accredited locator training and OQ compliance consultant dedicated to improving field competency and reducing utility damages. They are currently preparing to host a locator training seminar in Las Vegas in the coming months, further supporting safe excavation and industry workforce development.

06/20/2025

👉🏽Homeowners Guide to Safe Digging in Nevada brought to you by the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada. Be a good neighbor and dig safe! Brochures also available in Spanish.