Underground service locating · Built for locators and vac-ex crews
Utility locating software that does the paperwork for you
Forward the Before You Dig Australia (BYDA) pack and the job sets itself up. Your locator gets the plans on their phone. The client gets the report and invoice the same day, with each service set out by quality level from Australian Standard AS 5488. Nothing is typed twice.
- Reads BYDA response PDFs and pulls out the asset owners and plans
- Plans, job details and markout capture on the locator’s phone
- Report and invoice sent from the same job
Locating is the quick bit. The admin isn’t.
A locate can take an hour on site. Around it sits the admin:
- Opening a BYDA pack full of PDFs from different asset owners and working out what’s actually there.
- Retyping the site address, client, purchase order (PO) and enquiry number from an email into a job sheet, then again into the invoice.
- Texting plans to the locator, or hoping they printed the right ones.
- Rebuilding the report from photos, notes and a sketch at night, so the client has it before they dig.
- Keeping track of which jobs are done, reported and billed, from a whiteboard and three inboxes.
From BYDA pack to paid invoice
Step 1
Pack in
Forward the client’s request and the BYDA response emails to your OpsChase job inbox, or drop the PDFs in.
Step 2
Pack read for you
OpsChase reads every PDF, lists each asset owner and service type, flags anything that needs a standby or special conditions, and pulls the site address and enquiry details.
Step 3
Job created
A draft job is ready with the client, site, scope and plans attached. Check it, set the price and confirm. No retyping.
Step 4
Locator dispatched
Drag the job to a locator on the board. They get the address, contact, scope and every plan on their phone, offline if needed.
Step 5
Markouts on site
The locator records each service found: its type, the method used, depth where known and quality level. Methods include electromagnetic, sonde, ground-penetrating radar (GPR), potholing and non-destructive digging (NDD). Add photos of the paint and pegs, a site sketch and the client’s sign-off.
Step 6
Report and invoice out
One tap produces a branded report structured by AS 5488 quality level, with photos and plans. The invoice is built from the same job and both go to the client together.
Built for how locating firms actually work
BYDA pack reader
Upload or forward the response pack. Asset owners, service types, contacts and plan pages are pulled out and attached to the job, so nobody reads every PDF by hand.
Email-to-job intake
Client requests that arrive by email become draft jobs with the site, PO and requested date already filled in.
Dispatch board
See every locator and NDD truck by day or week. Drag to assign, reschedule when the weather or a rush job changes the day, and the locator’s phone updates straight away.
Mobile job pack
Plans, scope, site contact and hazards on the phone, with offline access for sites without signal.
Markout capture
A structured record for each service: type, colour, method, depth, quality level, plus geotagged photos and a sketch. It’s the same on every job, whichever locator is out.
Reports by quality level
Reports grouped by quality level (QL-A to QL-D), with methods, limitations, photos and plans in your branding, ready to send before you leave site.
Quotes and invoices from the job
Quote by hour, site or metre, turn it into a job when the client says yes, and invoice from the completed job with no double entry.
Client portal
Builders, civil contractors and plumbers book locates, track status and download reports and plans in one place, so you get fewer “has it been done?” calls.
Locator credentials
Store each locator’s certifications, inductions and equipment calibration dates, and see who’s qualified before you assign them.
Reports your clients can rely on
- When a client asks for underground services information classified by quality level, the report is ready for it.
- OpsChase reports set out each service with its quality level (QL-A to QL-D), the detection method and any limitations, so your report reads the same every time.
- Add a disclaimer line once and it appears on every report.
- Whether your clients call it a service locating report or a locate report, it goes out from the job the same day.
AS 5488 is published by Standards Australia. OpsChase is not affiliated with Standards Australia; reports are structured to help you present information by quality level.
For locating firms of any size
Underground service locating, cable locating and GPR mapping crews all run the same job: plans in, markouts on site, report out.
- Owner-operator locators who do the office work at night
- Multi-crew locating and GPR mapping firms
- Vac-ex and NDD contractors who locate before they dig
- Surveying and engineering firms with a locating team
Part of OpsChase
Your locating firm is the client. Run bookings, crews, Before You Dig Australia response packs, reports and invoices in your own OpsChase account, for one office or several. Switch on only the parts you need.
Questions from locating firms
Who is this for?
Private utility locating, GPR mapping and vac-ex/NDD firms in Australia, from one-person operators to multi-crew businesses.
How does it read BYDA response packs?
Forward the BYDA response emails or upload the PDFs. OpsChase reads them, lists each asset owner and service type, and attaches the plans to the job. You check the result before the job is confirmed.
Is OpsChase connected to BYDA?
No. OpsChase is independent and isn’t affiliated with Before You Dig Australia. It works with the response packs you already receive. Enquiries are still lodged with BYDA in the usual way.
Are the reports AS 5488 compliant?
Reports are structured so each service is presented with its quality level (QL-A to QL-D), detection method and limitations. Whether a job meets a client’s AS 5488 requirements depends on the work done on site. The report helps you present it clearly.
Can my locators work without signal?
Yes. The job pack and markout capture work offline and sync when the phone reconnects.
Can clients book and download reports themselves?
Yes. Clients get a portal to request locates, see job status and download reports, plans and invoices.
Does it handle quoting and invoicing?
Yes. Quote by hour, site or metre, turn approved quotes into jobs and invoice from the completed job.
Does it work for vac trucks and NDD crews?
Yes. Schedule trucks and operators on the same board, record potholing results with their quality level, and capture dockets and photos on the job.
Can we bring our existing clients and jobs?
Yes. Send us your client list and recent jobs as spreadsheets and we’ll import them.
Guides for locating firms
AS 5488 quality levels explained: QL-A to QL-D
What Quality Levels A to D in Australian Standard AS 5488 mean on a locate, how Quality Level B differs from A, and how to set each out in your report.
How to read a BYDA response pack: what to check first
A Before You Dig Australia response pack can hold plans from many asset owners. What locators check first: the confirmation, expiry dates and conditions.
Utility locating report template: what to include
What a utility locating report should include: scope, sources, methods, each service by quality level, limits, plans and photos. A template you can copy.
GPR report template for underground service locating
A ground-penetrating radar report template for underground service locating: equipment, survey lines, depth checks, targets, limits and an example entry.
Running a utility locating business: pricing and admin
Running a utility locating business: pricing by the hour, site or metre, where office time goes, staying certified, and what locating software should do.
Spend your day locating, not retyping.
BYDA (Before You Dig Australia) is an independent organisation. OpsChase is not affiliated with BYDA; it works with the response packs you already receive, and enquiries are still lodged with BYDA in the usual way.