Click here to view a recording of the Town Hall held on July 29, 2024.

Click here to view a summary of attendee questions an answers from the Town Hall held on May 2, 2024.

The ALP Program is operated by a consortium of infrastructure owners to provide an alternative option for obtaining locates of their assets. Not all USP members are participating in the program in all regions. There is a list of participating members HERE.

USP provides ticket processing capabilities for its members in line with the ALP requirements. USP provides general information about the ALP Program to excavators and locators and ensures that a current list of registered Alternate Locate Service Providers is available on its website.

Any project owner or locate requester may use the ALP option to receive locates for any routine ticket as long as they adhere to the conditions of the ALP Program.

The project owner / requester will be required to compensate the Alternate Locate Service Provider (ALSP) directly per the ALSP's ALP rates. Since payment for services will now be between the requester and the ALSP, a contract may be required between the parties, but this will depend on each business and situation.

The ALP Program intends to provide an additional option to receive locates. Public locate delivery is measured against strict delivery metrics and it is expected that Locate Service Providers (LSPs) continue to uphold commitments to this standard of delivery. Similar models to ALP have been deployed in other provinces and countries with success and all indications show that the addition of this service complements and enables a more robust public locate delivery.

The key difference is that ALP is currently a voluntary program operated by infrastructure owners to provide an alternative approach for locates for project owners and stakeholders. No regulatory or government organizations are currently involved in or directing the ALP Program.

The goal of the ALP Program is to provide this option across the province; however, the list of participating owners depends entirely on the impacted members and their continued involvement in the program. There is no current requirement for non-participating members to participate in the ALP.

Submit your request via standard procedures and select "YES" in the Alternate Locate Provider Option box. Once the ALP request is submitted, participating infrastructure owners will remove the request from their standard request-response process, and the requester is then responsible for arranging locates for those members' assets with an approved Alternate Locate Service Provider (ALSP). Please note that emergency locate requests are not part of the ALP Process.

No. If you do not wish to arrange and pay for your own locates, simply leave the Alternate Locate Provider Option box defaulted to "NO" and your locate request will be responded to per normal procedures by all notified members, including those who participate in the ALP Program.

In the situation where some notified asset owners are participating in the ALP Program and others have chosen not to, non-participating members will respond to the locate request using standard procedures.

The ticket must be cancelled and resubmitted as a new locate request.

The project owner may attempt to secure alternative locates from any registered Alternate Locate Service Provider (ALSP) in their region.

In the event a Locate Service Provider (LSP) is requested that is not registered as an ALSP, a standard registration assessment and approval process must be followed before using the LSP. There is no guarantee that an LSP will be approved nor that the assessment will be completed per project timing expectations. As such, it is strongly recommended that project owners proactively request an assessment of non-registered LSPs prior to submitting their ALP locate request.

This is an option, but the requester would need to go through the ALP assessment process to be registered as an ALSP. The requester would need to demonstrate the ability to perform locates and satisfy all safety, quality, and technical requirements as determined by the consortium of infrastructure owners. Registration approval is not guaranteed. More details on the ALSP assessment process can be found here.

A listing of all registered Alternate Locate Service Providers (ALSPs) can be found here. Please note this list is subject to change at any time by the consortium of infrastructure owners that maintain the master list.

The ALP Program is operated by a consortium of infrastructure owners so a decision about who can participate is to be made between the consortium and interested infrastructure owners. USP will put you in contact with a consortium representative if you email a request to participate in the ALP to [email protected].

Any LSP wishing to participate in the ALP and be registered as an Alternate Locate Service Provider (ALSP) must submit a request for registration assessment. The LSP will be assessed against standard registration assessment criteria operated by a consortium of infrastructure owners. While any LSP can request registration, there is no guarantee that an LSP will be approved for registration. Prior to requesting assessment, it is recommended that interested LSPs review the ALSP Preparation Guide and also review their capabilities against the assessment criteria.

Fees for registering as an ALSP

The Alternate Locate Service Provider (ALSP) registration process is open to any LSP, contractor, or employer who wishes to participate and meets the minimum registration requirements. For those LSPs not currently contracted to infrastructure owners involved in the ALP Program, additional contractual items may be required and can be coordinated with owners upon registration approval.

Registration will continue for an ALSP unless non-conformance to the ALP requirements occurs. Examples include, but are not limited to, safety incidents, damages, quality concerns, or other business changes that impact registration. Audits of ALSP performance and/or registration alignment may occur at any time. Registration is at the sole discretion of the consortium of infrastructure owners that oversees the ALP.

Any approved training provider may provide course delivery for the mandatory Locate and Marking course. As such, an ALSP can request access to the training standard and submit their program for audit by the USP Training Standards Committee audit team. This would allow their certified trainers to deliver course material against the standard and register locators. More details can be found here.

In addition to Alternate Locate Service Providers (ALSPs) being registered to provide ALP locates, individual locators working for ALSPs will also be required to be registered for ALP participation. Registration involves 2 components:

1. Successful completion of the new industry Locate and Marking course from an endorsed training provider.
2. Employer assessment of the locator that confirms the locator meets the minimum requirements of ALP.

It was determined that implementing a low-burden and consistent registration process would ensure the ALP Program maintains high quality, transparency, and formalization for all stakeholders. The assessment relies heavily on the ALSP or employer's pre-existing training and competency review process.

Details of the individual locator assessment criteria can be found here.

The following organizations are endorsed to provide Locate and Marking Standard training:

• Astec Safety Inc. (Locating 101)
• Global Training Centre (Locating 101)

ALSP registration is ongoing, however, individual locators must be re-registered annually. There are certain conditions under which a locator may lose registration or require re-assessment. These are outlined in the registration program requirements. Examples include, but are not limited to, safety incidents, damages, quality concerns, change of employer or other significant changes to a locator's performance as determined by the employer. Registration is at the sole discretion of the consortium of infrastructure owners that oversee the ALP Program.

In this event, the locator loses registration approval and can no longer work on ALP tickets until the new employer assesses and registers the locator. It is expected that each employer will provide an updated locator registration list each month including locators who have joined or left the organization. This list will not be made public and will serve only to allow confirmation of locator registration.

The ALP registration assessments rely entirely on the employer's ability to train and manage locator competency. As such, competency is outside of the scope of the ALP Program, which provides a standardized framework to allow registration and participation in ALP locates.