The most effective safety solutions are rarely born in boardrooms. Instead, they are born through the lived experiences of our people and partners closest to the work, who face real risks and real consequences every day.

On the U.S. 70 James City project, Balfour Beatty teammates and trade partners are building in and around a complex network of underground utilities. The project’s proximity to the Coastal Carolina Regional Airport (EWN), four local schools, an active railroad and countless local businesses poses unique challenges and opportunities for continuous safety improvement.

Assistant Project Manager Brandon Cline recognized that the project team needed a disciplined, repeatable way to verify and communicate existing utility conditions.

That’s how his innovative “Utility Location and Strike Avoidance” checklist was born.

A Field-Ready Tool

Rather than relying on generic industry guidance, Brandon took lessons learned directly from the field and translated them into a comprehensive checklist. Importantly, Brandon’s checklist was reviewed by safety, health and environment (SHE) leadership and refined with input from the broader team before job-wide implementation.

By outlining a clear, step-by-step process flow and requiring live signatures from the foreman and supervisor, the checklist serves as a simple but effective gate that prompts the right conversations between the right people.

The checklist has been adopted by the entire James City team and has made a tangible impact on their Zero Harm objectives.

Documentation as a Safety Tool

One of the most impactful innovations of the checklist is mandatory photo documentation before excavation begins.

Before digging activities commence, crews photograph utility markings and site conditions. Those images are uploaded digitally and time‑stamped using HeavyJob software. Once excavation starts and markings disappear, the photos become a critical record that both protects workers and mitigates risk should concerns arise later.

“Documentation is the lifeblood of project management,” Brandon explains. “If something wasn’t marked or was marked incorrectly, our images serve as a single source of truth.”

The James City team has further improved their site documentation by leveraging drone imagery. Monthly drone flights capture site conditions and utility markings across the project.

Greater Zero Harm Certainty

By giving crews a clear process and backing them with documentation, the team builds greater confidence and clarity dig by dig. Workers now know that if they follow the checklist, they have done everything within their control to mitigate incidents.

“It’s not one‑sided,” Brandon explains. “We’re trying to look out for them while they’re trying to look out for the utilities.”

It also reinforces trust with utility owners, inspectors and partners by demonstrating that Balfour Beatty approaches safety with intentionality and a focus on continuous improvement.

“Avoiding utility strikes is a significant focus for us. The utility location and strike avoidance scheme developed and deployed at James City is a creative and thoughtful process that’s clearly reducing utility strikes. As important, the fact that this team developed this process is a testament to the Zero Harm culture that exists at James City and within the business as a whole,” praises Mark Johnnie, senior vice president and business unit leader, US Civils.              

The checklist is not static but is instead a living safety document that evolves with the team’s needs. As regulations change and lessons continue to be learned, the team expects the process to adapt.

“Utility safety is a daily responsibility,” Brandon affirms. “Our team knows this checklist is here to protect them, and I’m proud of how we’re embodying our safety mindset on utilities so everyone can go home safely.”