Making a PlanToDig Enquiry
A PlanToDig Enquiry is an easy 4-stage process; it is often quicker than creating and sending an email.
1) Your Site: Using `Find your Site`, start typing in the Address of
your Site; you will be able to select from the list provided.
The Site Address and the Plan you mark up produces the `Site Specification`.
2) Possible Contacts: We run your Site Specification against the Area
of Interest (AoI) for all known Asset Owners.
This generates the `Possible Contacts` showing who / Estimate of any charge* they will make.
3) Selected Contacts:
You choose the Contact(s) that you need Plans from
for your Site.
In addition to utility plans (electric/gas etc.), you can ask for Authority/Pipeline/Railway/Mining etc.
4) Enquiry Type: You choose how you wish to conduct your New PlanToDig Enquiry.
SelfPlan is free* as you do all the work yourself (we give you the Enquiry documents).
or
Retriever where you pay us an Admin fee to do it all for you.
*Asset Owner Charges normally apply for both SelfPlan and Retriever Enquiries.
Retriever makes payments and accounts for Actual Charges; with SelfPlan you are
responsible for confirming and making each Charge payment.
FastTrack for Retriever Enquiries
National One Call has permission to access a number of Asset Owner planning systems to give Plans to Enquirers.
For these we offer a FastTrack Service
Asset Owners aspire to respond within 10 Working Days; FastTrack can get some plans within 1 Working Day*.
If you need just one plan, or perhaps a few plans, we might be able to get them on FastTrack if the Enquiry Site is within the Area of Interest (AoI) of the Asset Owner(s).
FastTrack is not available for SelfPlan Enquiries.
*Some Asset Owners still make a Charge for plans taken on FastTrack, but as always we
Estimate what this will be beforehand - no nasty surprises.
**Latest News**
FastTrack Available: 1 Working-Day turnaround now possible - see FastTrack for details.
Asset Owners return to Offices: Up to 10 working days resumed for non-FastTrack plans.
What is Dial Before You Dig?
Dial Before You Dig lets you get plans from all known Asset Owners (utilities etc.) at any UK Site.
An Enquiry takes just 4 easy steps:
1) You identify your site
2) We will tell you which
utilities / pipelines / authorities may be interested.
3) You choose who
is to be contacted.
4) Pay us a fee to do it all for you, or pay us
nothing and you do it.
How much will a PlanToDig Enquiry Cost?
|
SelfPlan | Retriever |
|
Enquiry Fee | No | Yes |
|
Express Fee | N/A |
Option |
|
Fusion Plan Fee | N/A |
Option |
|
Printing Fee | N/A |
Option |
|
Charges by Asset Owners | Yes* |
Yes |
|
Payment to NOC | £0.00 |
Fees + Charges |
* With SelfPlan, you will NOT pay Asset Owner Charges to National One Call
but you will still be liable for these; you make payments
directly to each Asset Owner.
Who can make an Enquiry on PlanToDig?
Everyone with the need for asset owner plans can use Dial Before You Dig. Users have to be Registered with us before they can make
an Enquiry to ensure we can contact you with results.
Registration is free, no subscription fees, no purchase obligations.
One Enquiry can get you Plans for*:
Utilities (Electricity | Gas | Telecoms | Water)
as well as
Authorities (Street Lighting | Traffic Control | Drainage)
Railways, and Pipelines
* We identify who might be Affected at your Site, then
you select who to contact.
PlanToDig: Services plans from your choice of Contacts
PlanToDig can be used to ask for any number of Contacts for your site.
Based on your Site, we will tell you who might be Affected; you select those
you wish to contact.
- Utilities / Pipelines with buried services at your Site.
- Local / National Authorities with presences / services.
- SiteGuard site-owners with a potential interest in your Site.
Use Site Manager to define / select your Site
then select the PlanToDig service.
PlanToDig: Ask for Plans from your choice of Contacts
PlanToDig can be used to ask for any number of Contacts for your site.
Based on your Site, we will tell you who might be Affected; you select those
you wish to get Plans from.
- If you only need, say, Openreach, just select them from the list.
- Looking just for Gas services? Just choose the gas contacts.
Use Site Manager to define / select your Site
then select the PlanToDig service.
How long will a PlanToDig Enquiry take?
A SelfPlan Enquiry relies entirely on you to commit all the time and
effort required; a typical SelfPlan Enquiry takes 15 to 40 working days to complete,
requiring an average of 28 working hours* of your time.
A Retriever Enquiry is conducted by National One Call and takes 1 to 10
working days to complete, depending on response times of the selected
Contacts; the only effort required from you is to specify the Site and Contacts.
All Contacting, Reviewing, Response Recording, Progress-Chasing,
Documentation, Analysis, Certification, and Planning Pack compilation and
delivery is done for you with Retriever. You can monitor progress in your
Enquiries Register.
* - based on an average Multi-contact Enquiry of 28
Contacts, allowing for 1 working hour per contact over the period.
Time Needed for a PlanToDig Enquiry
a) Effort required and by whom, by Enquiry Type:
| | Enquiry Type |
| Action | SelfPlan | Retriever |
| Create Enquiry | You | You |
| Send to Contacts | You | Us |
| Pay Charges | You | Us |
| Progress Chasing | You | Us |
| Verify Responses | You | Us |
| Compile Planning Pack | You |
Us |
| Certification | N/A | Us |
| Documentation | You | Us |
| Accounting | You | Us |
b) the time needed for Asset Owners to make their response.
Asset Owners try to respond within 10 working days of receiving an Enquiry,
but some will only start their `Respond-by-Clock` once Payment has been received
and verified.
On average, a Retriever Enquiry completes within 8 working
days;
a SelfPlan Enquiry can take over 30 working days.
What will I receive in response to a PlanToDig Enquiry?
An Enquiry - either a SelfPlan or a Retriever - will result in:
| Enquiry | The site-plan and Enquiry you specified. |
| Plans | From Asset Owners with services at your site. |
| 'Not Affected' | From Asset Owners if they are Not
Affected. |
| Instructions | Guides from Asset Owners about works etc. |
| Disclaimers | Restrictions about the Response given. |
| Additionally, with Retriever Enquiries.. |
| Documentation | Compilation of Responses received. |
| Certification | Certifying the PlanToDig Enquiry. |
| Charge Payments | Payment of Actual Asset Owner Charges |
| Accounting | Itemised account of Fees and Charges |
| Service Options | Any Fusion Plan or other Option taken. |
| Enquiry Register | Available in your Enquiries Register for
2 years. |
SelfPlan: a Free service where you do all the work.
If cost is an issue or you have plenty of time on your hands we uniquely offer a free service called 'SelfPlan',
instead of us completing the Enquiry for you through our Retriever service.
As the name suggests, SelfPlan is where you do all the work for your own
PlanToDig Enquiry, everything from making contact with the asset owners to
compiling your Planning Pack, paying any charges made by asset owners, checking
and monitoring replies, progress-chasing of late responses.
We give you the Enquiry you created and the list of contacts you selected.
The rest is up to you.
By 'free' we mean you will not pay anything to National One Call, but you
will still be liable for any Asset Owner Charges.
Retriever: where we do all the work for you.
A 'Retriever' Enquiry is where you pay us an administration fee to complete
your PlanToDig Enquiry.
We tell you up-front what our Administration fee will be. This will not
change, although there may be some variation on Estimated Asset Owner Charges.
All you do is specify your Site and select the Asset Owners you wish us to
request plans from.
We do everything else including paying Charges made by any asset owners and
deliver your Planning Pack to you within 10 Working Days, often quicker.
You can see your Retriever Enquiry in 'My Enquiries' and monitor progress.
Charges made by Asset Owners for Responses.
Some Asset Owners make a charge for responding to Enquiries. When you
create your PlanToDig Enquiry we give you our Estimate of what these will be.
For a Retriever Enquiry, we ask you to approve our Estimated
Charges. But each Asset Owner confirms their
Actual charge to us when they review your Enquiry. Most of our Estimates are spot-on but
Actual charges can vary in some situations,
e.g. larger sites.
If an Actual charge is greater than our Estimate for a
Retriever Enquiry
we come to you for further authorisation; if less we credit you back the difference.
For a SelfPlan Enquiry, each Asset Owner will confirm their
charge directly to you. It is then up to you to arrange to pay it as
instructed.
Identifying Asset Owners for your Site.
When you create your Enquiry we match your Site to the Area of Interest (AoI) given to us by each Asset Owner.
This determines who might be affected at your Site.
Using your knowledge of your Site, you can then review this list of possible Asset
Owners to decide who is to be contacted for your Enquiry.
For example, if your Site is not on a Public Street/Road you may not need Street Lighting plans.
It is only when an Enquiry is reviewed by each selected Asset Owner against their own records that they can say if they
are affected at that Site, and make their Response.
For more on Asset Owner selection look in 'About Us' for
information and guides.
How to get just a Scottish Water Plan.
National One Call are Appointed Agent for Scottish Water Plans.
You can search for only Scottish Water plans using the Scottish Water search,
or use the PlanToDig search to find other Asset Owners.
Provided your Site falls within the Scottish Water Area of Interest (AoI), Scottish Water will appear
in the list of possible Contacts under 'Water / Sewerage'; tick this box and
click 'Continue'.
This is all you need to request just a Scottish Water
plan.
You can however select any other potentially affected Asset
Owners you also wish to request Plans from.
Appointed Agent Service.
Our Appointed Agent Service is for Asset Owners who wish to lighten their workload of providing plans to Enquirers.
By redirecting callers at reception and on corporate websites, Asset Owners
give National One Call as the method by which Plan Requests are dealt with.
We take the calls and requests, and provide the
Plans and Response.
Any charges are applied / gathered in / accounted for / paid to the Asset Owner;
it can even allow special rules of the Asset Owner to be applied, e.g.
'householders are not charged'.
An online Management System gives real-time monitoring of Enquiries, and
Reporting / Escalation rules mean that Plant Protection opportunities will not be
missed.
Asset Owners considering Appointed Agent can use the
'Contact Us' form for more information.
Meet our Sponsors on the InSite Network
Many of our Members understand and appreciate the importance of the free services
that we provide for safety of people and protection of services.
Members that wish to can become `Sponsors` of those free services.
In return for their support, Sponsors appear on our InSite Sponsor Network where they can be contacted by Members and non-Members alike,
and they appear in printed Enquiry documentation and on-screen for users of our
free services.
Finding a specialist on InSite costs nothing for either the
Enquirer nor the Sponsor; find the Specialist and deal with them directly.
It's all about Sites!!
Everything starts with, and relates to, the Sites in which you have an interest.
You can have an `interest` in a Site for any reason.
PlanToDig gets you plans from utilities / authorities / pipelines / others who also have an interest in your Site.
SiteGuard protects your Site, informing others of your interest and lets them contact you for plans / works.
InSite is a Client to Client network to let those needing goods and services to contact those who can supply them.
PlanToDig Professional
Professional is for organisations who get their own Plans.
Use our systems to make PlanToDig Enquiries, receive Responses directly, and record results.
No systems to develop; no spreadsheets / software to maintain.
Site Manager
Your Sites are the key to everything!
- `Site Manager` lets you order Services for a Site you have already used.
- Use `New Site` to locate and define a new Site and order Services.
Services Manager
Services are Ordered for your Sites.
- PlanToDig gets plans from all known potentially interested parties.
- SiteGuard protects your Site from planning & excavation intentions.
- InSite requests assistance from other specialist Members.
Use `Site Manager` to make / select your Site
and select the Service(s) you require.
PlanToDig Enquiries
PlanToDig identifies all known potentially interested parties for your Site.
This can be utilities / authorities / pipeline owners / SiteGuard owners etc.
Select those you wish to ask for Plans from
then select the Enquiry Type you wish to make.
Track your Enquiries and their Responses through your Enquiry Manager.
SiteGuard Sites
Be contacted for Planning or Work Intentions at your Site!
Anyone can register an interest in any Site, and be contacted when that Site is potentially affected by planning or work intentions.
Settings for rules / privacy / visibility / contact etc.
Use the SiteGuard Toolkit to help manage your SiteGuard Site.
Use Site Manager to define / select your Site
then select the SiteGuard service.
InSite Enquiries
InSite connects Members requiring specialist goods / services
with other Members who supply these.
Use the InSite Network to ask for Help at your Site.
Join InSite if you have goods / services that others may need.
Nothing to pay to NOC for Requesting or Responding on InSite.
