Hard knocks: missed utilities: a lost ticket number for utility location is almost cause for a fine.(Big50: Live+Learn)

When an excavator for MRF Construction (Big50 2002) began digging for a garage addition project, it hit a gas pipe in the street. "There was potential for an explosion," treasurer and designer Carolin Fast says. The Tacoma, Wash., company reacted quickly by evacuating staff and alerting officials. The utility company shut off the gas to make sure the neighborhood was safe.

President Mike Fast met with the utility crew's foreman and explained that the company hired to mark the pipes had made a mistake. He also sent a letter to the neighbors with an explanation. "We did not look like we were professionals--that's what bothered us the most," Carolin says.

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