About 3M Utility Locator and Marking Solutions

3M™ Locators and Markers provide a complete system for locating, marking and mapping vital underground assets.

From markers that give an exact path and estimated depth of underground utilities, to markers that store information, to utility locators that interface with GPS/GIS field mapping instruments, 3M offers the precision tools needed to manage your assets. Together, they provide a complete solution with the performance and reliability you trust from 3M. Learn more about 3M's utility locating products, line locator industry solutions, or utility locator resources.

VIEW ALL LOCATING AND MARKING PRODUCTS

Staying on the right path.

3M™ Path Marking Solutions. A game-changer for underground utility protecting & locating.

DIG IN

3M Products for Utility Locating and Marking

3M provides leading utility locating products for accurate marking and locating of critical buried network features. Included are sophisticated systems that allow programming of identifying features into intelligent markers using RFID technology, and interfaces with GPS/GIS systems for accurate mapping. Find pipe locator products and tools to mark underground assets.

3M Applications for Locating & Marking

Jump to:

Communications Cable Locating
Quickly pinpoint the location of buried facilities with the 3M™ Electronic Marker System (EMS) for Cable TV and 3M™ Electronic Marker System (EMS) for Telephone. Using 3M EMS markers during construction, installation and maintenance virtually eliminates the time consuming search for hard-to-locate facilities. Markers used for communications location are color-coded to APWA standards for visual reference and have their own frequency, helping reduce the risk of accidentally locating and excavating other buried facilities. For communications utilities, all telephone locator markers are orange and CATV markers are orange/black.

3M EMS telecom cable locator series can be used to locate:
- Buried splices of all types
- Buried service drops
- Bends: changes of direction, arcs
- Depth changes: lateral deflection
- Fiber optic facilities with no metallic conductor
- Encasement ends: conduit ends of horizontally directional drilled facilities
- Manhole covers
- Crossings: Water, road and rail
View All Locating and Marking Communications Cable TV Products
View All Locating and Marking Communications Telephone Products
Back to Top
Gas Pipe Locating
Save time and money by quickly pinpointing the location of buried facilities, with the 3M™ Electronic Marker System (EMS). 3M markers operate even in the presence of metal conduit or pipe, metallic conductors, fences, AC power lines and electronic markers of other utilities. All EMS Markers used for gas pipe location are color-coded to APWA standards for visual reference and gas utilities have their own frequency, helping reduce the risk of accidentally locating and excavating other buried facilities. All gas pipe location markers are yellow in color.

3M EMS gas pipe location series can be used to locate:
- Main and Service Stubs
- Meter Boxes
- Buried valves, stopping valves and squeeze points
- P.C Fittings
- Depth Changes
- E.F Couplings
- Road Crossings, pipeline paths and trees
- Service Stubs
View All Locating and Marking Gas Pipe Products
Back to Top
Electrical Power Utility Locating
Know where to dig! The 3M™ Electronic Marker System (EMS) helps save electric utilities time and money by enabling field crews to quickly pinpoint the location of underground electric facilities, including cable runs, splices, vaults, conduits and road crossings. 3M also offers wide product support and service for increased safety, performance and reliability.

EMS markers used for underground electric cable location are color-coded to APWA standards for visual reference and power utilities have their own frequency, helping reduce the risk of accidentally locating and excavating other underground electric facilities. For power utilities, all underground electric cable markers are red in color.

3M EMS Power series can be used to locate:
- Service drops
- Buried transformers and splices
- Street lighting
- Distribution loops
- Conduit stubs
- Service laterals
- Manhole covers
- Utility and road crossings
View All Locating and Marking Power Products
Back to Top
Water and Wastewater Line Locating
Find it the first time! The 3M™ Electronic Marker System (EMS) for Water and 3M™ Electronic Marker System (EMS) for Wastewater helps save time and money by enabling field crews to quickly pinpoint the location of buried facilities including valves, bends, clean-outs and road crossings. Using EMS markers for water and sewer pipe location during construction, installation and maintenance virtually eliminates the time consuming search for hard-to-locate facilities.

3M EMS markers used for water and sewer pipe location are color-coded to APWA standards for visual reference and water utilities have their own frequency to reduce location errors. For water and sewer pipe location, markers are color coded as follows:

Water Utility: Blue
General Purpose/Reclaimed Water: Purple
Wastewater Utility Markers: Green

3M EMS Water series can be used to locate:
- Buried valves
- Clean-outs
- PVC pipeline
- Road crossings
- Pipeline paths
- Service stubs
- Bends
- Trees
View All Locating and Marking Water Products
View All Locating and Marking Wastewater Products
Back to Top