Book excerpt: CI/ASCE Standard 38-02 presents a credible system for classifying the quality of utility location information that is placed in design plans. The Standard addresses issues such as: how utility information can be obtained, what technologies are available to obtain that information; how that information can be conveyed to the information users; who should be responsible for typical collection and depiction tasks; what factors determine which utility quality level attribute to assign to data; and what the relative costs and benefits of the various quality levels are. Used as a reference or as part of a specification, the Standard will assist engineers, project and utility owners, and constructors in developing strategies to reduce risk by improving the reliability of information on existing subsurface utilities in a defined manner.