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Digital permit to dig

Digitise your permit to dig system

Reduce the risk of service strikes while saving time and money on your project. Vislock replaces paper permits with a GIS-powered digital workflow, with full transparency over roles, responsibilities and every excavation.

5,000+
Permits issued on HS2 & Fusion
HS2 & Fusion
Trusted on major UK projects
100%
Paperless workflow
The Vislock platform showing a digital permit to dig on a GIS map

Trusted on major UK infrastructure projects

Two products, one platform

The right fit for every contractor

Whether you run major civil engineering programmes or a smaller crew, there's a Vislock built for how you work.

DRAFT — two-product structure pending Vislock sign-off

Vislock Civils — For large civil engineering contractors For large civil engineering contractors

Vislock Civils

The full digital permit to dig platform for complex, multi-site programmes. GIS-powered survey data, role-based approvals across the whole permit team, real-time dashboards and complete audit trails, built to keep large teams safe and accountable at scale.

  • Unlimited projects & users
  • Role-based approval workflows
  • Full GIS / Esri data integration
  • Dashboard analytics & CSV exports
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Vislock Lite — For smaller contractors For smaller contractors

Vislock Lite

Everything a smaller team needs to go paperless. The same trusted permit to dig workflow and GIS safety checks, streamlined and priced for individual schemes and growing contractors.

  • Digital permit to dig workflow
  • GIS map with STATS & PAS 128 data
  • Simple setup, fast onboarding
  • Complete permit audit trail
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The platform

Everything you need to issue a permit with confidence

Vislock brings survey data, approvals and audit trails into one place, so the right people sign off the right dig, every time.

Digital permit to dig

Submit, review and approve permits online with no paperwork or delays. Built-in safety checks prevent a permit being issued until controls are complete.

GIS-powered boundaries

Vislock uses GIS to manage survey data boundaries for STATS information, PAS 128 survey data and the permit to dig boundary, to make sure it is safe to issue a permit.

Utilities in GIS & AR

Present many types of survey data on tablets, including GIS and Augmented Reality, so assets can be interpreted easily on site.

Safer worksites

Ensures all known underground services are located with photo validation and approved before digging, with GPS validation that permits are issued at the place of work.

Full visibility & control

Live dashboards show every active and closed permit in real time, with instant access to drawings, survey data and permit history from any device.

Proven compliance

Fully aligned with HSG47, CDM and client safety standards, providing a complete audit trail for assurance and reporting.

How it works

From survey to safe dig

A simple but smart workflow that locks down the permit to dig process with clear roles and responsibilities.

  1. 01

    Load your survey data

    Import STATS and PAS 128 survey data and set your dig boundaries on the GIS map as one source of truth.

  2. 02

    Raise a digital permit

    Site engineers request a permit to dig against the mapped excavation zone and submit approved RAMS, no paperwork required.

  3. 03

    Review & approve

    The permit team reviews supplied documentation, marks known services on site and approves the permit from any device.

  4. 04

    Dig safely, fully recorded

    Work proceeds with daily checks and a complete, time-stamped record kept automatically through to permit closeout and as-builts.

Roles & responsibilities

Who is responsible for the permit to dig process?

When you partner with Vislock, a dedicated team oversees the process from start to finish. Each role has clear responsibilities and defined permissions in the system.

  1. 01

    Client

    Associated with the Project Manager

    Oversees the project procedure and workflow setup with viewing rights — and the ability to STOP a permit at any stage.

  2. 02

    Permit Manager

    Associated with the Service Coordinator

    Ensures STATS and PAS 128 surveys are complete on the service drawing, maintains a single source-of-truth model (GIS / CAD / BIM), sets up the system, manages documentation approval and owns the dashboard and permit log — closing each permit once as-builts are received.

    System approval required
  3. 03

    Permit Requester

    Associated with Site Engineers

    Requests a permit, submits approved RAMS and briefs the work gang on them.

    System approval required
  4. 04

    Permit Issuer

    Associated with a Service Locator

    Reviews the documentation, marks and photographs all known services on site before work starts, briefs the team on services and exclusion zones, and maintains service markings for the life of the permit.

    System approval required
  5. 05

    Permit Receiver

    Associated with the Immediate Supervisor

    Receives the RAMS briefing from the Permit Requester and the services briefing from the Permit Issuer, then updates an 8-point checklist every day.

    System approval required
  6. 06

    As-Builts

    Associated with the CAD Coordinator & Site Engineer

    Records as-built information on site and issues updates to the services drawing — ready for the next permit and to close out the current one.

What could you be saving on your project?

Over the last two years, Vislock has supported HS2 & Fusion in issuing over 5,000 permits. The figures below show the saving to the project.

5,000+
Permits issued over two years
104,000
Sheets of paper saved
130,000
Miles of travel saved
£22,000
Saved in labour costs

What people say about Vislock

Infrastructure and utilities teams use Vislock to keep their crews safe and their projects moving.

Some of my biggest issues were lost permits, time to print and prepare permit packs and also the quality of the A3 drawings used on sites. Not only does Vislock already solve all these issues but vastly improves available information, time and quality.

Scott Gizzy

Service Protection and Service Clearance Manager, Heathrow

Having worked with paper permits for well over 20 years, I can only see this being the way forward. Having all the information readily available when the site is potentially 100 miles away is a real benefit, and something I'd suggest to any organisation.

Carl Caswell

Ferrovial

The system stores all information so records of signatures, briefings and incidents can be checked even months after the permit has been closed. It's quick and easy to use and could most certainly be picked up by anyone in the construction industry.

Dan Stanton

Vision Survey

Frequently asked questions

DRAFT answers — pending Vislock review

What is a digital permit to dig?
It is the paperless equivalent of a traditional permit to excavate. Instead of paper forms and physical signatures, Vislock lets teams raise, review and approve permits online against live survey data, with a full record kept automatically.
How does Vislock help reduce service strikes?
Vislock uses GIS to overlay STATS and PAS 128 survey data with your planned dig boundaries, and requires known services to be located and photo-validated, so approvers can confirm it is safe to break ground before a permit is issued.
Can the team use it on site?
Yes. Vislock is a cloud platform with an app-based workflow, so stakeholders can raise and approve permits from a desktop in the office or a tablet or phone on site, anytime, anywhere.
Does it integrate with our survey data?
Vislock is built around GIS and can present STATS information and PAS 128 survey data, with utilities shown in GIS and Augmented Reality formats.
Is there an audit trail?
Every permit, approval and amendment is time-stamped and stored, giving you full traceability for compliance and project records, aligned with HSG47 and CDM.

Ready to start digitising your permit to dig process?

The no-obligation demonstration only takes an hour of your time and lets you explore the platform and its key features. A team member will arrange a visit, in person or online.