The Purpose Of Utility Detection Surveys

Our towns and cities have been growing for hundreds if not thousands of years

. Like an iceberg, what we see on the surface is only a part of the whole. Anyone excavating the streets and roads of a British town needs to beware of the miles of cables, tunnels and pipes which run beneath them. Utility mapping allows excavations to be made of streets and roads without running the risk of damaging vital parts of the local infrastructure, e.g. gas mains, power lines, telephone lines, etc.

The importance of this survey can be seen in daily experience. Even trained staff can make blunders. How many of us have had our day disrupted by work crews cutting through a power line or water pipe? Such disruptions arent just a mild inconvenience; even a power outage that only lasts for an hour or so can cost the local economy hundreds - if not thousands - of pounds in lost income and man hours. Utility mapping ensures the effectiveness of operations and that all vital services can nonetheless be delivered: or at least, that any necessary interruption can be planned for and minimised. Utility detection surveys may form part of the early stages of building work. Many engineering projects may require you to undertake utility mapping as part of the initial feasibility study; the feasibility of a new underground car park may be greatly affected if the work will call for the diversion of a major sewer pipe or the rewiring of a town centres electrical grid.

A utility detection survey offers a permanent record of all detected utilities in a certain area and key topographic features. You, as the client, will be presented with a colour coded survey containing the location and description of all underground utility lines, as well as other key features (e.g. street furniture, parking metres, telegraph poles). Which exact features are recorded is entirely dependent on the clients needs and additional geographical information (e.g. street names, house numbers, building names) are included to make site navigation as simple as possible.

It is standard practice for the data in your utility detection survey to be mapped to an arbitrary grid and level datum. If you have any unique requirements for your utility mapping (e.g. that it be referenced to a specific scale, or that the grid should be divided along certain lines) then a specific grid and level datum can be used. On the other hand, the utility detection survey could be overlaid on an existing topographical survey, offering an indication of topographical features and making cross referencing with other maps simple.

Utility mapping can also save councils money in the long term. Knowing the lay of the land in advance means fewer disruptions; fewer strikes, fewer unexpected diversions and less chance of damaging utilities. A reduction in disruptions means your work can be quick and efficient, avoiding the spiralling costs of work running out of control and over time: not to mention the additional costs of penalties for missing delivery targets.

Utility mapping doesn't require any additional digging up of the roads; it's all done from the surface using GPS and radio detection techniques.

Utility detection surveys save you time and money. Disruption to the public is minimised and you reduce the risk of running into any unexpected surprises. Give yourself the strategic advantage by knowing the lay of the land before you begin your work.

by: isabelcameron

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