APRIL 2014
Ensuring accuracy
John Robinson, managing director of Subscan Technology and David Pitt, managing director of Infotec, discuss reducing the impact on street works by using modern technology to detect and assess buried utilities and infrastructure
Street works – costly, time consuming and disruptive, but a necessary and important part of every highway engineer’s life. ‘Complete the project safely, on time, on budget and with the minimum amount of disruption’ is the brief that is echoed around the world.
One of the major problems that highway engineers are faced with is the accuracy and reliability of information, based on depth limitations, condition of utilities, the complex nature of infrastructure and the reliability of existing historical utility data, not to mention contractor competence. Important design and build considerations need to be made on any project and obtaining accurate and robust utility data is essential.
The utility detection and mapping industry has evolved, invested in new emerging technology and matured into a dynamic and progressive force. This has culminated with the formation of the Utility Mapping Association (UMA) whose members include practitioners, government agencies, civil engineering companies and academia. The primary purpose of the UMA is to promote the forthcoming BSI PAS 128, to educate and accredit both surveyors and practitioners and to promote best practice and new emerging technology within the utility mapping industry and beyond.
New techniques/standards that enable accurate utility data to be obtained are:
BSI PAS 128 specifi cation for underground utility detection, verifi cation and location is the UK’s fi rst robust and dedicated specifi cation that clearly stipulates accuracy levels for each linear section of detected buried utility. This important document is due for release in June 2014, is published by the British Standards Institution and is sponsored by the Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE)
Multi-frequency and multi-array ground penetrating radar (GPR). GPR has come a long way in the last 10 years and is now an essential part of any detailed utility mapping survey, enabling detection (position and depth) of utilities in addition to non-utility structures and features such as tanks, basements and voids
Electromagnetic locators (EML). This is the traditional method of detecting metallic pipes and live cable systems. Modern EML equipment is multi-frequency, Bluetooth and GPS enabled and is far removed from its primitive Cat and Genny origins
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