The Purpose of Utility Detection: Saving You Time, Money and Hassle

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, sewage systems, fibre optic cables, etc.

The value of this survey is evident in everyday experience. Even trained staff can make blunders. How many of us have had our day disrupted by work crews cutting through a power cable or water main? Such disruptions aren’t just a mild inconvenience; even a power outage that only lasts for one hour can cost the local economy hundreds – if not thousands – of pounds in lost revenue and man hours. Utility mapping ensures the efficiency of operations and that all vital services can still be delivered: or at least, that any necessary disruption can be planned for and minimised. Utility detection surveys might also form part of the early stages of building work. Many building projects may require you to undertake utility mapping as part of the initial feasibility study; the feasibility of a new multi-storey car park may be greatly affected if the work will call for the diversion of a major sewer pipe or the rewiring of a city centre’s 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 clearly marking out the location and describing 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’s ordinary practice for the data from the utility detection survey to be mapped to an arbitrary grid and level datum. For those who have any precise requirements for your utility mapping (e.g. that it be referenced to a particular scale, or that the grid should be divided along certain lines) then a specific grid and level datum can be used. Alternatively, the utility detection survey can be overlaid on an existing topographical survey, making cross referencing with other studies simple.

Utility mapping can also save builders money in the long term. Knowing the lay of the land in advance means fewer disruptions; fewer strikes, fewer unexpected diversions and fewer incidences of damage to underground 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.

Work is carried out from ground level, using radio detection and GPS techniques. This negates the additional cost, disruption and consumption of time associated with digging exploratory excavations; the traditional alternative.

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.

SUMO Services takes great pride in offering the best quality survey drawings in the utility mapping industry. Visit their website for a free quotation on this and a change of surveying services.

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