What is Utility Detection?
Utility detection is the process of accurately locating and identifying the pipes, cables and ducting of buried utilities, including but not limited to electricity, gas, water, communications, sewers and drainage. [^]
What is Utility Mapping?
Utility mapping is the process of accurately surveying and plotting the position and depth of the detected utilities. [^]
Why the need for Utilities Detection and Mapping?
Many design and construction projects take place in areas where a concentration of underground utilities already exists such as in highways, towns, cities, industrial plants, and airports etc. The underground utilities in these areas create risks for project owners, designers, engineers and primarily the contractors. Typically, existing records of the utilities would be sourced from the statutory undertakers and used solely, as far back as the design phase. However, these records have proved to be highly inaccurate and many have learned the hard way that lack of accurate utility information can result in costly conflicts, damage, delays, utilities disruptions, project redesigns, claims, injuries, loss of life and loss of reputation. [^]
What's wrong with existing records?
All too often the existing records are no where near accurate enough and it is often the contractor that discovers the utilities are not where the records say they are. A typically quoted figure is that engineers and contractors relying on the existing records will find up to 30% of the utilities are either missing or mislocated by two feet or more. There are a number of reasons why existing records are incorrect, incomplete or inadequate: - They were never accurate in the first place: the design drawings are not as-built or installations were managed in the field and no records were made of actual locations.
- On old sites, there have usually been several utility owners, architects/engineers, and contractors installing facilities and burying objects for decades in the area. Seldom are the records placed in a common archive, and often they are lost. There is almost never a composite record or plan.
- References are frequently lost: records show that an object is a certain distance from a building or feature that is no longer there, or an object is a certain distance from the edge of a two-lane road that is now a dual carriageway or is part of supermarket car park.
- Lines, pipes, and tanks are removed from the ground, but aren't removed from the drawings.
Some engineers recognise this problem of records with incorrect or incomplete information, and attempt to protect themselves through prominently displayed notes on the drawings. Although these notes may vary in wording, a typical example is as follows: Utilities depicted on these plans are from utility owner's records. The actual locations of utilities may be different. Utilities may exist that are not shown on these plans. It is the responsibility of the contractor at time of construction to identify, verify, and safely expose the utilities on this project. Attempting to move the risks down onto the contractor will result in inaccurate or exaggerated bids from contractors as a result of the unknowns and worst case scenarios. In addition, during the construction phase the cost of resolving a conflict or utilities incident and the potential for catastrophic damages are highest. [^]
What are the benefits?
Adien prides itself on working as part of your team to deliver successful project outcomes. Below are just a few of the measurable benefits associated with our services: - Risk minimisation – financial and physical risks are reduced through more knowledge of the ground to be broken. The use of such methodologies can reduce your own public/ employee liability premiums and avoid costly delays during projects.
- Health & Safety – Responsible employers are now aware of the increasingly litigious working environment. Working with Adien can assist you avoid unnecessary accidents and minimise the risk of court action.
- Cost reduction – Research shows that expensive mistakes at the design stage, or unnecessary utility diversion costs, are avoided by employing intelligent utility detection such as Adien’s.
- Non-destructive testing - Adien can provide quicker, more accurate data on specific areas without the need for expensive hand dug trial holes or more extensive excavation. This is of particular benefit when erecting broadcast masts and pylons, or prior to the use of directional drilling techniques.
- Delay avoidance – Adien’s services have been proven to eliminate project delays caused by unforeseen circumstances.
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What does it cost?
We always get asked this! We are happy to produce a fixed price quotation for any piece of work and we often work with clients to establish precisely what we can do to help them. The costs will be based on the area to be surveyed and the speed at which our team can work in that area. Our costs are always overshadowed by the benefits that accurate information can bring you, from better design of utility diversions to fewer claims on your insurance to re-instate pipes and cables that have been broken through not using us. [^]
How do you work with us?
The first meetings are free of charge. We will discuss with you your project and what you want to achieve from using us. Typically we discuss with you why you want the data we can produce and what you expect to use it for. We will discuss with you the perceived risks of your project that we may be able to mitigate and work with you to see which of our services you require. We often work with fellow professionals supplying CCTV surveys or geophysical surveys looking for voids – we are happy to take on a project management role for you and locate and control such professionals as they are required. [^]
Can you give me any guarantees?
The short answer to this is “no” and if anyone does give you a guarantee then beware! However we are unique in disclosing to you before the work commences the accuracies to which we work. We are the most experienced company in our field and we work to pre-defined quality standards which meet the requirements of ISO 9001:2000. We will work harder than anyone to provide to you the information that you require and our Post Project Questionnaires give us the comfort that our client satisfaction is extremely high. However we are not complacent which is why we have a full-time in-house training resource and why we continually invest in plant and equipment that can help us to get you the services you require. [^]
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