From Locating to Deliverables: Our Process
There’s more to utility locating than spray painting the ground, sticking a few utility flags in place, and leaving it at that; there are a number of steps in the process of determining where utility lines are. How does our team at Trinity go from locating lines and other subsurface structures with ground penetrating radar and other locating tools to creating a model for our clients for their project reference?
The first step is determining the overall scope of the area that needs to be scanned. This can be provided by the client through existing plans and maps, providing an overhead view of the area. This information, along with any other details about the work that requires locating, is essential in determining the best course of action to avoid any utilities while digging. Sometimes there may be a site walkthrough requested to increase the level of knowledge on the site prior to locating. This knowledge is passed onto our technicians, who will then prepare their equipment appropriately for a job. For example, a technician may need a duct rod to help locate an otherwise untraceable pipe, and would need to ensure they have the equipment readily available and prepared. Upon arrival at the site, our technicians verify the scope of work with the site contact and investigate the site visually for surface features both inside and outside the scope of work.
From here, it’s all about locating. Conductive scans and inductive scans are performed near and around surface features both inside and outside the scope. Any nearby structures, basements, and utility rooms are investigated with building access coordinated prior. This is important to understand where feeds leave the structure. The area is then scanned with a variety of passive scanning techniques, including electromagnetic locating. The split box is another powerful tool to determine the locations of metallic lines or structures (such as underground storage tanks) that are not carrying a signal. Finally, the site is scanned with ground penetrating radar to help determine the locations of any additional utilities and provide the client with Quality Level B utility information.
After determining field locations, this is where deliverables come in. Part of the overall job of a utility scan involves creating a deliverable, a document of conditions and other notes that our team at Trinity takes into account when determining utility locations. These are created on-site during the locating process prior to finishing up at the project site. Deliverables are created to ensure that utility knowledge isn’t lost in the process, including details about how we located the utilities to help reconfirm the data in the future. Our team at Trinity uses them throughout the multiple services we offer, including video pipe inspection reports and test hole data reports. These deliverables are not only helpful for our team in discussing our findings, limitations or potential unlocatable utilities. Deliverables are also useful for our clients to take this information and use it to determine the best course of action on avoiding utility damages. They help inform on making adjustments to plans or relocating utilities.Locating utilities is an important process, and our team at Trinity Subsurface can help you determine your processes moving forward. If you’re in need of determining how to avoid existing utilities and other subsurface structures, visit our website to find out how Trinity can assist with our technical services.
