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Mapping of Underground Utilities

As built maps of utilities are made in reference to specific points, which become null and void as the civic layout changes. Most times, such maps do not even exist. The utilities are often confronted with the task of ensuring expansion of buried services, without knowing the locations or routes of their utility assets. The contractor is bestowed the responsibility to execute the work of new installation of cables or pipes or even over ground structures such as fly overs, freeways or buildings without damaging existing buried cable and pipe utility services. The task faced by the contractor (or the user i.e the utility itself) is applicable to all types of utilities and especially buried utilities such as water pipes, sewer pipes, power cables etc. The onus of avoidance of buried utilities is of the contractor. Many a contractor recognize that they are faced with the task of mapping a jungle of underground utilities, that are a result of decades of installation of buried services such as sewer, water, power etc independently and without correlation to each other, as they were and are installed under tender or contract for installation of services for that specific user alone for example a telco, ...

When is a ground penetrating radar beneficial in locating of underground pipes & cable utilities ?

The task of Locating underground utilities can be bifurcated into two deliverables: 1. Detection of underground utilities 2. Mapping of underground utilities If we take a this can be further subdivided into: a. Detection of metallic cables & pipes, whether energized current carrying utilities or non energized utilities such as signaling cables, metallic pipes etc. b. Detection of DI pipes, metallic manholes etc. c. Non-metallic HDPE telecom pipes, fiberglass manholes, etc. Underground cable & pipe utility locating requires the use a combination of various equipments and techniques which need to be chosen based on desired deliverables and then correctly employed to obtain the desired results. If the answer is a , an operator with basic training on usage of the ever dependable CSCOPE DXL2 Cable avoidance tool or CAT33XD Cable avoidance tool, can do the job blindfolded. If the answer is b, an additional metal detector &/or magnetic locator is required. If the answer is c. The use of a ground penetrating radar or GPR is necessary. In layman term, Fundamentally, both a and B operate on the principle of detecting electromagnetic energy (based on specified frequencies) . In case of CSCOPE Pipe & Cable locator standard features include capability to detect both 50Hz passive power signal frequency ...