GPR Vs. Traditional Surveying Methods: Which One is Better for Your Project?

Ground penetrating radar

Before going about any construction or excavation process, it is essential to conduct a utility surveying process. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) has become a common and widely used method to locate underground utilities.

This has many different benefits, and over time the technology has evolved to be more precise and efficient. Let’s have a closer look at what utility surveying is, and the differences between traditional methods and GPR.

What is Utility Surveying?

Utility surveying is the process of ensuring that no underground utility lines, such as water pipes and electricity lines, are present before excavating or constructing over a specified area.

Damage to these lines can cause some serious destruction, property damage, and complications while posing a health risk to workers. Utility surveying is an important process for any excavation or construction project so that the task can be completed without complications.

Benefits of Utility Surveying

There are many benefits to utility surveying. Some of these benefits include:

  • Less risk of soil disturbances
  • Fewer project delays
  • Easier and more informed decision-making
  • Lowered risk of personal injury
  • Minimized monetary loss from construction projects and excavation sites.

These benefits are great to keep in mind as it assists not only in lowering the overall risk of unforeseen costs but also the threat of injury while working on the site.

Different Types of Utility Surveying

A utility surveying company will often employ various different methods to detect subsurface utilities. These methods can include GPR, potholing, or dowsing. Having a good understanding of each will assist you in choosing the right one for your project.

Ground Penetration Radar

GPR is used for subsurface utility line locating. This method uses high-frequency radio wave pulses that are emitted into the ground and bounce off covered facilities. When these waves deflect, they return back to the operator who gets a good understanding of where the utilities may be hidden.

Some of the limitations that GPR may have include factors such as soil density, distance, and soil type. GPR is commonly used alongside electromagnetic (EM) locating which makes up for any disadvantages that it has.

Traditional Methods

The traditional methods of utility locating include potholing and dowsing. Potholing is a process of using a high-pressure vacuum excavation device to break the soil and reveal the utilities. Dowsing is a process in which dowsing rods are inserted into the ground in an attempt to locate hidden utilities. 

GPR or Traditional?

While the traditional methods are reliable, GPR proves to be more efficient. With GPR and EM, lines are more accurately found with little to no ground disturbances. This makes the task far easier whilst also receiving accurate indications of where the utilities may be.

Get the Right Ground Penetrating Radar Service for the Job

Getting the right assistance for the task is an essential tool for any construction and excavation project.

Without help from a professional team of expert surveyors like Util-Locate, a site could have many disturbances that affect the overall productivity and efficiency of its workers.

Get in touch with our team and receive industry-leading utility locating and ground-penetrating radar services that efficiently uncover your hidden utilities. Contact us at 888-885-6228 at Util-Locate today!

How to Prevent Damage to Underground Utilities

Utility Locating

There are so many industrial activities taking place on land. Such actions increase the possibilities of damaging underground utilities, especially if those operations involve drilling or excavation. As a result, most power lines, telephone cables, gas lines among others are damaged. Damages to these underground connections can result in dire consequences: disrupting critical public services, increase downtime due to repairs and replacements, and catastrophic accidents or death.

As such, when you need to dig, it is essential that you hire utility locating services with experience, knowledgeable personnel, and top-notch equipment such as using advanced ground penetration radar technology in their ground utility surveillance work.

Below is a list of useful tips of alleviating damage to underground pipes and wires.

Call Before Digging

The Federal Communications Commission issued a toll-free number 811 as a Call-Before-You-Dig contact in the U.S. for locating underground public utility lines.

For locating private utility lines, call our committed representatives. They will listen to the details of your project and relay the word to our field technicians who have the technological know-how and equipment to provide utility locating services. Util-Locate company Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) technology to precisely determine the depth of any in-ground wire and cables with over 97% accuracy.

Nonetheless, it is important to mention that utility markings of underground connections are only done on areas of utility easements, but not on private property. Therefore, any intrusive or drilling activities around a private landholding are not subject to public locating services.

Contact a private utility locating firm such as the Util-Locate company that uses the latest technology to provide precise information about the position and depth of utility lines.

Implementation of Better Working Practices

Several countries have created regulatory policies to govern underground locations to ensure utility damage prevention and maintain safe working conditions. Such policies detail the need to have an excavation plan, reliable utility locating services, and maintaining safety during excavations.

Improving working practices means that these companies need to utilize the latest technology to detect locations of buried pipes and cables. Purchase user-friendly equipment that features updated technological components. The machine must be highly accurate and sensitive, proof against external interference from power lines, multi-frequency Ground Penetration Radar equipment and emphasizing to employees the importance of proper working practices.

Planning of Safe and Efficient Excavation

Safe on sight excavation is a necessary ingredient for all construction works. Accurate information provided before commencing digging or any other civil operation is an essential contribution to safe excavation. Spiking an underground power cable or fracturing a gas pipeline can cause severe property damage and loss of lives from executions or explosions. Knowing their underground presence and exact position help avoid any possibility of property destruction and loss of lives. Using state-of-the-art Ground Penetrating Radar technology reduces unnecessary costs and major inconveniences while enhancing efficient working and site safety.

Protecting and Maintaining Infrastructure

Our company is the most trusted in underground utility damage prevention. Util-Locate company prides in providing a full suite of utility compliance and underground damage prevention throughout Southern California. Our mission is to deliver high quality, safe, efficient, and innovative solutions that safeguard our clients’ infrastructure and critical assets.

How Utility Locating Services Have Changed Over Time

Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR)

Locators of utility lines use a range of equipment to complete their work. Depending on the work to be done and the type of utility that needs to be located, locators choose which tools to use for utility locating. A reliable utility location method prevents hazardous utility strikes among excavation crews and the surrounding communities. 

There are a variety of tools used for detecting underground cables. Located tools are used for specific purposes and come with some limitations as well. Radars, electromagnetic utility locators, and APLs are the most popular tools for detecting underground utilities.

Common Methods For Underground Utility Location

It is possible to locate a buried utility line using a variety of methods and techniques. Before choosing a locating method, you need to gather as much information about the job site as possible, as well as any mapping information that’s available. 

Electromagnetic Utility Locating

Emitting electromagnetic waves is one of the most common methods of locating private utilities.

A metallic field is created using electricity for the purpose of detecting underground cables using these tools. There are two components to the electromagnetic utility locator, the transmitter and the receiver. Electrified cables are connected to the transmitter through electric current transmission.

Early nineteenth-century discoveries gave rise to a profound understanding of electromagnetic induction. Within a generation or so of the turn of the century, electromagnetic induction had been used to locate hidden cables. Electronic cable and pipe locators have advanced to the point where they are portable, accurate, and reliable. Pipes and cables are found underground using these devices.

Ground-Penetrating Radar

Another method of locating underground utilities is utilizing Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR). An operator transmits radio waves onto the ground, which are reflected back up to the equipment, where they display objects on a screen. GPR was originally developed in the 1930s for measuring glacier thickness. In the 1960s, 1970s, and ultimately in the mid-1980s, hardware and software made significant technological advancements.

Modern Utility Locating Technology

The increased demand in locating utility services demands and increasingly complex utility grids with many intersecting lines have put additional pressure on scanning tools to provide accuracy and depth. Electromagnetic scanning technology became more advanced and featured as new features and advancements were introduced.

Utility scanning and locating are often carried out by electromagnetic induction scanning throughout the world without causing any damage to the utilities. Repairing utility lines, cabling, and fiber optics, displaying key archaeological locations during excavations, and mapping construction sites for safe excavation are just a few of the applications.

As a result of these technological advances, GPRS has been training on and utilizing the most advanced electromagnetic scanning tools for locating private utilities. Utility scanning and locating services by GPRS continue to be among the best in the industry for construction and excavation crews across the country.

Whenever you require expertise in locating and scanning infrastructure, contact Util-Locate! To locate and map underground utilities efficiently, our team consists of highly skilled professionals using GPR. We at Util-Locate can assist you with private utility locating. Please contact us at 888-885-6228 for more information.

Ground Penetrating Radar 101: The Basics

Ground Penetrating Radar 101: The Basics

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) equipment, also known as ground probing radar, is used in geological surveying like utility mapping.

What is a GPR?

The GPR technology is a very important set of equipment for those who are working in non-invasive surveying, especially during utility mapping. A GPR system allows underground utilities to be found as well as other subsurface objects like conduits, rebar, voids, and other characteristics of the ground.

How Does a Ground Penetrating Radar Technology Work?

Ground-penetrating radar technology uses an energy pulse to generate images underneath the job site. A computer receives the output and it undergoes data processing to perform its subsurface investigation. It takes the strength and time delay of the outgoing and returning signals and uses them to convert the data collected onto digital media.

It works because different material properties affect the electromagnetic pulse. Factors can affect these signals, which include:

  • Soil conditions
  • Buried objects
  • Freshwater
  • Concrete, dry sand
  • Wet sand
  • Sandy soils
  • Depth
  • Other structural elements
  • Subsurface features

This powerful tool is not limited by surface either. A GPR system can work on a variety of different surfaces like soil, ice, rock, fresh water, pavements, and concrete structures to name just a few.

It is versatile in its uses such as locating rebar, subsurface structures, or buried objects—even going as far as identifying the make and material of it.

Benefits of Utilizing Ground Penetrating Radar Equipment

GPR has a variety of uses and benefits. Its ability to identify metallic and non-metallic utilities and services, as well as work in unfavorable and favorable conditions makes it an indispensable tool in the field.

The collected data not only gives you the depth of the main components of a material, but also allows workers to identify polyethylene water and gas pipes, fiber-optic cables, and other elements that would otherwise be undetectable.

Data is gathered when combined with other collecting devices and systems like electromagnetic energy detection, accurate specific depths, the minor differences between two materials, small objects, large objects, subsurface mechanical properties, and a range of other information.

These systems can function in remote sensing work with accurate and reliable results. The resulting GPR data can ensure that no sensitive sites are disturbed by digging. The use of radar provides cost and time-saving benefits over older techniques such as x-rays.

These devices can use the data from these reflected signals to give early warning signs before any damage is made or before anyone is exposed to any dangers during construction. In the event of an already existing problem, this radar signal device can help diagnose the problem quicker and more accurately.

These machines have a place outside of construction and infrastructure as well. They can be used in geological studies and geophysics. They are used in environmental surveys and the study and assessments of earthquakes. They’re even used in the study of trenchless technology and directional drilling.

Find a Reliable Ground Probing Radar for Your Needs

If you’re looking for a GPR service you can trust, our team of experts is ready to take on the job and provide you with high-quality work. We use the latest equipment and cutting-edge technologies.

We produce cost-effective, fast, efficient, and accurate GPR survey solutions that stem from over 13 years of experience.

To learn more about our GPR services, contact us at 888-885-6228 at Util-Locate today!

3 Problems Professional Potholing Services Prevent

3 Problems Professional Potholing Services Prevent

Construction workers are putting their lives in danger, according to a new study released today by the Energy Networks Association (ENA), as nearly a third or 31% fail to check for subterranean electricity wires when digging on site. These are the main reasons why utilizing ground penetrating radar is crucial for alleviating risks on the job site.

Since 2015, an average of 70 people have been critically injured each year as a result of coming into touch with subterranean power lines. Nearly half of all instances, which is 47%, occurred on public highways, construction sites, or industrial structures, putting tradesmen at significant risk of serious injury at work.

When asked if they always dig safely, 93% of construction workers and industry professionals said they do, but nearly a third or 31% said they don’t always check for subterranean electricity wires before starting work.

You’ll need professional potholing services to avoid the problems listed below.

Excavation Accidents

Excavating without causing potholes can lead to disaster in most circumstances. One of the most common issues with excavation projects is the unintended damage to utilities due to a lack of knowledge about their position and depth.

Utility lines can overlap and pass through any location underground because there are so many utility providers around. Not to add, fluctuations in temperature and soil density may cause subterranean utilities to shift location over time.

It’s like going into combat blind if you don’t do any potholing before you start digging. You could run into a utility line at any time. Without the use of the ground-penetrating radar, you may cause damage to public property as well as power outages, floods, water interruptions, and fires, depending on the type of utility you destroy and the severity of the damage.

Unexpected Expenses

Getting hurt while accidentally destroying power wires will result in a mountain of medical bills and costly repairs, all of which will add to your expenses.

Though performing potholing before an excavation project may appear to be an extra step, consider it a cost-effective method for preventing inadvertent damage and reducing work dangers. As a result, potholing will save money on future repairs and medical fees.

Legal Problems

When you destroy utility lines and harm people, you’ll not only pay additional costs, but you’ll also run afoul of the law. Everyone is forbidden from operating motorized equipment within 18 inches to 30 inches of marked utilities, according to state laws.

You’ll be excavating blindly if you don’t pothole and use ground-penetrating radar, you’ll run the chance of exceeding the tolerance zone. Potholing with vacuum excavation, on the other hand, helps you comply with this law.

Let Us Handle Your Ground Penetrating Radar Job

To avoid the concerns listed above, it’s a good idea to label any utilities in the region and use ground-penetrating radar before commencing any excavation job.

We provide potholing and utility locating services. To learn more about what we can offer, contact us at 866-638-1075 at Util-Locate today!