Safely locating buried underground utilities before conducting work is vital.
If you are looking to dig underground for your project, it is a legal requirement that you take the appropriate steps to avoid damaging any underground cables or utility services. If you have plans to dig, be it at a construction site or a small backyard project, you are obligated to go through the underground service locating procedure.
By locating underground utilities such as buried mains, pipes, and cables, you can avoid causing any damage to services and prevent the risk of being liable for injuries or financial costs.
To locate underground services, there are several steps which need to be taken to ensure that all underground services are accurately located.
Acquire Before You Dig plans
For any project which requires work to be performed underground, it is a part of your duty of care to acquire Before You Dig Australia (BYDA) plans. Contacting BYDA is the essential first step to any underground project.
Unfortunately, acquiring Dial Before You Dig plans is not a sure-fire way of having precise clearance. These plans only act as a guide, as opposed to a precise picture of where everything is underground. Additionally, in some cases, these plans may also be outdated which may cause issues. Therefore, having the area in which you are looking to perform underground works mapped by a professional locator is imperative.
Contact an experienced utility locator
For best results, it is imperative to contact an experienced underground asset locator. They can interpret the information provided on the previously mentioned Before You Dig plans. These cable locators can utilise specially designed technology to ensure no damage is caused.
After all, the various types of underground pipes and cables which exist below cities such as the Gold Coast and Brisbane are constructed using a variety of materials, which interact differently with locating technology. In training to perform their job, underground utility locators acquire the ability to differentiate between these materials and know how to safely excavate around them.
What methods do asset locators use?
Due to the advances in underground asset detection technology, there are now a number of different tools which can detect buried utilities. These include ground penetrating radar (GPR) and electromagnetic field (EMF) locators. These two different tools are used in different situations and may also be combined with the information that can be obtained from other tools such as cable locators, frequency locators, acoustic pipe location, magnetometers, and hydro vacuum excavation.
Underground utility locating made easy
Reveal Underground Services is a Gold Coast-based service locating entity with years of experience in providing industry-leading solutions. Using state of the art technology, Reveal is able to accurately locate all underground cables and pipes without needing to dig, let alone cause damage.
To discover more about the range of services that Reveal offers, be sure to visit our services page.
If you are looking to obtain an obligation-free quote on utility locating, be sure to call Reveal Underground Services on 1300 738 325 or get in touch today.