The modern city is really a maze of streets and alleys, buildings and barriers. As complicated as cities are at first glance, however, the situation below ground can be a lot more confusing: power, telephone and fibre optic cables compete for space with water and gas mains, wastewater drains and sewer pipes. Complicating the problem further, new utilities are constantly being installed and existing services relocated, with layers of utilities both in and out of use dating back so far as the 19th century.

For excavating contractors, encountering buried utilities during excavation can result, at best, in costly delays and financial or other penalties where services are disrupted; at worst, this scenario carries the risk of the injury to workers or even death.

Before Take a look at the site here commence excavation on a niche site, it is therefore vital that they make every effort to detect and locate all buried utilities apt to be suffering from planned excavation or construction activities. In the first instance, this is more likely to involve contacting a "before you dig" service. These services collate information from utility companies concerning the location of buried utilities and pass these data on - usually for a fee - to excavating contractors.

While utility tracking services offer an essential first filter for contractors, they are not infallible: maps could be incomplete or inaccurate; utilities might have been added, removed or relocated without that information being offered. For this reason, it is best for excavating contractors to activate the services of suitably qualified, experienced and equipped utility surveyors and a utility mapping service.

Using modern methods and technology such as for example electromagnetic detectors, radiodetection and ground penetrating radar systems (GPRS), you'll be able to locate accurately an array of buried utilities including both metallic and non-metallic pipes and cables. These utilities may then be mapped utilizing a mix of traditional survey techniques, GPS and geographical information systems (GIS) software.