The Importance Of Doing Utility Mapping

By Nancy Green


The underground is made up of more stuff than one can comprehend. Its not all stuffed up soil and sediments. Unbeknownst to the innocuous bystander, its actually crisscrossed by arteries of wires, pipes, cables, and some such implements. Sometimes, its imperative to disturb these systems for some enterprise or other. Thus the importance of utility mapping sydney.

Some off the bat methods used are color codes, that which identify underground utilities from the surface. The aboveground is delineated with colored lines, flags, or some such marks to point the location of and identify the kind of utility. Sometimes, spray paint with a fluorescent color is used. For flags, on the other hand, the fly side is embroidered or printed with the logo of the company or municipality responsible for the implements.

However, there are certain activities that warrant the disorganization or disruption of these mains. Perhaps theres an ongoing construction project out to install additional public utilities, or some such. It goes without saying that a lot of things have to be taken to account, not least of all the preexisting mains. That is no doubt a major consideration and undertaking.

Infrastructures are constructed every day at all points of the year. Those enumerated above are constantly being appended by more and more applications. For instance, with a growing population, more people require electric lines, water pipes, and some such. A slight nudge by an inept contractor would be enough to plunge a big area of the city in a blackout.

Building infrastructure no doubt involves quite a lot of digging and excavating, and a slight slip by a bumbling contractor is enough to actuate a city wide blackout. Aside from the implements mentioned above, certain areas may also contain petrochemical and natural gas pipelines, storm drains, cable television fibers and some such. For others, there are road tunnels, railways, mass transit, and national defense telecommunication lines.

Therefore, checking out these givens before proceeding with any groundwork is necessary. There are company obligations and jurisdictional regulations adhered to, that which ensure health and safety. Through this, certain locations may be avoided and the planned project may be rerouted at the earliest possible time, preferably during the planning stage.

In older cities, no records are kept for installed mains. Therefore, theres really no way of identifying what points and spots have wires, cables, and some such. Its therefore necessary to detect them through technological means. After all, its not at all smart and practical to dig randomly and mark out whatever systems you see. Technological innovations enable the detection of metal pipelines, wires, and whatnot through electromagnetic equipment equipped with a transmitter and receiver.

Other differently constructed mains are more difficult to locate. However, fitting technology has been developed all the same. Radiolocation means are used. Theres also underground camera inspection. A more invasive one is ground penetrating radar. This can be quite a chore since accuracy and precision are given premiums. Its imperative to place their exact coordinates in the map so as to protect them from potential damage during excavations.

Utility mapping is very much an indispensable part in the planning process of anything involving excavation work. Its effective execution ensures a safer and faster work progress for the workmen and contractors. There will be fewer delays because the workforce knows all there is to know about the area and theres no need for extreme wariness comparative to treading around landmines. Also, it may actuate to lesser downtime and prohibitive costs, as may be incurred due to gaping holes in the planning stage. Utility location is indeed a very nifty enterprise in this regard.




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