What lurks below

埋在现代城市下的管道和公用事业的迷宫对项目构成了重大风险。在2018年，工人报告more than 330,000 underground utilities strikes in the United States and more than 11,000 in Canada. That was an increase of about 13.5% since 2015, numbers show.

平均而言，北美每10秒某个地方有一个公用事业罢工，但这是一个不必存在的问题，并且有一个明确的解决方案。在消除威胁时，组织可以节省金钱 - 更不用说头痛甚至可能丧失人类生命了。数据从民事季刊（TCQ），a new publication launched in July 2020 from Dodge Data & Analytics,revealed重型建筑中的承包商面临供应链问题和其他挑战，使他们的工作地点在19日期内保持了。

But digging deeper, this brand-new data also revealed that 63% of the contractors contacted for the study are currently using or considering using utility detection tools. A staggering two-thirds of contractors shared a new prioritization on safety investments overall, to include utility detection.

Accordingto a somewhat dated Purdue University study, which remains the most commonly cited in the industry, companies can save $4.62 for every dollar spent on utility detection. Other estimates show potentially more significant cost savings, possibly reaching $18 for every dollar spent.Regardless, the savings can total billions of dollars every year. Shutting down a project because of a utility strike can easily cost companies $2,000 or more per hour, a significant impact on the bottom line of any company or project.

Options to detect

许多公用事业罢工是由发掘错误造成的。其他人之所以成为其他原因是因为机组人员没有报告他们在挖掘或由于报告地下公用事业生存的错误而出现的错误。有两种主要技术可以帮助机组人员检测地下公用事业：电磁定位器和地面穿透雷达。
这些技术的工作方式不同，因此不一定是优越的。电磁定位器有效地定位了金属或金属化的实用程序，而地面雷达则可以帮助查找其他埋藏的物品，例如塑料管。在挖掘工作地点时保持警惕，这仍然是至关重要的，因为这两种工具都不能找到所有东西，尤其是发现埋藏得更深的物品。但是，这些工具在同时工作，捕获了绝大多数埋藏的公用事业。

一个成长的领域

The field of super subsurface utility engineering continues to evolve as it matures. It is poised for significant growth as projects become increasingly complex and budgets tighten, making mistakes even more costly.
There are three emerging sections within the utility detection arena: Utility companies, specialized detection companies, and construction companies that take it on themselves. Now there are new — and easier-to-use tools — that are simplifying utility detection across the industry.
如今，有40％的承包商使用实用程序检测工具，而另外23％的承包商使用或考虑了该技术。

Be wary of free

有免费的选择可用于检测地下公用事业。虽然这些很诱人，但重要的是要记住古老的格言：“您得到所付的钱。”

据估计，北美埋藏的公用事业线中有65％被认为是私人的，因此许多埋藏的公用事业没有得到充分验证。考虑到公用事业所有者不一定需要参加非营利计划，例如共同基础联盟的811 program— that help companies locate underground utilities before they dig, and there is a potential recipe for disaster.

While asset owners theoretically know where their underground utilities are buried, free services often inaccurately mark the locations. It’s one thing for a homeowner to receive wrong markings, it’s another for bad markings on a significant commercial project where millions of dollars — and even dozens of lives — are at stake.

这不仅是标记公用事业；这是关于节省时间

Mapping utilities used to be a time-consuming affair, as crews would have to download data from a detecting device, upload it to another system and then cross-reference the data to make sure where they planned to dig is safe.

对于有空闲时间的团队来说，这没问题，但是今天，这是关于实时获取信息，以使工作人员保持活跃并安全有效地工作。

Modern solutions have changed the approach, making it easier for companies of all sizes to understand what lies beneath their project and keep everyone on their team in the loop. They can also be deployed by small teams or single team members, making these solutions well-suited for the new social distancing requirements amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the easy-to-use and advanced implementation of these solutions, they can also be deployed without hiring additional team members or undergoing extensive training.

But, detecting utilities is just the first step in the process.工具采用智能算法在几分钟内创建数字实用图像，在用户仍在现场时显示检测结果，从而使项目经理可以做出实时决策。用户可以将数据导出以与后处理软件和机器一起使用，或者可以覆盖其他数据，以获得更强大的环境图片。

There is no longer an excuse

技术是当今组织面临的问题的更好方法的强大推动力。从项目站点的高级，多维图纸到完成的新项目甚至数年的现实3D渲染，技术已经彻底改变了建筑行业，公用事业检测也不例外。

There is no reason to strike an underground utility because the crew did not take the time to try and locate it. Today’s available solutions streamline processes and make the jobsite safer and allow project managers and their teams to avoid inadvertent strikes of buried pipelines and utilities.Simply using this technology can save thousands — potentially millions — in fees, repairs and lost time. Why wait any longer?

Simon Pedley is the Detection Sales Manager in North America for Leica Geosystems.

As published inModern Contractor Solutions.