GPRS Supports Safe EV Charger Installation for Ohio Service Station
For general contractors, it’s not just about EV charging installation compliance; it’s about safety, efficiency, and protecting your bottom line.
GPRS helped ensure the safe installation of electric vehicle chargers at a Cambridge, Ohio service station.
GPRS Utility Mapping Supports Save EV Charger Install in Ohio
Accurate subsurface utility data played a critical role in the safe and streamlined installation of electric vehicle (EV) chargers at a service station in Cambridge, Ohio.
GPRS was brought in to perform a comprehensive utility locate and mapping project ahead of the charger installation. The goal: to help the contractor avoid costly delays, utility strikes, and safety hazards during excavation.
Project Manager Derrik Clark led the effort, using a combination of electromagnetic (EM) locating and ground penetrating radar (GPR) to identify and mark all underground utilities.
“It's the exact same approach no matter what [the client’s attempting to do],” Clark said. “Because the goal is for them to not hit any existing utilities [when digging] for obvious safety reasons, and then obviously so you’re not interrupting operations or causing anybody to spend money fixing those things. So, for me, there’s never a different approach as to how I’m locating things, regardless of the job type. I find the underground utilities and mark them.”
EM locating works by detecting electromagnetic signals emitted by metallic pipes and cables. These signals can originate from a live electrical current, a transmitter applied to the utility, or even from stray fields picked up in Power or Radio Mode. The locator’s transmitter sends current through the conductor, which returns via a ground connection, typically completed using a ground stake.
The customers have secure, 24/7 access to their subsurface utility data via SiteMap, which provides layered, interactive, and geolocated utility maps laid over satellite or drone imagery.
GPR, on the other hand, sends radar pulses into the ground or through surfaces like concrete. These signals reflect off subsurface features such as rebar, post-tension cables, underground storage tanks, or buried utilities. The reflected data appears as hyperbolas on the GPR readout, which trained GPRS Project Managers interpret to determine the type, location, and depth of the object.
Both technologies are used in tandem to provide a complete picture of what lies beneath the surface. Each method has strengths that help offset the limitations of the other.
At the Cambridge site, Clark relied more heavily on EM locating due to environmental conditions that limited GPR effectiveness.
“Max depth with GPR was very poor at this site,” Clark said. “It was like a foot-and-a-half, so that’s why I primarily used the EM locator. It’s always a combination of GPR and EM locating, but since GPR was limited so much I was more relying on the EM locator and hooking on to any surface features that were there.”
Clark’s findings were uploaded into SiteMap® (patent pending), GPRS’ proprietary infrastructure mapping and project management platform. SiteMap provides secure, 24/7 access to utility data from any device, allowing engineers and contractors to collaborate using a single, verified source of truth.
Thanks to this accurate utility mapping, the EV charger installation proceeded without incident. No utilities were struck, no services were interrupted, and the contractor avoided the need for destructive potholing.
For general contractors and engineers working in the EV charging space, this project highlights the importance of pre-construction utility locating. It’s not just about compliance; it’s about safety, efficiency, and protecting your bottom line.
Key Takeaways for EV Charger Installations:
- Use both EM locating and GPR to ensure comprehensive utility detection.
- Environmental conditions may affect which technology is more effective.
- Centralized data platforms like SiteMap improve coordination and reduce risk.
- Accurate utility maps help avoid costly delays and utility strikes.
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