Subsurface utilities demand respect during digging and construction.

Incomplete utility mapping fails to represent complex nature and ever-growing evolution of utility infrastructure, which can quite literally blow up in your face when you need to excavate. According to the Common Ground Alliance, some 76% of all reported utility strikes occurred because of missing or inaccurate utility data.

Among the biggest problems that plague general contractors, facilities managers, and developers, is that utility information often only exists in either temporary spray-painted and flagged mark-outs, or old as-builts either scattered across various filing cabinets, or only in the memories of aging employees.

GPRS Project Managers are experts in simplifying complex utility information and can fill in the blanks to help you create a permanent, accessible, utility record. We specialize in creating solutions via underground scanning, centralized digital document storage, and detailed visualizations of "actual as-built" data.

By storing your utility maps in one cloud-based location, you can eliminate guesswork and prevent accidental damage. Simplifying your utility data has numerous benefits, and SiteMap® (patent pending) is here to help you achieve them.

What is Involved in Underground Utility Mapping?

Underground utilities come in various depths. Electrical and telecommunication cables usually situated at two feet below ground, and larger pipelines typically at three feet and beyond. Abandoned USTs, old pipes, and other structures can also be found below the surface, requiring updated existing conditions records. Environmental factors may cause the ground to shift, leading to the slight adjustment of previously laid utility lines.

Past construction projects can also impact utility locations, and without proper documentation, these changes may not be apparent. The lack of proper records and utility maps can complicate the world beneath the surface, creating a dangerous scenario when a new excavation is needed. The absence of permits, proper records and utility locations can result in severe consequences such as financial penalties from local governments and environmental incidents. The safety of workers digging and residents around them can also be at risk. Additionally, inaccurate utility information can lead to inefficient, costly, and potentially hazardous projects.

Underground mapping is crucial for different property types and industries such as hospitals, schools and universities, government buildings, construction firms, retail businesses, financial institutions, and more. Most states require One Call (811) systems to notify the owners of publicly owned/registered utilities so that they can mark them on-site to avoid a public utility strike. However, more than 60% of all buried utility lines are unregistered or private. So, to be certain you’ve accurately located all buried facilities on your site, a private locating firm must also be utilized. Given the presence of private utilities in virtually all construction projects, calling 811 is simply not enough to keep your site and people safe.

Buried utility lines can consist of different materials, some conductive and some not, so it is vital that the professional utility locating company you hire can utilize different types of non-invasive technology, like electromagnetic (EM) locators, and ground penetrating radar (GPR), to maximize accuracy. It is also important that the locator provide the highest level of satellite geolocation available, so that your digital records are as comprehensive and accurate as the on-site markings you receive. GPRS utilizes both GPR and EM locators, as well as other necessary complementary technologies along with industry-leading Subsurface Investigation Methodology (SIM), to locate subsurface infrastructure with 99.8% accuracy.

Those findings are then geolocated with Real-Time Kinematic Positioning (RTK), the most accurate field mapping satellite geolocation available, and that layered, interactive utility map is then uploaded to SiteMap® (patent pending), GPRS’ proprietary data and project management software platform. Every GPRS customer receives complimentary SiteMap Personal access to their digital utility maps and other findings.

Benefits of Simplifying Underground Utility Mapping & Creating a Permanent Digital Record

1. Safety: When your facility and project managers have on-demand access to highly accurate and up-to-date utility mapping, permits, and plans, downtime is reduced, and subsurface obstacles are easily overcome. Improved safety for individuals, buildings, and the environment is ensured as risks are minimized through real-time updates and central availability of essential data. Trust GPRS to deliver a top-notch solution that allows for confident and informed decision-making, always.
2. Efficiency: When embarking on any construction undertaking, ensuring that all your campus’ geospatial data is in one centralized platform is pivotal to rapid and precise decision-making around subsurface utilities. This highly efficient approach not only provides increased accuracy but also preserves project timelines and budgets, safeguarding successful outcomes.
3. Code and regulation compliance: Locally enforced safe digging laws, building codes, and construction permits carry the weight of protecting workers, building occupants, and structures above and below ground. By centralizing blueprints, permits, and utility maps, facilities managers can accurately verify compliance and permit validity dates to stay ahead of regulations.
4. 24/7 access to data: SiteMap® is a comprehensive, cloud-based GIS solution that consolidates geospatial maps, blueprints, and permits, simplifying utility visualizations and paper files into one place. It becomes your centralized repository – creating a single source of truth that enhances efficiency, and communications by giving you and your team access to your infrastructure information via any mobile device, any time you need it.

GPRS’ SiteMap® offers comprehensive, consolidated digital utility mapping, a groundbreaking solution that brings your field findings into the palm of your hand from anywhere, 24/7. It’s just one of the many ways we Intelligently Visualize the Built World® to help you manage your campus, site, or facility. Whether your project spans one building or hundreds of sites, nationwide, GPRS provides the solutions you need to plan, build, and manage better.

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