The process and mentality needed to locate private utilities differ from other types of utility locating. Researching record plans and documents are the first step. The facility or governmental agencies may have copies of record plans from previous construction projects and the issuance of previous permits. It is not guaranteed for all projects that record plans are available and in most cases they are nonexistent and if found, they are generally inaccurate.
For many private facility owners, the first accurate record comes from the completed work of the private utility locators. The utility locators must read the landscape, investigate indicating utility access points, search for buried surface structures, or clues indicating the presence and location of the utilities. Working with the facility owner, maintenance personnel and existing records if available, the locators begin piecing together the utilities position. It is at this point, using the electromagnetic techniques and Ground Penetrating Radar equipment, the utility locators identifies and marks the respective private utilities and completes the puzzle.
Benefits
- Accurate locations prior to design phases
- Reduced cost due to inadvertent utility damage
- Reduce work site incidents
- Reduce facility down time and extra cost
- provide accurate depiction of utility locations rather than on surface features or records alone