5 Steps To Prevent Damage To Underground Cables

Step 1 – Dial Before You Dig

Before you commence any excavation on a worksite or your property it is always advisable to get a Dial Before You Dig report. This is a free service so there are no excuses. You will need to create an account if you do not already have one.

The website for Dial Before You Dig is www.1100.com.au

Dial Before You Dig is a not-for-profit community service designed to prevent damage and disruption to network infrastructure. Services such as water, gas, electricity, and telecommunications all for part of the utility services covered by Dial Before You Dig.

Any excavation, has the potential to damage assets located around the work site, irrespective of the size and scope of the excavation. Something as simple as digging a post hole has the potential to lead to damage of the underlying utility infrastructure. This damage could involve extensive delays, costly repairs and in the worst-case scenario, injury or death to workers or even innocent bystanders.

Normally the results of a Dial Before You Dig request will be back in your email in a couple of working days.

If needed a cable and pipe locating company such as SA Cable and Pipe Locating can conduct this request to Dial Before You Dig for you.

Step 2 – Wait for the plans

Before you start excavation ensure that you have received all the plans back from the utility companies involved.

Allow time for these reports to come back from all the infrastructure companies before commencing any work. They will normally be back in a couple of days

Once you have the plans you will then need to read through them carefully. There are not only the plans to go through but also associated paperwork from the utility companies. This paperwork will detail any permits required and conditions that apply when working near their network assets

Step 3 – Locating the physical underground services

Even though you have the layout from the infrastructure owners regarding the location of their assets, you job is only half done. The Dial Before You Dig reports don’t necessarily cover what is underneath your job site as there maybe additional pipes and cables not covered by the report.

The next job is to locate the actual pipes and cables. You basically have three options here:

First, digging by hand to find each individual piece of utility cabling. This is not only time consuming but it is just plain hard work.

Second, hiring the relevant locating equipment from a equipment hire company like Kennards or Coates. This is an option if you think you have the skill and expertise to use the equipment effectively.

Third, you can hire a professional cable locating company to come and locate and mark the cables and pipes under your planned job site.

A utility locating company such as SA Cable and Pipe Locating can complete this task for you efficiently and very cost effectively for you.

Not only can they locate and mark the cables and pipes on your property, they can also produce a GPS map of the infrastructure that you can then use for your earthmoving contractor.

Step 4 – Hiring a professional locator

I know it is obvious but if you are hiring a locator, don’t just go for the cheapest option. Choose someone that is certified by NULCA the National Utility Locating Contractors Association or choose from the list of certified locators at Dial Before You Dig.

SA Cable and Pipe is registered with the National Utility Locating Contractors Association.

Step 5 – Start digging

First, confirm everything by potholing

Once everything has been located, dig down carefully at selected points and prove that the cable or pipe is definitely there. This allows you to get an exact depth of it, and to mark it before the earthmoving contractors start.

Go back to your plans and confirm that the pipe you see in the ground is the one that’s listed on the plan.

If it’s not, then contact the utility company or your locator (if you’ve hired a professional locator in to locate it for you) and get them to come back and confirm what you have found.

Then, after you have done all of the above you can finally get started with your earthworks.

Several times a week in Australia an underground gas pipe is hit and damaged.

Check out these incidents here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fst5iYtcHDE&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHjpPw2sS-0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCZDsA_8PC4

Gas pipes are one of the most difficult utilities to locate. They tend to be plastic pipes but have no trace wire to allow them to be easily located.

Use extra care if you are planning an excavation in an area with mains gas installed. Over the years the pipes may have been replaced and at times they are where the utility company infrastructure plans say they are.

Conclusion

My advice as a professional locator is this:

If you are regularly managing earth-moving or job site have a set documented procedure to ensure that you checked off everything prior to commencing earthworks.

If you are unsure of the location of the underground services, be very careful where you dig and be extremely careful if using mechanical diggers.

The easiest solution is to hire a professional to locate the cables and pipes for you, giving you peace of mind prior to commencing excavation.

Unfortunately, even getting a professional locator out to site will still never completely eliminate the risk of you hitting an underground service. But what it will do is greatly reduce the risk of doing so.

Ground Penetrating Radar: What It Is And How Does It Work?

When you use a service locator to locate cables and pipes before starting a dig, you’ll notice that an Electromagnetic Field (EMF) locator is commonly part of the operation. An EMF locator can detect metallic service cables, but it’s not effective in detecting non-conductive services.

Because many services now use non-conductive materials like plastics and fiber optics, EMF locators may not be the best tool to use for some services. That’s when the use of Ground Penetrating Radar becomes a more efficient choice.

This post covers what a Ground Penetrating Radar is and how it works as an efficient tool for locating underground services.

Ground penetrating radar being used to locate pipes on a sports field

What Is a Ground Penetrating Radar?

A Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is primarily a sensor device that has various applications including forensics. Now, it’s more often used for engineering applications like geophysical surveys.

In surveying engineering sites and structures, GPR uses a non-intrusive and non-destructive method of testing. It can scan through materials like concrete, asphalt and ground layers. It detects voids or cavities in the underlying structures to evaluate material integrity and quality.

It can also detect conductive (metal) and non-conductive (non-metal) materials in the subsurface. This is why service locators use GPR to detect and locate service or utility lines like cables and pipes that are buried underground.

How Does Ground Penetrating Radar Work?

GPR detects and locates materials in the subsurface by measuring the amplitudes of electromagnetic waves reflected from underground. These readings are used to produce an image of the condition and material composition beneath the tested area. It has four main components:

Transmitter

The GPR transmits or scatters pulses of high-frequency electromagnetic energy beams. These beams continue to transmit until a change in material composition is detected. Composition changes create a discontinuity in the transmission. A discontinuity made by solid materials will cause the transmission to bounce off and transmit back to the surface. A discontinuity made by a void or cavity will reflect a reverse polarity.

Receiver

When a transmission bounces or reflects back to the surface, the GPR’s receiver will pick up that transmission. The amplitudes of these bounced transmissions, together with their arrival times, are then recorded. These amplitude readings are then processed by the GPR.

Processor

After the GPR records the amplitudes of the bounced transmissions, the central processor will collate the readings. This will make out an image or graphic representation of the location and size of the detected materials.

Output

The imaging generated by the GPR’s processor is then shown on the display screen.  The length and duration of the amplitudes reflect what type of material is detected. Together, these components allow the GPR device to collect and process data in real time. At SA Cable & Pipe Locating, Chris is able to upload this information onto a printed site map for you to use and keep.

What Is The Difference Between GPR And An EMF Locator?

Both GPR and EMF locator use electromagnetic energy, but in different ways. GPR measures the amplitudes of transmitted electromagnetic beams to detect materials underground. It doesn’t matter if the materials detected are metallic or not. As long as there is composition change, the GPR will pick up the variation and process them.

Ground Penetrating Radar

EMF locator, on the other hand, detects and traces electromagnetic transmissions through conductive (metallic) materials. Unlike GPR, the EMF locator depends on the presence of metal to detect transmissions. Without metallic conduction, no transmission can be detected.

EMF locator being used to locate underground cables

This is the reason why most service locators still use GPR even after the site has been tested using an EMF locator. Though EMF locators are more affordable and can collect data faster, it may not be enough to perform a thorough survey of the tested site. This is crucial, especially when an extensive excavation or digging is going to be done on the site.

Where Can A GPR Be Used?

The GPR is commonly used to survey and investigate the ground for buried services. Ground surveys are mandatory prior to any excavation, construction or tunnel boring. By detecting and locating underground services, engineers can mark areas that workers should avoid or apply precautions. This is to prevent service line damage and service interruption, which can cost them a lot of money.

GPR can also be used on testing solid materials like concrete structures, masonry and asphalt paving. This type of testing evaluates the integrity and composition of the material or structure. It helps in determining whether a job has been done properly or if it needs to be redone.

GPR testing is also used to detect the location of cables and pipes embedded in concrete structures like walls, ceilings and flooring. This helps in locating damaged or faulty lines that need to be repaired or replaced. It prevents unnecessary breaking of concrete materials during inspection.

What Kind Of Materials Can GPR Detect And Locate?

Ground Penetrating Radar can detect a variety of metallic and non-metallic materials. The most common materials it’s used to detect include:

• Metal – metal pipes and cables
• Plastics – PVC pipes and fiber optic cables
• Concrete – concrete pipes and tunnels
• Masonry – stone slabs and tiles
• Subsurface voids – cavities or air pockets in the structure
• Geological composition – changes in the ground’s geological features and strata

GPR can also map and identify areas in the ground that have been excavated and back-filled. This helps in identifying ground disturbances that need to be reinforced or avoided.

How Deep Can A GPR Detect?

The penetration depth of GPR depends on the frequency settings and the intended application. GPR’s electromagnetic frequency can be set based on the type of testing that need to be done and the type of materials that need to be detected.

For example, in detecting pipes and evaluating ground structure thickness, the GPR’s antennae frequency is set to 900 MHz, which can penetrate as far as 0.9 metre. In surveying utility lines, the GPR’s frequency is set to 400 MHz to reach as far as 2 metres.

What Are The Limitations Of GPR?

Ground Penetrating Radar can penetrate and detect ground materials under fair conditions. However, there are circumstances that can cause interruptions and obstacles in the testing process.

GPR may not work efficiently under the following conditions:

• When used on waterlogged soil or clay soil
• There is presence of high mineral-containing sea water
• When used on solid metal structures

The reason for these is because the ions in the water minerals and dense metal can dissipate the transmitted signals. This will thus interrupt the transmitting and receiving process, which the GPR uses to evaluate the tested site.

What Are The Other Applications For GPR?

Aside from engineering applications, the GPR is also used in Earth Science, Archeology and Military fields.

The GPR is used in geological studies to evaluate and investigate changes in the conditions of the ground layers. GPR can image the structure of the bedrock, locate groundwater areas, and detect presence of ice.

In archeological geophysics, GPR is used to detect patterns in the subsurface. These patterns are used to map out buried archeological artifacts. GPR is an ideal tool for such test because it is non-intrusive and non-destructive. It thus prevents untoward damage to any valuable discovery.

In the military, GPR is used to evaluate the ground for buried ordnance (arms and explosives). It can also be used to detect underground tunnels that may be used in the secret transport and passage of military corpsmen and ordnance.

Who Can Use And Operate A GPR?

Ground Penetrating Radars are commonly used by accredited service locators in surveying a work site for utility and service lines. The GPR can only be operated by trained technicians who are capable of analysing and interpreting results.

The reason they use GPR is because it can map out the location of non-conductive service lines that may not be detected by EMF locators during the preliminary testing. Other advantages of the GPR include the following:

• Non-intrusive and non-destructive –
  Service locators don’t need to dig up the ground to make a closer inspection of the site.
• Fast collection of data –
  Allows service locators to cover and scan large areas in a short period of time.
• Requires single-sided access –
  GPR only needs to scan from one side of the tested surface or site. It does not require the use of accessory devices on the opposite side of the tested area.
• Cost-efficient and safe to use –
  GPR can deliver results in real time so it saves more time and money on ground surveys. It is also one of the safest surveying methods because workers don’t need to dig around areas where there could be potential danger (example is the presence of leaky gas pipes).

Why You Should Use An Accredited Service Locator?

When you work on a site project, the first thing you must do is have the area surveyed for the presence of utility and service lines underground. This will help you ensure that you and your workers don’t dig into and damage any of those services.

If you are looking for an accredited service locator, in the Adelaide Hills, then SA Cable and Pipe Locating can make the ground surveying job easy for you. Tools like the EMF locator and Ground Penetrating Radar can survey the site in less time.

SA Cable and Pipe Locating can also perform Pipe Camera Inspections and Acoustic Water Pipe Locating to inspect and evaluate the integrity of pipelines that run throughout the site.

Other benefits of using an accredited service locator include the following:

• Industry certifications guarantee cost-efficient services that are of high quality.
• The use of quality high-performance tools brings fast and accurate results to save more time.
• Prompt service and professional advice help prevent unnecessary excavation, which can cost a lot of time, energy and money.
• Providing expense quotes prior to any job informs clients of the potential costs before making decisions.

If you prefer to survey your site using a Ground Penetrating Radar, make sure that you use only an accredited service locator. This will also ensure that the survey is done only by qualified and competent technicians.

Locate Your Underground Services Before Excavation

Avoid unnecessary costs and delays

If you want to build a swimming pool or do any excavations in your property, you have to check the underground services or utilities first. This is to ensure that no cables and pipes will be damaged during excavation.

Unless you possess the skills and equipment for the job, it’s much better to seek help from a professional cable and pipe locator. Adelaide Hills is home to several reputable companies in this niche, such as SA Cable & Pipe Locating.

Do I Need To Worry About Where My Underground Services Are?

Don’t take underground services lightly. If you are not careful and you accidentally hit and damage an underground electrical cable, the results can be fatal. Shock, flames, and electrical arcs typically result in severe burns to the face, body, and hands even when protective gear is worn. Every day in Australia an underground gas pipeline is hit and/or damaged.

Usually, a cable gets damaged if it’s crushed by heavy machinery or cut by a sharp object. Electric cables that have been damaged in the past and were left unrepaired or unreported can lead to major disruptions.

Hitting an underground gas line or electrical cable can lead to serious injuries or even fatalities on the worksite. Innocent bystanders may also be injured by the damaged gas pipelines or electric cables.

Simply put, an error here can cost you a lot of money and even endanger lives. Hence, you should be particular about where your underground services are before commencing any excavations.

What Can I Do to Find Underground Services?

Be careful not to damage any underground services when you dig.

Seek help from someone who specialises in underground service locating. After all, these underground services are all enclosed in protective coatings or pipes. Cable locating experts such as SA Cable & Pipe Locating in Adelaide Hills effectively locate your underground cables and pipes while also managing any associated risks.

SA Cable & Pipe Locating fully plan their work scope prior to commencing any activity on your site. They also utilise data from Dial Before You Dig to give you a complete picture or where your services are located. This information can then be integrated through GPS mapping technology to produce a completed site plan for you to use. They use the latest cable locating devices including ground proximity radar along with the best industry standard practices.

Service cables are typically owned by a distribution network operators, such as water, electricity and gas companies. Make sure that you check for equipment owned by these organisations.

If you think that there are underground electric cables in your area, ask them for plans to confirm the location. You may ask an underground service locating expert to come to your area and locate the cables for you.

It’s necessary to identify abandoned or disused utility infrastructure so that they can be assessed for damage.

Oftentimes, abandoned lines are not marked, causing a lot of problems for earth moving and excavation contractors. When communities develop and grow, bigger lines and pipes are required. However, often the old pipes and lines are not removed before installing these new services. When these old utilities get struck, the contractor needs to stop working until the electrical or cable company arrives and evaluates the damage.

This is why contractors often deal with last-minute challenges, such as having to redesign the work site after an engineer assesses it.

Keep in mind that it’s vital to have an expert on underground service locating locate the cables using specialised equipment if you are digging or excavating near your electric cables. This way, you can avoid any accidents or unwanted incidents.

Risk assessment and careful planning are likewise necessary. You have to think of how you will do the work to ensure that you take local circumstances into consideration.

Don’t forget to obtain and review plans as well as other relevant information before you allow the excavation work to begin. In the event that you cannot find the plans but have to proceed to excavation, you should work as if there are live buried underground services in your location.

Then again, plans only tell you the number and the location of underground services. Hence, you should still seek help from individuals who specialize in underground service locating. Before any work is done, all underground cables should be located, identified, and marked.

What Can Happen If I Damage My Underground Cables or Pipes?

As you’ve read previously, you can hurt yourself and be injured. Even worse, your injuries could be fatal. Damaging underground services never leads to anything good. This is why utmost care is necessary.

Digging through the ground is an integral part of the construction process. However, each time the ground is broken, there’s a risk of destroying or damaging underground services. This can be both dangerous and expensive.

If you run a company and you lead the excavation team, this construction failure can also tarnish your reputation. Clients, investors, and important people in the industry may no longer trust you, causing you to lose your business.

Excavating safely is truly a vital competence for utility organisations and contractors. Interestingly though, as the world becomes more urbanized, more excavations occur. This means that more pipes and cables are used. Likewise, more problems with underground service locating may arise.

Aside from health and life endangerment, you might incur a lot of expenses. You may have to have such underground utilities repaired. There’s even the chance of having to hire and train new people, as well as spend money on strategies that can make your workers more productive and efficient.

If your workers or bystanders got injured or died in the incident, you might have to pay huge fines and insurance fees. Insurance companies can use opportunities like this to charge high premiums.

More often than not, damage occurs when detection tools are not used, good working practices are not sufficient, and on-site activities do not properly reflect ideal working practices.

This is why it’s important to use the right tools for the job as well as implement proper training and working practices. Likewise, you should make your workers understand and learn about the right on-site behaviour.

Do not hesitate to use the latest technological innovations for your objectives. Don’t think twice about working with the experts on this industry as well. You can contact SA Cable & Pipe Locating to inquire about their services and ask for quotes.

What Equipment Can I Use to Find these Underground Services?

It isn’t a good idea to rely on maps alone. You should always use the right tools in conjunction with these maps. Remember that it takes time, effort, dedication, and updated technology to efficiently and safely locate existing underground infrastructure in any area.

The digging process is not simple. Make it a habit to call underground service locating professionals before you proceed with this step.
State agencies would only locate public utilities. So, if you are dealing with private utilities, you have to use your own resources to locate them. You need to pay for radar and frequency locating technologies to get desirable results.

If you’re a contractor, you have to verify your lines with your own locator, along with a vacuum excavator for the soft-digging method.
One of the most basic and important tools for locating underground utilities is a utility locator. It narrows down the marked utilities and speeds up the process of locating them.

So, if you have to work on a manicured yard, you have to be careful not to destroy it with your excavations. This tool will help you achieve that goal as well as keep your restoration costs to a minimum.

You can choose a multiple-frequency locator or an audio-only locator. It is not advisable to invest in a single-frequency locator. Even though it can give you accurate readings, it might not be able to give you the other things you need to get the job done.

Can I Get Someone To Locate Cables And Pipes?

Again, if you’re not confident with your skills or you really don’t know what to do, seek help from underground service locating professionals at SA Cable & Pipe Locating based in the Adelaide Hills. Do not force yourself to do the job. Otherwise, you can end up with a much bigger problem. Chris has studied and trained for precisely these circumstances.

What Are The Benefits Of Using An Accredited Service Locator?

There are numerous benefits you can get when you use an accredited underground service locator, including safety, accuracy, cost-efficiency, and high quality results. You can minimize the risks as well as avoid wasting time and money.

All in all, it’s advantageous (and in many cases, necessary) to work with a professional cable and pipe locator. Adelaide Hills is home to firms that specialize in this kind of endeavour and are capable of ensuring that the entire process goes smoothly.

SA Cable & Pipe Locating, being among the most trusted of these companies, have the right knowledge, skills, and equipment for the job. And yes, they’re also familiar with the latest methods used in construction.

How To Locate Damaged Underground Pipes And Cables

Locating damaged underground pipes and cables is an essential part of the repair process for these underground utilities. Firstly they need to be located, so that they can be excavated and repaired before the damage becomes more serious.

Underground pipes can be particularly difficult to locate the damaged sections as they may be buried under your house’s foundation or a concrete slab or just buried in soil. While it may be easy to determine that a pipe is leaking, locating exactly where the damaged section is important to reduce the amount of excavation to enable repairs to be completed.

Typical underground pipes that may need repairs are:

• Sewerage pipes
• Stormwater pipes
• Water mains and
• Garden water pipes.

There are many reasons why your pipes may begin leaking or are damaged. Soil erosion over time may damage your pipes. Natural disasters such as earthquakes that cause the ground to shift may also cause pipes to crack due to excess pressure.

How Can I Tell If My Underground Pipes Are Damaged?

There are some signs that can indicate that you have a leaky or damaged underground pipe.

The most obvious is if your water bill suddenly goes up, even though your water usage remains normal. If there are no obvious problems inside the house, such as a leaky toilet, then one of your pipes may be leaking.

You can confirm that there is a leak by shutting off all the faucets and other appliances that use water in your home. Then, mark the position of the gauge on your water meter.

Wait thirty minutes and then check the gauge again. If it has moved, even slightly, it is a sign that there is a leak in one of your underground pipes.

Other symptoms to look for include:

• Sink holes or wet patches.
  If you detect one of these in your yard, it may indicate that a leaky pipe has saturated that area with wastewater.
• Heaving or cracking of paved areas.
  This may also indicate that the ground underneath the pavement has become soaked with water.
• A noticeable sudden decrease in water pressure.
  This may be a sign that the plumbing has been broken at a certain spot and water is leaking out.
• Odd noises.
  Leaky or broken pipes will emit a variety of strange noises. These may include whistling and bubbling, hissing or whooshing, and splashing.
• Contaminated water.
  If water that is dirty or has a strong odor is coming out of your taps, it may indicate that the plumbing has been corroded. The water running through it may have become contaminated.

In addition, leaky or damaged sewer lines may have the following symptoms:

• A foul odour.
  If there is a persistent stench in your home of sewer gas or other unpleasant smell, it is a sign that a sewer line has cracked. Sewer pipes are normally air-tight and you should never smell an odor coming from them.
• Backups.
  If you experience a backup whenever you run water down a drain or sink, or when you flush, it is a sign that there is a broken sewer line. However, if the problem is limited to only one particular drain, then the problem is likely limited to just that drain.
• Foundation issues.
  If the sewer lines running underneath your foundation are damaged and not repaired, it may cause problems such as cracks and settlement.

What Happens If Damaged Pipes Are Not Repaired?

If damaged pipes are not repaired as soon as possible, they may get to the point where they fail completely. When this happens, the cost of replacing them will be much more expensive than it would have been to maintain them in good condition.

Underground water leaks may also start removing soil from around your foundations. In time, this may compromise the slab, resulting in structural issues that make your property unsafe to live in.

How Can I Locate Damaged Underground Pipes?

You will need to contact a professional utilities locator to find where the subsurface pipes are.

Utilities locating is the process of identifying the location of subsurface public utility mains, such as water mains, sewer pipes, telecommunications and fiber optic cables, and electric cables.  

The traditional method for locating utilities is by using an electromagnetic locator. The device sends out an electromagnetic radio frequency that is induced on underground cables and pipes. A receiver detects the frequency, allowing the operator to accurately trace the location of the pipes.

However, this method has a number of limitations. Electromagnetic locators can only find pipes made with conductive material. It cannot locate unmarked pipes that are made of materials such as concrete, asbestos and plastic. It also performs best within a range of ten to fifteen feet.  

Locating Damage To Stormwater Or Sewerage Pipes

One of the most effective devices for locating damage to stormwater pipes is a pipe camera. This is a small video camera on the end of a tube that can be fed through the stormwater pipe to locate damaged sections.

These can be then marked accurately to enable the damaged section to be uncovered and repaired.

Using a pipe camera is extremely efficient and cost effective means of locating damage to hollow pipes that the pipe locating specialist has access to an opening to feed the camera through.

Ground Proximity Radar

Most professional utilities locators these days use Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) since it is more effective. The way ground penetrating radar works is simple: the unit transmits a radar signal through the earth. When it hits something buried underground, the signal bounces back. The data is displayed as a “digital map” on the device’s LED screen.

The GPR signal reflects back at different velocities based on the shape, size and conductivity of the object. For instance, a plastic pipe has low conductivity, and the reflected signal will have lower velocity.

GPR units use different types of frequencies to detect different targets. Higher frequencies are used to detect smaller objects at depths closer to the surface. 1000 MHz is used to provide high-resolution detail, but can only penetrate to a depth of 24 inches.

Objects with identical or similar conductive properties may be difficult to detect, or even undetectable, to the GPR operator. For instance, clay pipes buried in loose soil may reflect the signal back at the same velocity as the surrounding material.

In addition to locating buried objects, GPR can also be used to identify air pockets, and changes in geological features and ground strata. It can also locate ground disturbances such as back-filled and excavated areas.

These units have to be operated by experienced field personnel since they require extensive training to learn how to use. Since GPR waves may travel through many different types of materials, each of which affect them differently due to their varying conductive and dielectric properties, the operator must also interpret the data the radar collects in the field.

The most common use of GPR is in construction, since it is vital to identify metallic and non-metallic subsurface objects before excavation begins. In addition, it is used on structural elements to detect metal bars, de-lamination and sub-surface voids.

GPR is also used by the mining industry in order to perform subsurface mapping of the proposed area where the mine will be dug. It can help in determining rock quality, establishing the depth of the bedrock and exploring groundwater.

Why Use an Accredited Service Locator?

Accreditation is a certification process that ensures that the contractor is proficient in providing locator services. In the past, simply completing a course and demonstrating that they were competent was enough for locators to get certified. However, there was concern that the locators being certified had inconsistent skill sets, which could lead to assets in the surveyed areas accidentally being damaged, and workers in these sites possibly suffering serious injury.

These days, certification has become stricter. Organizations such as Dial Before You Dig have implemented a stricter accreditation process, which requires locators to demonstrate that they are knowledgeable about the theory of utilities location, as well as having practical knowledge and experience.

In addition, certified locators are required to have the necessary equipment that meets the certifying organization’s requirements. They can no longer simply buy a cheap piece of equipment that they will present in an attempt to get certified.

These more stringent standards mean that the industry has become increasingly more professional. Thus, if you are using the services of an accredited locator, you are assured that they will be able to accurately and efficiently locate underground utilities.

This means that you save time and money since you know exactly where to dig so that the damaged pipes can be repaired or replaced. There is no risk of unwanted damage to other pipes and cables by excavating in the wrong place.

Accredited services are also required to carry insurance. This means that in case there are any problems and you have to make a claim, the insurance carrier will shoulder the expenses. For instance, if the locator makes a mistake and fails to identify a water main, and it is damaged when the site is excavated, insurance will pay to repair it.

Many certified contractors are also members of industry associations such as the National Utility Locating Contractors Association. This requires them to not only follow high work standards, but also maintain the best work practices.

SA Cable & Pipe, Your Professional Service Locator in the Adelaide Hills

SA Cable & Pipe Locating is a 100% Australian-owned company that is based in the Adelaide Hills.

We are able to locate underground pipes and cables for private residences and businesses such as those engaged in construction.

Our certified location technicians will use state-of-the-art detection devices to identify what subsurface pipes and cables are located on the site and provide their location, as well as how deep they are buried.

We also use GPR to create a map of the area that includes the coordinates and depth of the utilities so contractors will know where to dig safely. 

In addition, we also have a pipe camera that we can use to find blockages and broken pipes, as well as inspect pipe joints. The camera can also help pinpoint the location of the problem so that you’ll know where exactly to dig.

We service Adelaide and the Adelaide Hills, as well as the Riverland, Barossa, Fleurieu Peninsula and the Murray Lands.

Call us now so we can locate your damaged underground pipes and cables. Potentially saving you hundreds of dollars