Safer Surveying with Integrated Utility Mapping Solutions

Safer surveying with integrated utility mapping solutions

Matthias Twardzik at Hexagon discusses how innovative mapping solutions are improving the efficiency and safety of surveying at the same time.

As major transportation and infrastructure projects escalate worldwide, there is an increasing demand for safe, efficient, and comprehensive utility mapping. In fact, a 2022 report from the UK government estimated that a hole is dug every seven seconds to access underground utilities. Every year, 60,000 of these holes result in an accidental strike, of a pipe or cable for example, mostly because of inaccurate utility mapping data. This can result in injury and inevitably leads to traffic disruption.

Unlike traditional mapping techniques, digital solutions are now making mapping projects safer and more efficient. For example, by consolidating mobile laser scanning and ground-penetrating radar into an integrated solution, innovative companies are charting a new path – one that prioritises worker safety while still delivering highly accurate subsurface mapping.

Pitfalls of Traditional Utility Mapping

For decades, surveyors have relied on time-consuming manual walkthroughs to detect underground infrastructure piece-by-piece or have performed road surface scans that require complete road closures. However, these traditional methods compromise on safety, as crews tend to work in close proximity to busy roads. 

Even after these lengthy and hazardous processes, inaccurate data often fails to reveal all buried pipes, cables, ducts and culverts. The risk of overlooked hazards jeopardises worker safety while potentially leading to work stoppages from line strikes.

In an effort to combat the risks associated with traditional utility mapping while maintaining a high level of accuracy, Severn Partnership, the geomatics land surveying company, is leading the charge in prioritising safety in surveying. 

Severn Partnership’s Pioneering Path

As long-standing leaders in mobile mapping and geomatic surveying, Severn Partnership has continually advanced infrastructure project safety by implementing the latest digital technology. Operating predominantly large infrastructure survey projects in the UK, it was among the first companies to use an integrated mobile mapping and ground penetrating radar (GPR) solution from Hexagon. 

The solution captures high-resolution LiDAR point clouds and 360-degree imagery of all surface conditions and assets, geolocated with precise GNSS positioning. Simultaneously, the GPR system’s dense, polarised antenna array accurately maps all subsurface utilities like pipes, conduits, and drainage features across wide survey areas, greatly reducing the risk of line strikes during excavation.

Since both technologies are mounted onto one vehicle, surveyors can simultaneously map all surface and subsurface assets while operating entirely from inside the survey vehicle. This is key to advancing Severn Partnership’s central safety philosophy as it keeps workers off the road.

Through this approach, Severn reportedly saves up to 80% of site hours and reduces the number of site visits by 30%. Beyond the time savings, this also reduces travel emissions and produces a safer operation for their workers.

“Our ‘boots off blacktop’ ethos reflects a people-first commitment to protecting our greatest assets – our personnel,” said Ben Barnard, Commercial Director at Severn Partnership. “By coupling mobile mapping and GPR, we’re arming crews with rich visualisations of all potential hazards, both above and below ground, while keeping them out of harm’s way. We’re able to cover many kilometres of road, safely, in one site visit, with no traffic management.”

Boosting Safety and Efficiency Simultaneously 

Beyond the inherent safety advantages, Severn Partnership’s integrated mobile mapping workflow delivers efficiency gains compared to traditional utility mapping methods. By consolidating all data capture into a single vehicle-based operation, the need for dedicated ground surveys or road closures is eliminated entirely.

The vehicle-mounted system continuously captures all required data while travelling at normal roadway speeds up to 60 km/h. This allows Severn to quickly map extensive utility tunnel systems with just one pass.

“This consolidated solution translates into significant safety and schedule benefits for our clients,” said Darren Read, Managing Director at Severn Partnership. “We’re accelerating timelines and providing unprecedented visibility into all surface and buried asset infrastructure without disruptions – a true game-changer”.

Minimum disruption and maximum safety for Clun

One example is a project Severn Partnership carried out in the town of Clun, in Shropshire, UK. Because of its small size and narrow streets, most people think of Clun as a village. Its history dates back as far as neolithic times, and it was also recorded in the Domesday Book – a survey of England and Wales completed by the Normans in 1086.

The town sits on the River Clun, which is prone to flooding. So, the council wanted a detailed topographic and GPR survey in order to understand the waterflow of the area as part of their drainage improvement plans. 

The original plan included full road closures in order to carry out the survey. Since the centre of town is so small, roughly one square-kilometre, there are only four major routes into and out of town. Closures to any of these would have led to major disruption and stress for those living and working there. So, the town was on the lookout for a solution that minimised traffic management and maximised safety for the workers and general public while still collecting high quality data.

Severn Partnership was hired as it was able to avoid road closures and boost safety with the use of its integrated mobile mapping and GPR solution. Both topographic and GPR data was collected at road speed, so most residents were unaware of any work taking place. The two operators that would have been in the field in potential risk situations were now inside a vehicle. The data collection only took a single day, with no need for disruptive traffic management. 

Prioritising people through digital transformation

The adoption of this new mobile scanning approach exemplifies how prioritising personnel safety and digital transformation go hand-in-hand. By upholding a people-first philosophy at the core of their technological evolution, Severn Partnership demonstrates how innovators can utilise new technologies to enhance safety while increasing productivity at the same time.

This approach eliminates the risks of conventional utility mapping, paving the way for smarter, safer projects safeguarded by precision geospatial intelligence.

To learn more about Hexagon’s integrated mobile mapping solutions, click here.