How Do Underground Utility Surveys Contribute to Site Safety?

Lucion Group

6th October, 2023

Every local area will have utilities located underground beneath the surface, such as water, oil, and gas pipelines, electrical supply lines, telecommunication and data cabling, and more. Safety must be treated as a number one priority in all building projects. Underground utility surveys ensure that existing underground utilities are located, identified, and mapped out before any work commences.

Underground utility surveys play a key role in ensuring site safety. After all, people’s lives can be put at risk if hazards are not flagged up appropriately beforehand. In addition, errors stemming from a failure to carry out underground utility surveys can affect local residents, and they won’t be best pleased with suddenly having their water or electricity cut off, for example.

At Midland Survey, underground utility surveys are one of the specialist survey services we provide. We use cutting-edge technology such as electromagnetic locators and ground penetrating radar (GPR) to allow us to conduct underground surveys with pinpoint accuracy.

Let’s go further into how they contribute to site safety.

Underground utility surveys protect site workers and local residents from the risk of injuries and fatalities

Site accidents can easily lead to serious injuries or fatalities. Therefore, one of the principal purposes of performing underground utility surveys is to protect site workers and local residents from the risk of injuries and fatalities. Gas explosions and electrical shocks are examples of two underground risks that come with harmful consequences.

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA) 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, construction firms have a duty to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their employees at work. Carrying out an underground utility survey is part and parcel of ensuring everyone’s safety on site.

Avoiding accidental damage to underground utilities

Underground utility surveys help to equip everyone working at the site with detailed accurate information regarding where important pipelines, water supplies, sewage, and electrical wiring are located. So, another significant contribution of underground utility surveys to site safety is preventing accidental water main breaks, power outages, and more during the excavation process.

At Midland Survey, we use the latest technology to deliver GPR Surveys (Ground Penetrating Radar Surveys) for customers. The wonder of GPR technology is that it is a non-invasive method, therefore it doesn’t require any digging or excavation on the site.

How much do GPR surveys cost?

You may be wondering about the cost of ground penetrating radar surveys. In summary, a GPR survey carried out by industry experts on a simple site could cost approximately £500 – £700 per day, but a larger more complex site could cost up to £10,000.

Cutting down on delays and Costs

Alongside enhancing site safety, they can help to reduce the potential for delays and costs on a project.

Time is money in the construction industry, and you don’t want projects being delayed when the situation could have been easily avoided.

Fixing damaged utilities can gobble into your time and prove expensive. Construction companies can also incur harsh fines and penalties from governing agencies for any utility damage.

Having access to detailed data from in-depth underground utility surveys will help to prevent the risk of a project being marred by delays and increased costs. At Midland Survey, we offer competitive rates for bespoke underground utility surveys. Get a quote from us today to find out more.

Improving project design and Planning

Underground utility surveys can lead to improved project design and planning by helping architects and engineers to create better quality more accurate designs. This in turn can make things more efficient by decreasing the need for a long string of design modifications and alterations down the line.

Are you interested in getting an underground utility survey? If so, reach out to our friendly knowledgeable team today by calling our head office on 01926 810 811 or sending an email to mail@mslsurveys.co.uk.