This special issue of Damage Prevention Professional was created because of my personal passion for damage prevention, my deep respect for these industry professionals and my desire to assist them in arriving home safe every night. A locate technician is paid to locate and mark utilities buried underground. It is an important job since almost …
Why a special issue focused solely on locating utilities? Read More »
First and foremost: Know what emergency scenario you are responding to and the potential hazards on the excavation and repair site. During the course of any given day, line locating technicians respond to a variety of emergency 811 excavation notifications. Many of these emergency excavation requests involve a service outage, broken poles, gas leaks, water …
A variety of fallouts can precipitate from a damaged infrastructure during excavation: sinkholes from water drainage; suspension of utilities from internet, phone, electric, and gas companies; environmental fallout from sewage or oil; or an explosion caused when a spark hits a damaged gas line. These kinds of accidents cost facility owners hundreds of thousands if …
The popularity of ground penetrating radar in the damage prevention industry has soared in the past decade. Costs have come down, user interfaces have become more approachable, and the recognition that GPR can identify targets that traditional locators cannot have all contributed to this increase in usage. An emerging trend in GPR technology that has …
The Move to Multi-Frequency: How More Gpr Antennae Can Help Your Field Projects Read More »
In August of this year Nulca will introduce its new ground penetrating radar (GPR) accreditation process. This comes on the heels of the successful rollout of Nulca’s locator accreditation program for electromagnetic locating. The current program has seen over a dozen companies pursue accreditation for their programs with several more currently in process. All participants …
The world’s aging infrastructure, expanding population and growing energy demand are creating an environment that will keep horizontal directional drilling contractors in high demand. At the same time, HDD contractors face new challenges, as project owners demand more information and detailed documentation to help keep our communities and installers safe. More detailed information can take …
“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”… and be sure to mark your lines appropriately while maintaining situational awareness every step of the way. With apologies to Ralph Waldo Emerson for amending his fantastic advice, it is fitting to picture a beautiful stretch …
Lucky AND Good: Being a Locator in the Modern Dangerous Era Read More »
The introduction of the DIRT report in 2003 was a major turning point for the Damage Prevention industry. As each year has passed, and the data has become more accurate and complete, the report has allowed industry leaders and stakeholders to make informed decisions about Damage Prevention programs and assess their impact. The CGA states …
Vacuum excavation, such as hydro excavation, is a growing technology used to prevent jobsite damages throughout the world. This non-mechanical method of excavation continues to grow in use due to its proven success in preventing costly – and sometimes catastrophic – damage to underground utilities. Vacuum excavation is a combination of two non-mechanical sources to …
