Underground Installations: Innovative Solutions for Detecting Buried Utilities.
In underground installations, it is very common when trenching to encounter another utility, whether it be water, gas, electricity, or even a telecommunications line from another company. Sometimes we notice it in time and avoid cutting the service, but other times we can affect that distribution and put our safety at risk, as would be the case with a gas service.
Another common problem is that if there is no record of the installations, or if repaving occurs, we lose the record and markings of the installation's path. Then, when a repair is needed or the service needs to be expanded in the future, it will be difficult to locate the place where the trenching should be done.
Technology exists that provides the necessary solution to these problems, through locator equipment that uses antennas to detect if there is any buried element. Antennas are devices capable of receiving and emitting electromagnetic signals at the frequency for which they are designed; because they can receive these waves, they are considered sensors. Some equipment has more than one antenna, and the purpose of this is to be able to detect frequencies of different ranges and obtain as much information as possible.
Among the existing locator equipment are metal locators, ground penetrating radars, pipe inspection cameras, precision locators, and equipment capable of monitoring pipeline integrity and corrosion.
Radiodetection is a world leader in the supply and development of locating equipment, used by public utilities and private excavation companies for identification tasks to prevent damage to underground infrastructure networks.
Now, you can find this line of equipment at INCOM; we have high-precision locators for tracing, fault identification, and RF markers. Figure 1 shows the locating equipment with which creating and sharing detailed maps is a simple task thanks to the GPS options available for RD8100 and RD7100 locators.
Additionally, the RD8100 locator has Bluetooth configuration available, and thanks to connectivity with the APP available on the Apple Store and Play Store, we can view maps in real time.
The RD1500 ground penetrating system is the work tool for location specialists, inspectors, and other professionals who need to locate and mark the positions of metallic and non-metallic cables and pipes. The included GPS as standard allows users to display the position of captures taken with Google Earth™ and other georeferencing programs, as shown in Figure 2.
With the MAGGIE and SPOT metal detectors, shown in Figure 3, you will have equipment that combines sensitivity and precision with one-handed operation, making it easy to identify metals and magnetic materials.
Whatever your project, do not hesitate to contact us; we have the complete solution for you. Visit our website and social media.
