Primary Considerations While Using Utility Locating Equipment

Construction and excavation work often bring the workers close to the many different underground utilities, including telecommunications, gas, electricity, water, and others. The utility locating equipment, including the advanced ground penetration radars available now, ensures that the exact location of these varied utilities is found out. The work can be carried out with the restraint, safety, and without losses. The utility locating equipment includes the transmitter and receiver, and create and spread the electromagnetic field by directing it inappropriate subsurface and beneath the ground regions. When an underground utility reflects these radiations, they are received by the utility provider's receiver, which provides for accurate and reliable work.

 

Detection: A Primary and Important Consideration While Using Utility Locating Equipment 

 

Using the latest and advanced GPR or utility locating equipment improves the probability of the accuracy of the process of detection and identification of the utilities located underneath the ground. The two main kinds of detection principles used in utility location include passive location and active location. These are described below.

 

Passive Location

 

The principle involves locating the electromagnetic field that may be present in a utility already. For the passive location, there may be certain signals already present on the buried utility. For instance, a power cable may emit certain signals on its own.

 

Passive utility location may also be based on the process that adds a certain specific signal (by using the transmitter) on the utility that is located underneath. When the electromagnetic wave passes through any utility, it will generate a certain number of electromagnetic signals. Therefore, the server can use a cable locator to detect the presence of any buried cables.

 

Active Location 

 

The other principle of active location may be the most useful as most of the buried utilities are not detected by searching passive signals. These are the utilities that may not carry any current or radiate any radio signal. Therefore, a signal should be induced on these utilities directly so that they can be located. A signal should be applied to the buried utility of metallic composition for detecting them.

 

Induction is a method that can be used for locating the buried utilities, and there is no need to make a physical connection with them. The internal area of the utility locating equipment can generate the magnetic field, which passes into the ground. A buried metallic utility that comes near this transmitted signal will be easily induced through the signal. In some cases, the connection mode for obtaining signals by directly connecting to a cable or utility may also be used.

 

However, the success of any utility locating exercise depends on the utility locating equipment's features and capability. Companies and professionals must reach out to the best, reputed, and reliable suppliers of the GPR equipment only.