Giving our clients the edge on that next project

The 5 P's from DBYD offers a great place start in developing your project and preventing unexpected damage to underground utilities and infrastructure.

Having a certified Pine Lime Designs field consultant perform a utility detection scan and provide guidance on the best way to proceed can significantly reduce the risk of utility damage and expensive repairs.

Assuming the depth of services can be costly and stressful if things don't go to plan.

In many instances it is possible to provide an approximate depth to better inform our clients of the nature of service alignments within their work areas.

However, service depths can vary significantly due to the nature of materials used, how they were installed or how the landscape has changed over time.

A general guide based on field experience for each service is shown below, but if you rather not leave it up to guess work then request a booking:

• Communications: 200mm - 600mm for domestic cabling and 500mm - 800mm for mains cabling
• Water: 150mm - 400mm for domestic pipes and 800mm - 1200mm for mains pipe lines
• Gas: 200mm - 600mm for domestic pipes and 600mm - 1200mm for high pressure pipe lines
• Power: 600mm - 900mm for low voltage domestic cabling and 800mm - 1300mm for higher voltage cabling

Too often having a consultant perform a scan to detect potentially hazardous services is a last minute to-do item or in some instances a post damage call.

So depending on the type of project and the nature of works to be undertaken there are several times whereby an USL should visit to provide a consultation:

• If undertaking design and engineering works then it is usually best to make a booking as one of the very first investigative steps of your project so that your design can accurately reflect and quickly adapt to instances where design components conflict with existing infrastructure.
• If undertaking a new construction project then have an USL attend site once a general mark out and above surface clearing of the area has been performed to allow access for a USL to perform an assessment of existing underground site utilities and prevent delays, blind spots or overlap with too many contractors on site.
• If installing a new feature in your yard then having an USL visit your home prior to contractors arriving or breaking ground yourself will save on delay costs and offer peace of mind when installing that new pool or granny flat.
• As a simple guide, if you are unsure what might lie below the surface then have Pine Lime Designs scan your site for services that may be present.

As much as we wish we had Superman's abilities to see through soil and other physical layers, Superman would likely take this win.

However, Pine Lime Designs offers a practical next best solution with our field consultants utilising purpose built EMF and GPR technologies and our extensive experience to build a clearer picture that better informs our clients of the number and nature of services within their work area.

With this information we can provide a general risk assessment and advise our clients on how best to proceed in order to prevent harm and to minimise damage to critical sub-surface assets.

Our field operators have acquired extensive experience in the industry helping to deliver many large and small scale projects across South Australia and Western Victoria from small back yard installations through to city wide infrastructure upgrades.

We are fully certified and have completed works for providers such as the APA, SA Power Networks, SA Water, National Broadband Network and Telstra. We also regularly locate for local council and state government projects to upgrade transportation networks and support city beautification programs.

Our field operators are friendly and dedicated to providing a trusted and reliable service that our clients can count on when it matters (which when breaking ground, it always matters).

So if you have a project that could use some attention to detail then give us a call to make a booking!