A recent news article highlights the problems with vital underground utilities, the lack of knowledge when digging/breaking ground and how this lack of understanding can drastically effect the lives of others and at a substantial financial cost!

Here at Malcolm Hughes we use a consultancy and advisory approach to the risk of underground utilities. We recommend using the industry standard document, PAS128 Specification. This involves everything from a desktop search to see what public utilities are likely to be in the vicinity of the required area through to the use of multiple geophysical on a site survey to detect the position and depth of utilities/features and verification confirmation.

This approach greatly assists our clients in appreciating the risks involved on a particular project and allows them to make informed decisions as to the cost verses risk element which is often paramount. We strongly believe that our survey data can have a huge positive impact on any project and provide H&S plus financial benefits way above the initial cost of the survey. This recent study clearly shows the impact on the human and financial costs of underground utility strikes. The estimated direct costs highlights the average cost of each utility strike of over £100,000!

Can you afford not to take a risk managed approach to your utility mapping survey?

Our Director, John Robinson can be contacted regarding any element of underground utility, GPR or feature surveys on surveythis@mhls.co.uk