Construction projects carry a long list of risks. Some are part of the trade, others are avoidable with the right planning and assistance. One of these avoidable risks is hitting or cutting through underground services. If you hit a live cable or pipe the consequences are significant and immediate, from personnel injuries to project disruptions and remediation costs. Fortunately, this scenario is completely avoidable with early, expert concrete scanning services and the right underground service plans.
At LeakTech, we want to ensure your projects progress as safely and smoothly as possible, so we offer professional concrete scanning services using advanced ground penetrating radar technology to help you stay ahead of these potential risks. Keep reading to learn what concrete scanning is, how it works, what it locates, and why it should be a standard part of your planning process.
What is Concrete Scanning?
Concrete scanning is the process of using ground penetrating radar (GPR) technology to create a clear picture of what lies beneath concrete structures. This advanced scanning technology accurately indicates the presence and depth of underground infrastructure, to provide maps for construction. These scans are non-distructive, providing plans without needing to cut into the concrete, dig underground, or damage structures in any way.
Concrete scanning services are often conducted prior to coring, cutting or drilling to prevent workers striking, damaging, or cutting underground services.
How Do Concrete Scanning Services Work?
Concrete scanning services using ground penetrating radar is a non-destructive geophysical method which uses radar pulses to penetrate the concrete slab and ‘map’ an image of shallow subsurface features. This radar goes down approximately 6 metres below the surface to detect infrastructure, however, the depth can be impacted by subsurface conditions.
Experienced operators then use the data collected from the radar to construct a view of the subsurface, acting as a service plan. This ‘map’ can then be used to guide construction works, preventing striking or damaging underground infrastructure.
What Does Concrete Scanning Detect?
Concrete scanning technology can assist in the location and depth of a wide range of underground infrastructure, including:
- Water mains – all types, including asbestos, blue brut
- Pipes – plastic, poly, pvc
- Fire main valves
- Fibre optic cables
- Road crossings
- Rising mains
- Buried manhole covers
- Underground tanks and pits
Steel Reinforcing
Reinforcing steel or rebar is one of the most commonly embedded elements in concrete slabs. Cutting through rebar can weaken the slab and lead to costly and time-consuming remediation. Knowing the location of rebar can allow building teams to plan their works between the bars, preventing damage.
Post-tension Cables
Post-tension cables are one of the highest risk items in concrete slabs. These cables are under enormous tension, severing one can cause an immediate violent release of energy, creating a life-threatening hazard and structural failure. Despite their high-risk nature, these cables are invisible from the surface and are often absent from older building plans.
Concrete scanning can accurately detect and locate these cables, ensuring that they are not cut during work.
Electrical and Telecommunication Cables
Underground conduits and wires carry power, data, and communications to communities, if these wires are damaged it can be hazardous and disruptive. Striking a live wire is an electrocution risk, but it can also result in widespread service outages and significant liability.
Concrete scanning services can detect the location of live cables, allowing builders to work around them and prevent serious issues.
Pipework
Water supply lines and drainage pipes often run under concrete slabs. If these pipes are damaged it can flood the immediate area, release hazardous sewage, and cause service disruptions. Waste water or fresh water can both cause damage to machinery and present safety risks for workers.
Concrete scanning services can locate underground pipework to support safe, issue-free construction.
Subsurface Voids
Voids can occur under concrete slabs for a number of reasons, including water erosion, poor compaction, or ground movement. Voids can present serious structural risks for construction, presenting the potential for collapses or cracking.
Concrete scanning can locate any subsurface voids, allowing engineers and contractors to address them during construction and prevent future structural issues.
Why Existing Plans Aren’t Enough
Many construction companies rely on plans provided by utility providers or services like Dial Before You Dig. These plans can provide a guide, but too often they are incomplete, inaccurate, or out of date. Additionally, many older buildings may not even have these plans available.
Our experts have encountered many instances where infrastructure shows up in our scans that isn’t listed on the plans. Services are often added, rerouted or modified without documentation, making plans inaccurate. This is a serious safety concern which can be addressed with real-time scanning.
Concrete scanning provides real-world verification of what is actually present. This makes it an essential part of construction planning.
The Dangers of Skipping Concrete Scanning
Relying solely on existing plans is risky and can present serious dangers for your personnel, project, and the wider community, such as:
- Personnel Safety Risks: Striking a post-tension cable or live electrical conduit puts workers at immediate physical risk.
- Project Delays: Hitting an unidentified service mid-project triggers an immediate stop-work order while the damage is assessed and the affected service is repaired or rerouted.
- Budget Blow Outs: Project delays and remediation works can be costly, putting your project over budget.
- Service Disruptions: Damaging a live wire or pipe can knock out services to a wide area, requiring swift remediation.
- Structural Damage: Cutting through rebar or post-tension cables compromises the structural integrity of the slab, requiring rectification before building can continue.
- Legal Liability: Personnel injuries or property damage can carry significant legal and WHS liabilities, potentially opening up your whole team to investigation, prosecution, compensation claims and reputational damage.
When Should You Engage Concrete Scanning Services?
Concrete scanning services should be a mandatory part of your planning process. These scans should be carried out during the planning stages of any building, renovation or landscaping project, ensuring that teams have an accurate, up-to-date plan of the subsurface area.
This technology can be used to scan through concrete slabs and soil, ensuring that you know exactly what lies beneath and can plan coring, digging, and drilling zones around any existing infrastructure or voids.
Ensure Safe Construction Projects with LeakTech
Concrete scanning is a small investment that prevents large, avoidable problems during construction projects. Protect your team, budget, timeline, and the community with expert subsurface plans upfront.
At LeakTech, we provide expert concrete scanning services using advanced ground penetrating radar technology to locate underground infrastructure including structural steel, electrical wires, and pipework.
Talk to LeakTech before you start your next construction project. Our concrete scanning services give you the confidence to work safely and efficiently.
