Daylighting Underground Assets

Transcription

1 Daylighting Underground Assets SUBSURFACE UTILITY ENGINEERING IN THE CLOUD Author: Steve Voller, Founder. December, 2014.

2 Contents Introduction 1 Why invest in SUE Technology? 1 Referencing the Location of Underground Assets 3 Access to Underground data when and where needed 5 Complementary Data 8 Enterprise Level Integration & Security 10 Integration to corporate systems 10 Data Security 10 Conclusion 11 Copyright Altuity Solutions Ltd

3 Introduction CI/ASCE The Collection and Depiction of existing Subsurface Utility data has four quality levels ranging from A D. Level A, also known as daylighting, is the highest level of accuracy presently available. It provides information on the precise vertical and horizontal positions of underground utilities along with the type, size, condition, material and other asset characteristics. Daylighting is an apt term implying greater clarity of underground asset data. Improved location and attribute detail lead to better control and asset management. While we cannot physically raise assets above ground to bring them into the daylight we can take steps to do this with the data ensuring it is visible and accessible when and where needed. This whitepaper describes how taking a daylight approach to subsurface utility engineering (SUE) data enables us to use a variety of techniques to record asset location and attribute data. SUE data can then be enhanced with other information such as site plans, engineering drawings, photographs and other records. Data should be accessible on and offsite. In addition this data can be integrated with enterprise applications such as asset and maintenance management systems and Geographical Information Systems (GIS). Data convergence enables us to move towards managing underground asset data as a holistic corporate resource. Why invest in SUE Technology? Underground assets are often high value and high risk requiring proper recording and locating. This is a challenge for the SUE industry with responsibility for subsurface utility assets such as gas, electric, water and fibre optics. Relocating underground assets is made more difficult by the use of new materials such as plastics and fibre optics. In 2012, the Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT), produced annually by the Common Ground Alliance, reported a total of 232,717 incidents of underground utility damage during excavation across Canada and the U.S., an increase of more than 10% from Such levels of accidental damage are not isolated to North America and cause multiple, well documented, problems which need resolving in order to:- Reduce accidental damage and the consequential costs of repairs and loss of service Reduce the health and safety risk to on site workers Reduce disruption to local communities and businesses Reduce traffic congestion Increase the profitability of works via improved pre-site planning; more targeted excavations and fewer dry digs Copyright Altuity Solutions Ltd 1

4 CI/ASCE references two studies which strongly demonstrate the significant benefits to be gained by improving the accuracy of subsurface utility data. Stevens¹ estimates 10 15% total project cost savings by improving the data quality level to A or B from C or D. Lew² reports savings of $4.62 for every $1.00 spent to upgrade the quality of data from C or D to A or B. Other studies have shown a Return on Investment of up to x20 clearly there is a financial imperative to invest in SUE technology. Many organisations also have specialist systems for instance those focused on asset and maintenance management processes. However, there is a need to support onsite and offsite teams with niche underground data. In-house GIS and asset management systems do not necessarily provide this creating a gap and/or delay in the information available to works teams especially those onsite. Contractors also face challenges when laying temporary or permanent infrastructure i.e. how to avoid newly laid services and cost effectively record underground assets for their own use and other sub-contractors in a developing building site. Time is of the essence in sharing such information quickly and efficiently to minimise damage and risk to personnel as well as reducing build costs caused by project delays arising from an inability to locate underground assets and / or accidental strikes. A range of different techniques are available to record the location of underground assets textual descriptions; GPS; geo-tagged photographs and RFiD tags. PAS 128 Specification for underground utility detection verification and location also has four levels ranging from A D. B being as a result of detection activities and A, the highest level, being verification using intrusive inspections. PAS128 also references the use of RFiD for tagging underground assets - an important step forward in the recognition of the benefits of this technology. One of the outputs from a PAS128 survey will be a CAD plan of the utility services. As well as tagging and recording assets added value from investment in SUE can be delivered if survey results are accessible on and offsite. This means making CAD plans available via mobile devices overlaid with tagged asset data as well as the ability to use background maps. In many instances CAD plans should be an engineer s and contractor s spatial route to the SUE data given they are more up to date. In addition 3D models, and longer term augmented reality, offer new ways to record the location of underground assets. However, no single approach offers a complete solution and the method(s) adopted depends on budget, need and circumstance. 1 Stevens, R.E. (1993). Society of American Value Engineers, General Percentages of Cost Savings 2 Lew, J.J. (1999). Purdue University Study Copyright Altuity Solutions Ltd 2

5 Referencing the Location of Underground Assets Missing or inaccurate location records result in issues such as an increased likelihood of damage; greater risk to health and safety and increased works costs. There is, therefore, a great deal of interest within the SUE community as to how to capture data about underground assets including vital location information. All locational referencing methods have their advantages and disadvantages; positional accuracy and, of course, cost. No single approach necessarily offers a panacea solution without some compromise. No-one would consider using a generic tool if a toolbox was available with better fit for purpose specialist tools which could be used as and when appropriate. Why not use such an approach for recording underground assets? This enables underground assets to be located by a variety of methods, such as:- 1. Passive RFiD (with or without GPS) 2. GPS 3. Geo-tagged photographs 4. Engineering survey methods such as GPR. 5. Textual descriptions including key attributes which, if needed, facilitate integration into other systems e.g. locational reference points and section details along a pipe. Offering the facility to use the most appropriate or combination of methods, from a toolbox provides flexibility and pragmatism. For example, RFiD tags can cost effectively and accurately mark potential areas of failure such as joints or valves. The improvements in efficiency and accuracy result in time-and-cost savings. Less critical areas of infrastructure could simply be recorded by geo-tagged photographs. In a rapidly developing field, with new solutions coming to market each purporting to be the way forward, it can be difficult to decide which technology to commit to. Using multiple methods, where appropriate, provides resilience against hardware, software or supplier failure. Data should be viewed in an intuitive, visual context. For example, Altuity s AltoSUE software solution manages data in a geospatial cloud based database - maps and / or site survey plans provide added locational context. Overlaying data on site plans is invaluable on building sites as the detail on a map will not be accurate nor up to date for construction use. Compare the level of contextual background detail in the site survey plan in figure 1 with that in the map in figure 2. Copyright Altuity Solutions Ltd 3

6 Figure 1 Using a site plan as a geospatial background. Note the ability to define a polygon search box to search for tagged assets AltoSUE ensures that all data positioned on a site plan background also has a real-world location as well as the ability to undertake spatial searches. The site plan, complete with layered survey data, becomes a GIS background in its own right but without the cost and complexity of an enterprise GIS. Figure 2 Using mapping with the site plans switched off. Open source and publicly available maps are useful but may not be up to date and on construction sites will lack the level of detail required for SUE use. They need to be complemented by plans. In both figure 1 and figure 2 the markers signify the location of a tagged underground asset. The operator would use an RFiD locator to home in to its actual location. Copyright Altuity Solutions Ltd 4

7 Access to Underground data when and where needed Some organisations, such as contractors, are responsible for installing or maintaining underground assets and are not the asset owners. They require the ability to find underground assets quickly and easily on sites where they may only be working temporarily. Asset owners need to provide location information to others undertaking maintenance or installation work or to help them avoid accidentally damaging assets when third parties are working in close proximity to their assets. The basic requirements of a solution are well known. For example, a framework was documented in paper³. The framework (see figure 3) importantly includes two aspects often over-looked by technology providers - Skills Requirements and Ease of Use. Figure 3 General Framework for locating buried services Skills Requirements A key issue with underground asset data is not only recording the initial details of an underground asset but also keeping this data up to date in the future. For example, maintenance repairs may change attribute information and/or result in re-positioning of the asset. An effective solution should require minimal additional skill levels in order to delegate this work to site teams rather than requiring extensive training and up-skilling of operatives or the unnecessary use of expensive, specialist staff. 3 - Dziadak K, Sommerville J, Kumar B, Glasgow Caledonian University, RFiD based 3D Buried Assets Location System 2008 Copyright Altuity Solutions Ltd 5

8 Ease of Use A solution has to work for its users. In SUE these are onsite and back office users with varying levels of technical and IT knowledge and capability. For these reasons AltoSUE is easy to use and brings simplicity from complexity through the use of targeted functionality in an intuitive, visual user interface. On site work also takes place in a variety of weather conditions and challenging environments emphasising again that all elements of a solution need to be easy to use and quick. Not just the software. Figure 4 Onsite access to underground data via Key2iD s Site-Track solution integrated to AltoSUE. Such an approach is provided by using collaborative, integrated technologies as illustrated in figure 4. Underground assets have been tagged with passive RFiD tags. The tags are all the same type; operating on one frequency eliminating complexity for onsite operators. The unique key of each tag is read and data about the asset recorded via Site-Track operating on a tablet or smartphone which connects to AltoSUE. An RFiD locator enables the operator to get within a spade s width of the asset. SUE-Track uses the RFiD s unique key to query AltoSUE - displaying information such as the asset s attributes, photographs and other associated records. Photographs taken at the time of installation or repair, prior to reinstatement, effectively open up the ground beneath the operator s feet. Copyright Altuity Solutions Ltd 6

9 The operator is able to ascertain the complexity and requirements of the task before the first mound of earth is dug up. This feature is especially important where multiple assets lie in close proximity to each other. Integrated onsite and cloud based technologies improve the efficiency of data recording and sharing. Data can be collected via tablets or smartphones; uploaded to the cloud (or stored and uploaded later) and then made available to offsite as well as onsite users immediately or with minimal delay. Underground asset data is required by all interested parties - off site to help with pre-site planning activities as well as onsite. In house enterprise level solutions may not have the ability to provide access to the correct level of data onsite nor in many circumstances will an organisation want to expose this data, as a whole, to the outside world. SUE data should, therefore, be capable of being integrated into other business processes and systems as explained in the Enterprise Level Integration and Security section below. Copyright Altuity Solutions Ltd 7

10 Complementary Data There is a range of data that may be collected on site (textual, photographs and video) as well as a substantial benefit in associating other information with it. Various documents are useful in the context of recorded underground asset data e.g. project information, engineering data and risk assessments. An underground asset management solution must do more than simply record location. This is AltoSUE s approach which provides the ability to associate other records with assets. In addition underground asset data should be managed in a highly visual environment. This does not mean solely using maps such as the Google Maps mapping service and OpenstreetMap. Such mapping sources will inevitably be out of date at times and will not contain detail from new build activities on a construction site. For these reasons complementing the mapping background with site survey plans is beneficial where these are available. Plans provide added context in terms of positioning data relative to existing and new build structures as well as other surveyed data in the plan. Figure 5 Site Survey Plan layers and underground tagged asset data available from within AltoSUE Figure 5 shows a site survey plan which has been loaded into AltoSUE and made available within a browser complete with layered data which can be switched on and off as required. This plan becomes our map upon which underground assets are located providing a more accurate reflection of where they are. It is easily updated as and when plans are changed or new ones become available. Copyright Altuity Solutions Ltd 8

11 Note that resolution and scaling differences between a site survey plan and a map mean that any system must be able to show an asset s correct location on the plan and on the map. AltoSUE manages this translation for users. This means that when on site the asset s real world position can be shown on a tablet or smartphone (see figure 4) helping with proximity searches. 3D models from CAD packages form another type of data that add value to the repository of underground asset data. However, this data should be treated with caution as it often represents the as designed state and not the as built nor the subsequent as maintained states. The industry is still working towards pragmatic and cost effective solutions to the challenge of using 3D models and keeping them up to date throughout the life cycle of an asset. Building Information Modelling (BIM) is coming of age and will improve the use of models throughout the life cycle of an asset and remove data silos that currently exist. However, it is already possible to access such 3D models on site where they add value to the data a worker needs. For example, AltoSUE enables models to be displayed via a browser. Accessing these data sources onsite provides significant benefits in terms of helping to reduce damage caused by accidental strikes and provides greater confidence that the onsite team knows what lies beneath their feet thus reducing accidents. Works are less likely to suffer from delays and there will be fewer dry digs reducing costs and improving profitability. Copyright Altuity Solutions Ltd 9

12 Enterprise Level Integration & Security Integration to corporate systems Why invest in SUE Technology? Asset owners will also use asset and maintenance management systems and GIS to manage the assets. However, typically the data in these systems cannot be easily and securely accessed offsite nor compartmentalised to provide access to specific data to support onsite use as it is part of a much larger dataset. It is therefore beneficial to control access via a cloud based solution such as AltoSUE and to ensure that data does not become a silo it should be capable of integration into other systems. Firewall Location, asset attributes & photos Underground asset data (AltoSUE) Enterprise Asset Management and GIS Location Data Asset Data Other Records Onsite use SUE data available onsite BIM Models Figure 6 Underground Assets & Enterprise data integration Figure 6 shows a simplified process of how underground asset data can be integrated into corporate systems. AltoSUE data provides the specialist functionality to support the recording and accessing of underground asset data onsite. Key data can then be provided to back office systems. These systems may also contain data which could be usefully accessed onsite such as BIM models and engineering drawings and so this data can be added to the information available from within AltoSUE. Data Security Sensitive data, whether from a security and / or commercial perspective, necessitates the use of secure solutions. For many organisations this data can be secured safely on internet cloud based solutions. However, in certain highly sensitive areas the data could be maintained within an organisation s own firewalls e.g. on an intranet. AltoSUE can operate in such as environment. In figure 6 the corporate data is behind two firewalls increasing its level of security and protection or as noted above AltoSUE could be moved behind the corporate firewall. Security concerns are also why no asset attribute data should be stored onsite e.g. on a buried RFiD marker. This prevents an unauthorised person with an RFiD locator/reader accessing asset data. The marker should simply contain a unique key which associates it with data held in the secure SUE system. Copyright Altuity Solutions Ltd 10

13 Conclusion A holistic approach to managing underground assets in subsurface utility engineering requires a number of discrete but integrated processes:- Identification of underground asset location via RFiD, geo-tagging etc Capturing data on site Managing captured data and facilitating access to it on and off site Supplementing the data accessible onsite with other records e.g. site survey plans as well as maps and engineering data etc to assist with the quick and safe relocation of buried assets Integrating SUE data into corporate systems for asset and maintenance management purposes A solution which is comprehensive, easy to use with minimal additional skills required will be more acceptable and readily used. Thereby, leading to dramatic improvements in data quality and the resulting benefits which accrue. Daylighting data, as well as the assets provides a safer working environment for onsite workers; less disruption and more efficient and profitable works activities. About the Author Steve Voller is the founder of Altuity Solutions and has been working with asset management software solutions in the UK and internationally for over 20 years. Contact Us Altuity Solutions Ltd altuity.com Saville Court, Saville Place Tel 44(0) Clifton, Bristol, BS8 4EJ info@altuity.com Google Maps is a trademark of Google Inc. OpenStreetMap is a trademark of the OpenStreetMap Foundation. AltoSUE is a trademark of Altuity Solutions Ltd. Site-Track is a trademark of Key2id Ltd (formerly Trac-Id Ltd). This document is provided for information purposes only and the contents hereof are subject to change without notice. This document is not warranted to be error-free, nor subject to any other warranties or conditions, whether expressed orally or implied in law, including implied warranties and conditions of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. We specifically disclaim any liability with respect to this document and no contractual obligations are formed either directly or indirectly by this document. This document may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without our prior written permission. Copyright Altuity Solutions Ltd 11

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