A locating technique to get depth reading in spillage/induction mode

Описание: A lot of locators will tell you that you can’t get an accurate depth reading on an underground cable or pipe that they are locating, unless you hook on to it.
And yes, I have even told customers this in the past as well.
And yes it is true, especially when you are in a congested environment with a lot of buried services in the area.
But it is not always the case. Sometimes you can get a depth reading. In fact, a very accurate depth reading, so long as you follow one simple locating rule.

‘Don’t get too close to the transmitter’

Out at this job site, while I was waiting for the tip truck to come back so I could continue to backfill the holes we had dug with the hydro excavator, I had some free time on my hands. So I decided to grab the camera and run through a couple of examples of where locators go wrong and the correct technique you should use, if you want to get a depth reading of an underground utility you are locating.

NOTE - even though I did say 'sometimes', before the haters get in the comments I should make it clear, this won’t always work. It will depend on pipe marital, depth of the utility, conductor size, soil connectivity and a range of other issues that could affect it, including as mentioned earlier congestion. But the number one reason why it won’t work is user error. If you don’t follow the correct technique then you have absolutely no chance of getting a depth reading. Actually, if you don’t follow the correct technique you will highly likely not locate the pipe accurately in the first place which is a whole other issue.

Also, I do state this in the video, but I will say it again here. I highly recommend, if you are a locator, get some professional training. Regardless if you have been locating for 12 months or 12 years. The skills, techniques, tips, tricks and terminology you can learn over 1, 2, 5 days of training, from an organisation that is dedicated to training locators is invaluable and will go a long way to the success you have in the field.
I can tell you first hand, despite the experience I have and the months of one on one training I give with my own guys when they first start with me, I do still send them all off to get trained by someone else. I don’t know if it is the fact that they are hearing it from someone different, or the fact that the classes are structured better than my ad hoc on the job training. But they all come back better locators.
The long term staff even go through multiple training sessions with different training organisations, again just to try and learn from someone new.
I find, even I will still pick up something new, simply because it is being told differently by someone else.

So yes, if you are a locator, training is critical and the ROI will easily bring back high returns.

Regards
Ben
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www.geelongcablelocations.com.au
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Geelong Cable Locations are the experts to call when you need to know where underground cables and pipes are buried.

We service Geelong, Melbourne and Country Victoria.

We offer:
Electromagnetic Field Locating (also known as digital locating, or just cable locating)
Ground Penetrating Radar
Non-Destructive Digging (also known as hydro excavation, or vacuum excavation, or even just known as NDD)
Concrete scanning
Acoustic locating (perfect for locating poly water pipes)
Drafting
GPS plotting
Project management

We’ve been in business since 1998, making us one of the oldest and most experienced service locating companies in Victoria.

Our manager Ben Minutoli was the first in Victoria to obtain his Dial Before You Dig certification and, to date, we’re still the only company in Victoria to have multiple technicians within the company who are DBYD certified (if you don't know, that’s the highest level of certification for a locator in Australia).

Actually, if you don't know about the Dial Before You Dig certification you can find out more about it here, at a blog post Ben wrote when it first came out: https://geelongcablelocations.com.au/...

And you can also read more about it on another blog post he wrote 12 months after it was started, as well as some tips on how to know which locator to pick to come out to your site: https://geelongcablelocations.com.au/...

If you have a question about either of those blog posts or, better still, if we can be of any assistance to you with any of your locating needs—or even if you’d just like to discuss a project you’re working on—then feel free to call us toll-free on 1800 449 543.
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Transcript of Video

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