Project summary:
Investigate and deploy accurate subsurface mapping at a derelict housing site due for demolition and redevelopment.
The brief:
The cost of accidental strikes on buried services and cables is significant across the UK and Ireland. Murphy Geospatial was to report on the presence of any structural elements or utilities, whether they were active or redundant.
The team conducted a site verification survey which involved slit trenches to verify the routes of electrical, drainage and telecommunication networks within the heavily congested survey extents.
We investigated the ground conditions, utility infrastructure and structural elements providing a single source for geospatial certainty.
The challenges:
Murphy Geospatial discovered a number of services had been positioned in the ground as bare cables – with no warning signal tape evident – and protected by concrete blocks. The area could easily have been mistaken for rubble and could have led to the collapse of future works, with the risk of fatal or serious injuries being caused if a cable was struck.
In addition, our excavations discovered a substantial segment of concrete which contained a 25mm water main and 100mm clay pipe assumed to be redundant.
Unforeseen conditions encountered during construction such as these can have significant safety implications and cause unnecessary costs – the indirect cost of damaging utilities can be up to 30 times the direct cost. The lack of accurate location data has been identified as a key issue. Murphy Geospatial recognises the importance of accurate subsurface mapping to help reduce the risk and cost on a project.
Results:
Murphy Geospatial have invested in industry-leading technology and are pioneering the use of laser scanning producing a model of the results for each intrusive survey. 3D modelling allows our team to engage with clients presenting the findings in an office with an onsite environment exploring engineering difficulties, design clashes, reducing risk and creating further awareness for future excavations during the construction stage.
Contact:
For more information on this project, please contact Colum Connolly at cconnolly@murphygs.ie or +353 86 130 0398
