Importance of Safely Locating Underground Utilities Before Starting Your Landscaping Projects
As we’re already now to the holidays, we’re reminded that spring will be here before we know it. For home and business owners, this means updating their properties with new landscaping and season-appropriate flowers for an inviting look to all visitors.
Springtime is a popular time to start landscaping projects since in many parts of the country, the weather is starting to get warmer. But choosing the perfect time to start, and settling on the final design of the property, aren’t what’s most important. Rather, it’s that landscaping companies heed all necessary steps to ensure their projects operate efficiently, that they avoid expensive delays and they satisfy the needs of their customers.
Before the excavator starts digging, landscapers need to first determine what’s underground at the site of the project. Missing this crucial step can lead to a downward spiral of catastrophic events – costly repairs, damages and frustrated home and business owners.
Safely locating underground utilities before any landscaping project begins—and ensuring you have the right equipment to do so—will prove to be invaluable in your locating job going as smoothly as possible.
Mitigating Risk with Landscaping Projects
To understand the importance of safely locating underground utilities, we can point to several key concerns during projects:
Safety
The number one priority of any job site is the safety of all crew members, as well as the public. Excavation work can be dangerous, and if utility lines are not accurately identified before the work begins, you run the risk of accidentally making contact with them. Hitting hazardous utilities such as gas or electrical lines can result in an explosion or electrical shock, causing severe injury or even fatalities.
By identifying and clearly marking the location of underground utility lines beforehand, workers can avoid these potential hazards and ensure the safety of all those both on the physical job site and those nearby.
Accidental Damage
Avoid damage to critical infrastructure which can cause costly repairs. Physical damage can also create a domino effect, leading to outages for homes, neighborhoods or wider-reaching areas of a city. A water line that’s damaged during excavation work, for example, can create a small leak that soon becomes a big problem, even causing loss of service.
Poor Project Planning
By identifying utility locations beforehand, projects can be planned more efficiently. Knowing exactly where the underground utilities are enables faster and more informed decision-making, reducing time spent on problem-solving when unexpected issues arise. These obstacles can cause significant project delays and budget overruns from costly rerouting or redesigns. Not to mention they frustrate home and business owners whose expectations aren’t being met.
Using the Right Equipment to Avoid Costly Damages
Fortunately, you don’t have to be an expert locator to get quick and accurate results when working on your landscaping projects. A quick scan of the site with a Pipehorn provides precise information about the location of utilities to empower you to avoid accidental damage, project delays and added costs.
For over 50 years, Pipehorn has been creating locators that are geared toward the casual user. They’re simple, accurate, rugged and affordable, and they don’t require a tech to operate them. Our product development efforts are led by actual users so we can ensure all problems specific to detecting and maintaining underground utilities are accounted for in the design of our equipment. And in doing so, our reliable equipment helps keep your landscaping projects on schedule and on budget. More importantly, our approach to design has led to enhanced safety of all crew members.
Now’s the time to start shopping for all the locating equipment you need for your busy spring landscaping season. To view our full suite of pipe and cable locators and magnetic locators, click here.
