Whenever someone needs to dig in a developed area (toddlers in suburban sandboxes excluded), utilities are responsible for marking the locations of existing pipes and cables in the construction zone with paint. Utilities commonly outsource this task to third-party locators. Wielding paint sticks and electromagnetic hand-held devices, these locators determine where the underground facilities lie, paint the ground a pretty color and head to the next job. If the dig goes smoothly, all is well. If Ernie the Excavator whacks a gas main with his backhoe, however, a massive liability battle is likely to ensue (not to mention significant downtime in the construction process and potentially serious injury to Ernie).
With today’s technology, it’s often difficult to determine who is at fault for such an accident; the utility, the third-party locator or Ernie. As the only real evidence lies in the physical paint markings, insurance companies and investigation teams will sometimes find themselves in landfills feverishly sifting through mountains of construction rubble trying to piece together what happened. Jigsaw puzzles are significantly less fun when they come fully loaded with substantial legal ramifications.
Construction damage disputes are hardly rare; The Common Ground Alliance estimates there were over 200,000 “facility events” in 2008 alone. CertusView is currently developing an Electronic Marking Wand to help avoid these potentially messy situations. The wand is loaded with connectivity to create a digital record of exactly where and when ground was painted.As the operator manually sprays paint on the ground, an RFID tag identifies the color of paint being sprayed and GPS capability (with the help of other onboard technology) determines the precise coordinates of the markings. This information is then transferred via Wi-Fi to an application that digitally superimposes the paint markings onto an aerial image of the worksite. With this visual documentation on record before any excavating takes place, the specifics of the paint spraying will no longer be points of dispute.
CertusView’s wand is a great example of how an M2M solution can help solve an industry’s inefficiencies. By leveraging existing and emerging technologies in creative ways, embedded device developers have the power to transform current inadequacies and legal quagmires into business opportunities.
SOURCE