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A new service promises to free local authority engineers from the drudgery of collating and mapping underground utilities, at a fraction of the internal cost.

The new Desktop Mapping service has been devised by the UK leader in underground mapping, Geotec Surveys, for use in the design stages of highways, buildings or other local authority construction and maintenance projects.

Users of the service simply define their project area, then Geotec collates stats from all the relevant utility companies whose services may be affected and maps them onto one, easy to understand CAD drawing. Clients can have the drawing overlaid onto either a topographical survey or an OS tile background.

Geotec managing director Nigel Knowles, explains, "Local authorities tell us that desktop mapping exercises can easily exceed £1500 in time costs alone and prevent both surveyors and CAD experts getting on with the more interesting and challenging aspects of their jobs. Geotec can reduce this cost by hundreds of pounds and, more importantly, free the engineers to design rather than administer."

The new service generates faster, more accurate and more complete information, which is invaluable for project planning and a good guide to on-site practice.

Accurate information on underground hazards is essential for contingency planning and diversion of essential services. As new time-based charges are introduced to reflect the disruption caused by digging to local highways, preventing overruns caused by striking cables or pipes becomes ever more important.

Category: Desktop mapping