Subsurface Mapping is today widely recognized as a critical aid for efficient underground utility management. Also known as Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) surveying it involves the mapping of underground utilities like sewer lines, power lines and so on. The world underground demands equal demand to be included in the world of mapping as much as the over ground world in view does.
Growing importance of subsurface mapping
Today with the growth of municipal utilities and expanding urban facilities, the need to have accurate visual representations for the subsurface utilities have gained much recognition. The importance of SUE surveying cannot be overstated. It wields strategic importance for businesses and municipalities alike as both need to have an accurate map of underground utilities so that any construction or excavation projects can be carried out safely and efficiently.
We are steadily witnessing several innovations unfolding in this realm. Austin, Texas, headquartered company 4M Analytics is one such subsurface infrastructure mapping company which offers innovative mapping solutions for all underground infrastructure.
CEO and co-founder of 4M Analytics Itzik Malka and his team have developed a technology-driven mapping engine that centralizes all sources of utility data necessary for engineers to identify and pinpoint underground utilities early in any project lifecycle to decrease project time and quickly mitigate potential risks.
Historical federal funding for American infrastructure sector
The IIJA Act (Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act) was passed in 2021 bringing in a historical amount of federal funding commitment for the infrastructure sector in the US. A new road map has now unfolded in the US as a result of such increased federal funding opportunities.
CEO and co-founder of 4M Analytics Itzik Malka shared in a conversation with Geospatial World “The current nature of the construction industry is to rely on project based contracts with too many phases, too many hard copy files and unstructured data sources” and this has led to “too much reliance on human judgment and highly personalized experience and expertise”.
The entire construction industry here in US is now poised for innovations and transformations with the historic federal funding in place. Embracing digital innovations has been recognized as a key element to be achieved for the desired infrastructure transformation.
“In the next couple of years, the challenge of technology adoption will be solved by driving tech-augmented conversations through data analytics and reality capturing products on digital workflows. We are entering an era of digitization, data analytics, and data-driven tools, which will increase our ability to use resources intelligently by supporting transparency, trust, and continuity” opined Malka.
One of the challenges foreseen in the adoption of the innovations required to rejuvenate the American infrastructure sector is the challenge of labor shortages. Continued technological innovations ushering in to offer greater technology support to reduce the human dependency is being welcomed to hasten infrastructure improvement projects.
“We are in the middle of a crucial period for construction and infrastructure — thanks to increased federal and private investments. The industry is expected to see significant growth. However, the capacity challenge will remain, with the current labor shortage” opined Malka. He shared that “4Map is an industry ally during times like these because the solution enables reliable data collection, and allows other parts of the pre-construction phase to be done remotely at unprecedented scale and significantly reducing costs.”
BIM and Digital Twin technology gaining importance in infrastructure sector
The emerging technologies gaining increased momentum in the infrastructure sector is the adoption of BIM (Building Information Modelling) and Digital Twin technology to curate more productive and efficient industry practices. This growing industry practice as highlighted by Malka as he shared “BIM and Digital Twin technology will move reality capturing and monitoring to new heights for our industry. Adoption of these technologies will only help make construction companies more competitive as well as increase their productivity, capacity, and profitability. We will see more products provide ways to support decision-making that will be the key to mitigating shortages of labor and trying to resolve the capacity problem.”
Mapping underground utilities
4M Analytics’ flagship product 4Map can locate underground utilities like oil and gas lines, telecommunications lines and so on. 4Map is a digital map that outlines the location of any above and below ground utilities. The platform pulls data from multiple places and then digitizes, rationalizes, and makes it visible and actionable to engineers, contractors, owners, and service providers. Such a mapping exercise helps in three key areas of implementation – “utility coordination, utility management and utility risk mitigation” share Itzik.
“With 4Map, there is now a direct – and critically needed – view of utility data centralization from various types of pipelines. We have proactively mapped Texas and will soon launch California” shared Malka. He added on that they “plan to launch in New York, Florida, and Colorado by the end of 2023 and currently we provide maps to our customers nationwide on a map as a service operation mode.”
Utility data’s contribution to the construction industry
The various utility networks like the power, gas, water, sewerage facilities literally form the lifeline of any community. Hence mapping them and acquiring data is strategically very important for the smooth functioning of any place.
“Utility data doesn’t start out perfect that’s why it should always be questioned or contested” pointed out Malka. “That means we need to work with data we don’t agree on, to figure out the errors and gaps, and ultimately improve the data so it has value and we can all use it” he said.
Subsurface mapping is thus integral to the sound health of construction and holds a key role in ensuring all infrastructure projects are implemented based on the most accurate and reliable information available.
Hidden value of underground mapping
“Unlocking the hidden value of the underground will allow construction professionals to make the most informed decision quickly and safely. This is because we are now starting to confront the consequences of what we have built underground. In many areas, we have turned the subsurface of the earth into an enormous maze of utilities but we never recorded the locations of underground utilities that impact the industry’s ability to track what is below us” said Malka. “Up until this point, we have never made a map” he said and further highlighted that “when we bury things without mapping their location they turn into risk factors that impact us for decades if not more.”
The progress of subsurface survey and mapping will continue to proceed unhindered with the steady expansion of urban utilities and their contribution in fostering better informed decisions will certainly grow with time to steadily mitigate such risk factors.
Also Read: The Geospatial Collective: Facilitating Data Convergence
