Murphy Surveys Partners with PelicanCorp for Underground Infrastructure Safety

Murphy Surveys has signed a partnership agreement with PelicanCorp, a world leading provider of utilities solutions, to offer a new and improved ‘beforeUdig’ service that will help protect buried infrastructure through radically streamlining the process of requesting and receiving location plans from asset owners in Ireland.

The partnership, announced at the Utility Week Ireland Power Conference in Dublin, aims to expand the coverage of the existing service making it easier for asset owners to be aware of digging activity near their assets, and for contractors to locate and identify buried utilities prior to digging. With the information provided through beforeUdig, contractors can improve their safe digging practices, helping to avoid buried pipes or cables, prevent damage, associated downtime, and safeguard the lives of those on site.

“Every day, buried pipes and cables carrying critical services such as gas, water, electricity and telecoms get damaged by people digging without understanding what’s in the ground beneath them,” commented Niall Murphy, Managing Director, Murphy Surveys. “The repercussions can be disastrous and could cause serious injury, risking the lives of people in and around the site. For a utility company, the resulting financial and reputational impact of costly repairs, delays and interruption in service can be avoidable. The increased awareness of planned digging activity provided by the service will help asset owners plan measures to protect their assets.”

“Through this partnership with PelicanCorp, we are actively engaging with utility companies across Ireland to come together and streamline the process of obtaining location data. Through expansion, beforeUdig will modernise and speed up communication between the asset owner and the contractor helping to prevent unnecessary risk of injury to the community and avoid service outages caused by damage to critical buried infrastructure all around the country. PelicanCorp have developed software to support similar services being used successfully in other countries around the world and we are excited to start working with them, Irish utility companies and our local authorities to promote safe digging practices and raise the standards of safety in Ireland.”

Updates to the beforeUdig service will be developed jointly by Murphy Surveys and PelicanCorp with consultation from utility companies and local authorities. It is anticipated that the improved service will be available from Q4 2018.