Safe digging platform LSBUD (‘Line Search Before U Dig’) has partnered with Google Maps to make searching for underground pipes and cables more accurate.
The new mapping system will give users a better search experience, benefitting from detailed geospatial data and industry-leading reliability, the company said in a press release.
By moving its search function over to Google Maps, LSBUD users will also be able to accurately plot their proposed work areas via satellite imagery.
The company says that this helps ensure that people can see property boundaries and features, something particularly useful when operating in agricultural and rural settings.
The change to LSBUD’s mapping system coincides with company’s plans to become UK-based, meaning that people in Northern Ireland will soon be able to join their counterparts in England, Scotland and Wales, in benefiting from the switch to Google Maps.
Richard Broome, MD at LSBUD, commented: “We are taking the service we provide our users to the next level, improving accuracy by introducing the satellite-based Google Maps.
“This move helps operators from right across the safe digging industry, covering all sectors and the general public, to avoid the negative consequences that come from hitting an underground asset.
“This is chiefly the health and safety ramifications, but also the significant implications that come from asset strikes.”
Ensuring LSBUD’s mapping technology is as accurate as possible is vital for the millions of searches that pass through the portal, the company said.
It is also crucial to protect the UK’s underground infrastructure, of which LSBUD hosts over one million kilometres spread across the length and breadth of the country.
SSE Renewables is one of the 100 LSBUD Members providing asset location data to the collaborative portal.
Leeanne Samuel, Drawings and GIS manager, SSE Renewables, added: “LSBUD’s recent investment in Google Maps will be a great help to our customers as many of our assets are situated in remote and rural areas.
“Having Google satellite imagery available will enable those people requesting SSE Renewables’ asset location plans to define their site boundaries more accurately.”
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