Over the years, Pepper Construction, like most general contractors, has hit its share of underground utilities installed beneath jobsites. âThatâs not a phone call the CEO of our company wants to get,â says Mike Alder, Virtual Construction Manager at Pepperâs office in Indianapolis.
These breaches have occurred despite standards and protocols that have been in place for decades to identify and avoid underground pipes, wiring, and cables. Pepper typically hires a public or private locating companyâdepending on who owns the landâthat relies on a combination of schematics on record, whatâs visible above ground, and whatâs underground that can be tracked by certain equipment. Sometimes, excavation is required.
But a few years ago, Pepper started asking itself whether there was a better way to locate and avoid hitting utilities. This is particularly important for hospital projects, says Alder, âwhere you donât want to disrupt service and what might be on the other side of that service.â
In conversations with its field crews and subs, Pepper heard over and over again that the lack of communication and subpar information were the culprits behind these collisions. âWe walked out of those meetings with the notion that everyone had a victim mentality,â says Alder.
At one of those meetings, Pepperâs safety director, Dave Murphy, made what Alder recalls as an âobvious but profoundâ observation that âwe hit underground utilities because we canât see them.â Soon after, in 2017, Murphy and Alder started working together to create underground 3D models. âCivil drawings just werenât enough anymore,â says Alder.
Their first step was to gather site drawings, and then overlay them with the new utilities and building that were being installed. Using those images as guides, Pepper then went to the site with a Vac truck, which Alder describes as a giant dirt vacuum, to further locate the buried utilities and to mark them by putting six-inch pipes into the ground.
Pepper had been doing all of this before. But now, it was also surveying the site, and bringing those survey points into modeling software. Alder says his company also creates 3D models for the projectâs new utilities. âThe benefit of this is that we were finding places where there were clashes between the old and new utilities.â
Pepper shares this information with its field crews, giving them better reconnaissance.
Crew members look at models showing where underground utlities are located on jobsites. Image: Pepper Construction.
Â
The firm has done underground 3D models for more than a dozen projects, and over time has made some tweaks to its process. For one thing, itâs been trying to get Civil Engineers on projects more involved upfront in the drawings and surveying during the design phase.
Pepper also flies drones over its jobsites to capture imagery that can be used to create 2D maps of the site, which Alder says gives the underground 3D models more perspective.
The modeling of underground utilities is now standard operating procedure for Pepperâs Indiana office. (Alder couldnât say whether the firmâs other offices were following suit.). âIf we had waited for the process to be perfect, we probably wouldnât have rolled this out yet.â
Pepper is looking attempting to leveraging technology to create better models faster, and to produce a more dynamic deliverable, which will mean getting crews in the field more involved in up-to-the-minute the data collection.
âItâs important to realize that this has been a big endeavor for us,â says Alder. âItâs like flipping the industry on its head.â He notes, though, that the biggest obstacle to more widespread underground 3D modeling continues to be the cost it adds to the project, and the potential for adding more time, too, if itâs not scheduled properly.
Related Stories
3D Printing | Jun 14, 2016
By 2021, 3D concrete printing is projected to be a $56.4 million industry
The 3D concrete printing industry is expected to more than double in size within the next five years.
BIM and Information Technology | Jun 13, 2016
The race to digitize the globe with 3D imagery
Tech firms are creating a highly-detailed virtual planet available instantly for those who would like to scrutinize it. SmithGroupJJR's Stephen Conschafter details the new technologies being used to map our world.
Sponsored | AEC Tech | Jun 9, 2016
With all these sharks in the water⊠(No Predictions Here...Part 2)
Rather than fighting to control the proliferation of apps, perhaps we should be training our eyes to look for signs of long-term viability among all the fins in the water
BIM and Information Technology | Jun 7, 2016
Conquer computational design: 5 tips for starting your journey
Data-driven design expert Nathan Miller offers helpful advice for getting your firm ready to use CD tools and concepts.Â
BIM and Information Technology | Jun 7, 2016
6 ways smart AEC firms are using computational design methods
Rapid prototyping, custom plug-ins, and data dashboards are among the common applications for computational design.
AEC Tech | May 31, 2016
As commercial buildings get âsmarter,â concerns rise over cybercrime
As buildings become increasingly connected, opportunistic hackers have countless avenues into a buildingâs network.Â
Sponsored | AEC Tech | May 31, 2016
CannonDesign manages a $2 billion hospital design review with digital processes
Collectif Santé Montreal turns to Bluebeam Revu for project efficiency in establishing the largest hospital in Montreal.
3D Printing | May 26, 2016
Dubai opens worldâs first 3D-printed office
The 2,690-sf structure took 17 days to print. City officials say the labor cost was only half as much as similar size conventional buildings.
BIM and Information Technology | May 20, 2016
AIA and Autodesk introduce new feature to automate 2030 Commitment reporting data
The new automated connection will allow the more than 350 AIA 2030 committed firms to report their project and portfolio performance to the DDx directly from Autodesk Insight 360.
AEC Tech | May 12, 2016
How graphics can assist with the progress of a campus plan
Decision-making at higher education institutions can be difficult, but SmithGroupJJR's Michael Bostic writes that graphics can help by visualizing data and simplifying complex decisions.