Ground penetrating radar (GPR) has reached an amazing level of sophistication. Just ask Colission Wells.
Wells, who is the owner and CEO of Pegasus Utility Locating Services in Phoenix, likes to keep his locating equipment up to date. When asked if there is one particular piece of equipment he is especially proud of, he disappeared briefly into the storage room, returning with what looked like a small RF controlled 4WD toy — except for the digital display on its “roof.”
“This is the GSSI (Geophysical Survey Systems) StructureScan Mini HR,” Wells proudly states. “The HR stands for high resolution. It’s our latest acquisition. Cost close to $18,000, but let me show you what this thing can do.”
Wells, who is an expert in the field with more than 33 years of hands-on experience, set the device down on the carpeted floor of the conference room at Pegasus headquarters, turned it on and rolled it manually over a distance about 2 feet. The digital display was near instantaneous. An image of the rebar in the slab under the carpet was clearly visible.
“When you’re drilling through concrete you really don’t want to hit steel rebar,” Wells says. “That stuff will trash a drill bit.” The image can be transferred manually, drawn on the floor like a grid, and the excavators will know exactly where they should drill.
The StructureScan Mini also provides depth data and can interface with a computer if the client wants a 3-D model of what’s under the surface. It can also print a graph that is then mapped to the floor, drawn by hand for later reference by excavators or drillers.
Having the latest and best technology available is important for Colission Wells and his team given the important work that they do at Pegasus Utility Locating Services. Learn how they use state-of-the-art equipment to find what their clients are seeking in, “High-Tech Hide and Seek,” in the May/June issue of Dig Different.
