When Strikes …. When Disaster Strikes……… Dr. Iraphne Childs.
Utility Strikes –Causes, Costs & Developments
Transcript of Utility Strikes –Causes, Costs & Developments
Utility Strikes – Causes, Costs & Developments
Professor Nicole Metje, University of BirminghamIOSH Webinar: Managing Underground Assets Safely,
14th January 2021
Utility Strikes – Asset Type
7%
9%
12%
35%
38%
27%
3%
19%
32%
17%
34%
16%
38%
12%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
Electric
Cable TV
Water
Telecoms
Gas
Percentage utility strikes by utility affected
USAG UK USA (CGA)
USAG 2019
UoB 2015 study
Utility Strikes – Tools Used
USAG 2019UoB 2015 study
Cause/reason analysisOut of 255 incidents where pre-excavation CAT scans were carried out:… 52% detected the utility before the strike… 48% failed to detect the utility
Out of 187 incidents that indicated reviewing utility plans/drawings before excavation:… 48% were on plans… 52% were not shown on the plans
Out of 89 incidents that were on plans:… 16% indicated that the location shown was accurate… 84% stated that the location of the utility struck was inaccurately plotted
Utility Streetworks and Associated CostsIssue Impact
~£7billionperannum:costofutilitystreetworks totheUKeconomy
78%ofwhichisindirectcostsincludingsocialandenvironmentalimpacts
Roadoccupationduetoutilitystreetworkscausingtrafficdelays
Accountedforequivalentof~6.16milliondays ofworkintheUKin2014-2015
Anestimated1.37millionstreetworksundertakenbyutilitycompaniesalone
Thisequatesto2.4millionroadopeningsintheUKin2014-2015
• In2014-2015,utilitystreetworksinEnglandandWaleshaveincurredcostsofmorethan£1.5bn.
• TheprojectedcumulativetotalcostofutilitystreetworksintheUKfrom2013to2030is£319bn.
• Wedigsome4millionholesinUK’sroadseachyeartryingtolocateservices…
Unnecessary costs, causes disruption, safety issues…
This is not all about Health & Safety….there is a real economic impact
UtilityStrikeCostRatio=1:29
DirectRepairCost IndirectCost SocialCost
Costs of Utility Strikes – 16 Case Studies
National Standards (International Standards)
Please see PAS128 for the vertical and horizontal accuracies for different
quality levels
Assessment of Impact/Success of PAS128
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Drainage Electricity Telecoms Unknownlinearanomaly Water
geom
etriclength[m
]
utilitytype
A B C E
• TheCustomeriskey– UtilityProvidersarekeenfortheircustomers(andothers)nottobeimpacted/inconvenienced… respectiveRegulators(OFGEM&OFWAT)andalsoclientstoassessourperformance.
• PermitstoWork– tighterregulationonpossessionofroads.
• DrivebyTier1contractorstoimprovetheirsafetyrecords,productivity&removewastage
• Improvedstakeholdercollaboration…e.g.USAGestablishedin2012;
• Raisedawarenessoftheissues/problems…MTU/ATU…USAGutilitystrikereports...MockUtilityStrikeTrialsheldincollaborationwithTfL,ICE,MTU
Industry Best Practice – some comments from the UK
Ongoing Activities• National Underground Asset Register (NUAR) – initiative by the
Geospatial Commission on behalf of the Government
• Company Accreditation / Individual competency assessment for utility surveyors – Discussions ongoing with Lloyd’s Register
• Updates of Standards & Guidelines
• Creation of a Client guide to sit alongside PAS128• Sensor development (Multi-Sensor arrays)• Connected and Autonomous Plant – Highways England• National Buried Infrastructure Facility
at UoB• Training courses for utility mapping
https://www.cstaglobal.com
Thank youUseful References:Makana, L., Metje, N., Jefferson, I., Rogers, C.D.F. (2020). Cost Estimation of Utility Strikes: Towards Proactive Management of Street Works. Infrastructure Asset Management. Vol. 7, Issues 2, pp. 64-76. https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/full/10.1680/jinam.17.00033
Metje, N., Ahmed, B., Crossland, S.M. (2015). Causes, Impacts and Costs of Strikes on Buried Utility Assets. ICE Municipal Engineer, Vol. 168, Issue 3, pp. 165-174. https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/full/10.1680/jmuen.14.00035
Metje, N., Hojjati, A., Beck, A., Rogers, C.D.F. (2020). Improved Underground Utilities Asset Management–Assessing the Impact of PAS128 in Practice. Municipal Engineer. Vol. 173, Issue 4, pp. 218-236. https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/full/10.1680/jmuen.18.00055
USAG Report: https://www.utilitystrikeavoidancegroup.org
Common Ground Alliance (USA) DIRT Report: https://commongroundalliance.com/Publications-Media/DIRT-Report