Last year, the commercial construction sector was an $85 Billion industry in the United States. The commercial building construction industry has grown substantially over the last five years. At the beginning of last year, private offices were the most common types of commercial construction starts in the United States. The renovation of private offices is projected to remain high over the next few years, along with warehouses, restaurants and shopping/retail facilities. National retailers are performing interior renovations that require the rerouting of water, sewer and electric lines – requiring saw cutting. There has been an increase in focus on renewable energy in this space, resulting in the installation of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at offices, restaurants and retail shopping malls. Leading restaurants are looking to upgrade their drive-thru experience by installing canopies, new signage and curbside pickup options – requiring accurate utility locating. Due to the consistent trend in upgrading and updating facilities in the commercial and retail space, the demand is increasing for accurate as-built utility drawings.
GPRS is equipped to assist in the commercial and retail space, nationally. We have extensive experience locating utilities for projects that require our services in dozens or even hundreds of sites, nationwide. These types of projects create a unique challenge – finding one concrete scanning and utility locating contractor to service all projects across a large region or even nationwide. Our ability to service these nationwide contracts is unique. We have GPRS Project Managers located in every major market. Our SOP, Subsurface Investigation Methodology (SIM), ensures that when your projects span across the US, you can expect the same repeatable quality when we perform concrete scanning, utility locating, and video pipe inspection. The GPRS Deliverables Department is able to take scanning results from the field and compile them into a permanent record such as a satellite image overlay, a CAD file or even a 3D model.
As grocers and other retailers expand their capabilities as it relates to curbside pick up, more stations, signs, and pedestals must be placed along curbs and in parking lot. Without a private utility locate during the installation process, there’s a risk of underground utility strikes.
When relocating cash wraps, launching new products and remodeling a store, they need to cut or core concrete slabs presents a safety risk. Saw cutting and coring into an electrical conduit not only presents risk for the operator in nearby workers but also risk shutting down the site or nearby sites.
With the rise of e-commerce in the general changing tides in the retail space, contractors and owners are tasked with the repurposing of vacant box stores, offices in strip malls. GPRS can provide critical information regarding the sub surface such as location of utilities, reinforcement and USTs.
With customer service being a central focus for retailers and restaurants the same, upgrades are often made to increase efficiency and reduce wait time. When adding canopies, drive-through lanes, or self check out kiosks, excavation must occur.