Atrium Scan We were asked recently to provide a GPR scan of a large area. A large section of slab was being cut and removed in order to open an atrium between two floors. Based on the direction of our customer, we marked beams with blue paint, conduit with red paint, and rebar with black maker. The slab was a beam and joist slab, about 5" thick, and there were conduits running in the slab in a couple of areas.

A Unique Challenge One of the conduits ran deep inside one of the beams, and it was too deep for the GPR to detect. In order to locate it, we had to use a separate device called the EM locator. We went down to the lower floor, found the conduit, and climbed a ladder. We clamped onto the conduit with a special device, and then we induced a tone frequency. We went back up to the main floor and followed the conduit with the EM locator,...

“Time is a primary currency traded on any given construction project. At Ground Penetrating Radar Systems, our everyday efficiency in operations allows us to respond to the immediate needs of our customers, often within 24 hours or less.” (www.gprsinc.com)

A Chicago contractor needed to locate the public utilities at one of their project sites. They wanted to drill soil borings around a facility for soil testing. They wanted to do this without drilling into and damaging any underground utilities within the area, which could shut off power to a building or cause a leak, as well as potentially harming a worker in the area. The contractor hired Ground Penetrating Radar Systems (GPRS) to come in and mark out the public utilities and product lines around the facility. The scope of the project consisted of 12 soil boring locations.

Using the SIR-3000 we were able to locate and paint out the path of the electric (Red), water (Blue), and Sanitary (Green), and at other locations we were...

“Time is a primary currency traded on any given construction project. At Ground Penetrating Radar Systems, our everyday efficiency in operations allows us to respond to the immediate needs of our customers, often within 24 hours or less.” (www.gprsinc.com)

A Chicago contractor needed to locate the public utilities at one of their project sites. They plan on setting up emergency tents for potential COVID-19 holding areas and testing. They wanted to do this without drilling a post into a utility that could shut down power or communication to the hospital, as well as potentially harming a worker in the area. The contractor hired Ground Penetrating Radar Systems (GPRS) to come in and mark out the public utilities in the area. The scope of the project consisted of scanning a 100 square foot area.

Using the SIR-3000 we were able to locate and paint out the path of the water (Blue), communication (Orange), and in other areas we located the electric, gas, light pole, and storm drain/ sanitary lines. The utilities were clearly marked out...

“Time is a primary currency traded on any given construction project. At Ground Penetrating Radar Systems, our everyday efficiency in operations allows us to respond to the immediate needs of our customers, often within 24 hours or less.” (www.gprsinc.com)

A Chicago contractor needed to locate any reinforcement or other anomalies inside of the concrete slab at one of their project sites in the downtown area. They wanted to core through the concrete slab so they could run new electric through to the main floor from the electrical room directly below. They wanted to do this without hitting any crucial reinforcement or conduits that could be inside or underneath the slab, as this could shut down power to nearby rooms or ruin the integrity of the floor. The contractor hired Ground Penetrating Radar Systems (GPRS) to come in and mark out the reinforcement and any other anomalies in the column. The scope of the project consisted of scanning 5 varying sized locations around the room.

Using the SIR-3000 we were able to discover that the...

Ground Penetrating Radar Systems was recently called by a local general contractor to help assist locating pipes and conduits in the slab prior to saw cutting in a retail space in Pittsburgh, PA. Ground Penetrating Radar Systems was able to identify clear areas as well as mark and identify electric conduits, water lines and sanitary lines in and below the slab. Providing the general contractor with as much information as we can directly assists with a safe and speedy project. While we identified multiple obstructions throughout their area of concern, we were also able to tell them an approximate slab thickness. All this information prevents delays on the project and keeps people safe. Striking a conduit can cost a contractor thousands of dollars in repairs, as well as potentially harming the workers drilling on site. Ground Penetrating Radar Systems, Inc. was able to get to the job in a timely manner which allowed the contractor to stay on schedule. Ground penetrating radar is an accurate and effective way of locating conduits,...

Ground Penetrating Radar Systems was recently contracted to complete a site investigation prior to a contractor’s excavation to install a foundation at a University in Pittsburgh, PA.

GPRS was tasked with locating any underground utility on site such as electric and steam lines. We provide our locating services for both public and private properties. We provided the location of each utility with as much accuracy as possible and gave approximate depths where applicable. The technologies used on this project included the standard locating equipment (350 MHz antenna and EM locator). Please visit www.simspec.org for an overview of our industry-leading best practices that were applied to this project.

The first site photo above shows the location of a concrete and vault and trench of steam lines. The second photo shows the path of electric crossing in the parking lot area. We were able to hook onto them using...

Ground Penetrating Radar Systems was recently contracted to complete a site investigation prior to excavating at a retail location in Pittsburgh, PA.

GPRS was tasked with locating any underground utility on site such as electric lines. We provide our locating services for both public and private properties. We provided the location of each utility with as much accuracy as possible and gave approximate depth where applicable. The technologies used on this project included the standard locating equipment (350 MHz antenna and EM locator). Please visit www.simspec.org for an overview of our industry-leading best practices that were applied to this project.

The site photos above depict an electric conduit bank from the retail building out to site lighting and camera poles. The second photo shows the path of electric feeding site lighting in the parking lot area. We were able to hook onto them using...

Ground Penetrating Radar Systems was recently contracted to complete a site investigation prior to excavating at a retail location in Pittsburgh, PA.

GPRS was tasked with locating any underground utility on site such as gas, storm, and electric lines. We provide our locating services for both public and private properties. We provided the location of each utility with as much accuracy as possible and gave an approximate depth where applicable. The technologies used on this project included the standard locating equipment (350 MHz antenna and EM locator). Please visit www.simspec.org for an overview of our industry-leading best practices that were applied to this project.

The site photos above depict the main run of gas and electric to the retail building. The second photo shows the path of electric feeding site lighting in the parking lot area. We were...

Ground Penetrating Radar Systems of Arkansas received a call from a general contractor working in Little Rock, AR with concerns about how much reinforcement and conduits were in the slab before coring to install a new shower drain. The contact for the general contractor asked what type of results he could expect when concrete scanning on an elevated slab prior to core drilling. The following is what was discussed.

GPR can locate conduits, tension cable, rebar, slab boxes, voids and more, which allows for incident free drilling or sawing. Knowing where to cut and where not to, can help maintain the integrity of a project, as well as prevent costly or even dangerous incidents.

While on site for this project, GPRS was able to locate all the reinforcement in the area of concern and they also provided approximate depths on the surface on all the reinforcement located. The markings seen in the photo above are a typical...

Ground Penetrating Radar Systems received a call from a local general contractor working in New Orleans, Louisiana with concerns about what may be in a slab prior to core drilling in two (2) places within a large coffee manufacturing facility in the area. Like most facilities of this type, a shutdown to production or injury to workers on site can significantly impact operations. As a result, GPR and EM technology were used to specifically identify beams as well as locate potential conduits, post-tension cables, rebar, and/or other critically embedded items prior to penetrating the slab. The use of these methods prior to cutting or coring help to prevent costly or even dangerous incidents while maintaining the integrity and schedule of a project. While on site GPR was specifically able to determine the location of structural support beams in one (1) area along with additional...

A general contractor recently contacted Ground Penetrating Radar Systems (GPRS), Philadelphia office. Their goal was to identify all underground utilities within a large parking lot for new restaurants and cosmetic upgrades in the Fishtown area of Northeast Philadelphia.

The scope of work included scanning specified areas in the parking lot to locate underground utilities. A signal was sent along any accessible metallic utility or tracer wire, and the area was scanned with GPR to locate any additional targets. The locations of any detected utilities and anomalies were marked directly at the site with paint, flags, stakes, or other appropriate means, and results were reviewed with onsite personnel.

Upon arrival, GPRS Project Manager Randy Clinton performed a site walk with the on site personnel. After the site walk concluded, Randy came up with a game plan to trace...

A Geo Technical consulting firm had a project in Providence, RI outside of a National Grid Facility. The scope of the project was to perform soil borings through the asphalt to collect geological and water samples in 45 locations. The consulting firm did not want to hit any obstructions in the soil. The Geotech Firm decided to contact Ground Penetrating Radar Systems of Boston after learning that they have been in business since 2001 & are best for the job. Each technician has the experience of performing over 350 surveys per year. GPRS was able to complete the investigation the next day and allowed the project to proceed without hitting a single obstruction. GPRS uses real time applications and were experienced enough to be able to clear all locations of utilities prior to drilling.

At the job site, GPRS scanned the area in 45 locations where the soil borings would occur. Paint was used to mark...

A General Contractor had a project in Mansfield, MA inside of the Mansfield Water Treatment Plant. The scope of the project was to core drill through the floor in multiple locations so that the different trades involved in the project could run various pipes and conduits. The core drillers did not want to hit any structural reinforcing or conduits while drilling in order to save time and money on saw blades and ensure the safety of everyone involved with the project. The General Contractor decided to contact Ground Penetrating Radar Systems of Rhode Island after learning that they have been in business since 2001 & are the best for the job. Each technician has the experience & qualifications of performing over 350 surveys per year. GPRS was able to complete the investigation the next day and allowed the project to proceed without hitting a single piece of structural reinforcing or any conduits. GPRS uses real time...

A General Contractor had a project in Natick, MA inside of the Natick Mall. The scope of the project was to drill through the floor in multiple locations. The General Contractor did not want to hit any obstructions in the concrete slab. The General Contractor decided to contact Ground Penetrating Radar Systems of Boston after learning that they have been in business since 2001 and they would be best for the job. Each technician has the experience & qualifications of performing over 350 surveys per year. GPRS was able to complete the investigation the next day and allowed the project to proceed without hitting a single obstruction. GPRS uses real time applications and were experienced enough to be able to locate all the obstructions in the scope of work for core drilling.

At the job site, GPRS scanned the facility in 7 locations where the coring would occur. Marker was used to mark our scan location and any obstructions seen in the slab. With the...

A General Contractor had a project in Wrentham, MA inside of a new office building development. The scope of the project was to drill through the floor in multiple locations so that anchor bolts could be placed in the ground to secure multiple staircases. The drillers did not want to hit any radiant heating tubes because if they did, the entire floor would have had to be excavated and the radiant heating would have had to be repaired or redone entirely. The General Contractor decided to contact Ground Penetrating Radar Systems of Rhode Island after learning that they have been in business since 2001 and each technician has the experience and qualifications of performing over 350 surveys per year. GPRS was able to complete the investigation the next day and allowed the project to proceed without hitting a single radiant heating tube. GPRS uses real time applications and were experienced enough to be able to locate all of the radiant heating in the scope of work and differentiate between the mesh in the floor, and the radiant heat tubes.

At the job...

Being experts in underground utility locating, we often get asked “How deep can you locate?” Well if anyone has asked that question before, or knows the industry, the answer usually comes back sounding a little political. The truth is, that different technologies have different limitations when it comes to depth, and different situations/parameters allow for much deeper depths or on the inverse much more depth restrictions. Long story shortened is, each situation is different, and you should call your local GPRS office to ask what we can do with your situation(s).

GPRS received a call a couple months back from a client that needed to locate a pipe that was 35-55 feet deep. In all honesty, they had no idea how deep the pipe was, but they felt it had to be pretty deep because another locating company had no success. The pipe was a plastic 4 inch leachate line at an active landfill in Southern California, and the client was worried that it was clogged. The leachate line was running at a downward...

We get a fair share of job requests that are outside of our normal, daily routine. Most days our project managers are looking for buried utilities, or scanning the concrete to mark out conduits and reinforcement, or even using the video pipe inspection equipment to verify the condition of a pipe. This job story is about none of those, this job was for finding “voids”. Now voids are nothing new for GPRS, we do void jobs all the time actually. However, whereas we typically do void jobs on a slab on grade where an air pocket has formed between the ground and the slab, this job was on suspended slabs.

Well I will have to stop and explain before I confuse anyone reading this. The job we were hired to do was on a 16 story condo complex in San Diego County, right on the beach. The building had a beautiful view of the ocean and each unit had a West facing (ocean side) balcony, or two in some units....

GPRS was contracted by a general contractor to scan at a corn processing facility near Sioux City, IA. As requested by the client, GPRS utilized the 200MhZ antenna on this project as it provides better depth penetration. By utilizing this antenna, GPRS was able to see several feet deeper into the ground.

All scanning conducted was also implemented through our SIM process. Click on this link to learn more about our industry leading SIM training and processes!

Our state of the art GSSI GPR equipment can send signals into concrete that send data back in real time. The signals are safe for workplaces so there is no need for any stop in work for floors below or around the scan areas. GPRS also uses the RD-8100 Locator to locate live power and radio frequency (RF) signals underground. We can also detect utilities in or...

GPRS was contracted by a plumbing outfit to scan for possible voids at a large manufacturing facility. During the time of the scanning GPRS found several anomalies with GPR equipment that were consistent with the presence of possible voids.

After GPRS had finished scanning, the contractor was able to core through the concrete slab and confirm our findings. Furthermore, the contractors were able to use a sewer camera to confirm the markings as well as determine the depth of the voids.

All scanning conducted was also implemented through our SIM process.

Our state of the art GSSI GPR equipment can send signals into concrete that send data back in real time. The signals are safe for workplaces so there is no need for any stop in work for floors below or around the scan areas. GPRS also uses the RD-8100 Locator to...

GPRS was contracted by a large manufacturing and equipment testing facility to scan several rooms prior to saw cutting. GPRS was able to locate several electrical ducts, conduits, drain pipes and other unknowns underground. After the scans were completed the contractors performing the saw cutting were able to perform their work safely without any damage being done to any of the conduits.

All scanning conducted was also implemented through our SIM process.

Our state of the art GSSI GPR equipment can send signals into concrete that send data back in real time. The signals are safe for workplaces so there is no need for any stop in work for floors below or around the scan areas. GPRS also uses the RD-8100 Locator to locate live power and radio frequency (RF) signals underground. We can also detect utilities in or under concrete using our transmitter box which sends...

GPRS was contracted by an environmental firm to locate possible utilities around several soil boring locations at a private facility near Des Moines, IA. GPRS located several 480 electric lines headed right through one of the proposed boring locations as well as many other crucial lines. After all scanning had been completed, GPRS was able to provide a safer area for the environmental firm to drill and set in their monitoring wells.

All scanning conducted was also implemented through our SIM process. Click on this link to learn more about our industry leading SIM training and processes!

Our state of the art GSSI GPR equipment can send signals into concrete that send data back in real time. The signals are safe for workplaces so there is no need for any stop in work for floors below or around the scan areas. GPRS also uses the RD-8100 Locator to locate live power and radio frequency (RF) signals underground. We can also detect utilities in or under concrete using our transmitter box which sends out a frequency via induction or conduction with...

GPRS was contracted by a steel fabricating company to locate radiant heat tubes in several large areas prior to anchoring in a new laser saw. GPRS was able to locate all heat tubes by pairing GPR with our FLIR thermal imaging camera. The steel fabricating company was able to anchor in their new equipment safely after all scanning had been conducted.

All scanning conducted was also implemented through our SIM process. Click on this link to learn more about our industry leading SIM training and processes!

Our state of the art GSSI GPR equipment can send signals into concrete that send data back in real time. The signals are safe for workplaces so there is no need for any stop in work for floors below or around the scan areas. GPRS also uses the RD-8100 Locator to locate live power and radio frequency (RF) signals...

GPRS was contracted by a general contractor to locate all possible underground utilities at a Metra train yard. GPRS was able to locate the utilities on site as well as provide a detailed non-survey grade CAD drawing for the future building plans. Keep in mind that many of our GPRS project managers have specialized training for facilities such as Metra, Canadian Pacific, BNSF and many more rail yards and other private facilities.

All scanning conducted was also implemented through our SIM process. Click on this link to learn more about our industry leading SIM training and processes!

Our state of the art GSSI GPR equipment can send signals into concrete that send data back in real time. The signals are safe for workplaces so there is no need for any stop in work for floors below or around the scan areas. GPRS also uses the RD-8100 Locator to locate live power and...

Ground Penetrating Radar Systems (GPRS) was recently hired to complete a concrete scanning job for saw cutting at a neighborhood retail establishment. A local electrician contacted GPRS to come out and scan around an area to be saw cut in order to install a new conduit. Adjacent to the saw cut area was an electrical panel with multiple conduits entering the slab. This setting created a potentially hazardous situation where electrical conduits could be severed during the saw cut process, causing injuries, stoppage of work, or increased costs to the contractors. GPRS was hired to help avoid these hazardous scenarios by scanning the concrete for any conduits or other unknown utilities that may be in the way of the saw blade.

Upon arrival on site, the GPRS project manager (PM) met with the electrician and conducted a walk though of the area of interest. From there, the PM outlined the scan boundaries and calibrated the 1600mHz concrete antenna. Scanning of the area was performed in a grid pattern some...

Recently GPRS was hired by a local contractor to locate buried utilities at selected locations throughout a mobile home park. The contractor was soon to begin excavation at the selected locations and did not want to risk the chance of striking a buried utility. GPRS technicians were able to scan several locations throughout the course of the day marking out all locatable utilities. The picture above indicates the whereabouts of the gas (yellow) and water lines (blue) buried at one of the selected locations. The client will now be able to excavate safely around these buried utilities.

The process begins with the technician using the EM pipe locator to locate pipes or utilities throughout the scan area. First, the transmitter is used to connect to and trace any visible risers, tracer wires, or accessible, conductive utilities provided there is an exposed, metallic pipe or conduit. The areas are then swept with the receiver to detect live power or radio frequency signals. Locations and approximate depths are painted or...

GPRS Received a call from a local Detroit, MI contractor to assist with a utility locate. The contractor’s main objective was to demolish an existing building known as the State Street dining hall, rebuild it in the same lot, and also construct a farmer’s market across the street that would take up an entire city block. So, here’s where the real challenge begins. The area the contractor was working in is known as Greenfield Village, part of an internationally recognized cultural destination.

The Greenfield Village is famous for immersing its visitors into the stories of ingenuity and innovation that helped shape America. The Greenfield village is a collection of nearly 100 historic buildings. The village includes the birth places, homes, or infamous workplaces of some of the most influential people in all America. Including Abraham Lincoln, The Wright brothers, and the very building where Thomas Edison created the light bulb just to name a few. And sits on a 200-acre site in the heart of Dearborn, Michigan. Henry Ford...

Ground Penetrating Radar Systems was recently hired to complete a site investigation prior to the setup of a crane at a local hospital in Pittsburgh, PA.

GPRS was tasked with locating any underground utility on site such as: water, electric, and sanitary lines. We provided the location of each utility with as much accuracy as possible and gave approximate depth where applicable. The technologies used on this project included the standard locating equipment (350 MHz antenna and EM locator).

The site photos above depict the main run of water and electric feeding the nearby structure in the area where the crane would be setup. We were able to hook onto them using radio detection and then later confirm the accuracy and approximate depths using Ground Penetrating Radar. With the Information provided by GPRS with locations and approximate depths of these utilities that ran...

A general contractor recently hired the Ground Penetrating Radar Systems (GPRS), New York City office. Their goal was to identify all underground utilities within a 10,000 sq. ft. area at the VA Medical Center in North Haven, CT. The client’s objective was to best locate all the utilities within the desired area, for a future underground tank installation.

Upon arrival, Authorized GPRS Project Manager Joseph Moreno performed a site walk with the on the site personnel. After the site walk concluded, Joseph knew it was going to be a rather difficult utility locate, based on the observation of numerous manholes, site lighting, and a fire hydrant while conducting the site walk.

The first mode of action that GPRS took was to utilize the electromagnetic detector (EM detector.) GPRS was able to identify the two conduits, site lighting, and fire line that existed within the area. The next step GPRS took was to scan, using a 400MHz ground penetrating radar antenna. The...

GPRS (Ground Penetrating Radar Systems, Inc.) was recently hired by a local engineer during a project where they are trying to determine what is causing the concrete to shift in a giant storage warehouse. This warehouse has magnets underneath the surface of the concrete that keeps the forklifts running in a straight line. The forklifts are also only inches off the ground, so it is a huge safety issue if the ground becomes unlevel. GPRS was hired to determine if there may be any type of voids beneath the surface that may be causing the concrete to shift, and if found approximately how far beneath the surface they are located. Once we arrived at the site, we walked the area of concern (area to be scanned) with the onsite contact and discussed were they believed the best area to begin would be. Once the site walk is complete the process begins by using GPR to collect initial scans throughout the area. Each location is then scanned with a scan spacing of approximately 6”-12” on center. The GPR data is viewed in real time and and...

Ground Penetrating Radar Systems, Inc. of Phoenix, AZ. was contacted by a local General Contractor that was preparing to create a new entryway in a warehouse wall in downtown Phoenix. The warehouse manufactures computer components for the government and required GPR with a full written report before any demolition. The contractor on site wanted to see all the reinforcing in the wall to mitigate the amount that would be cut out. I was able to utility mark out all reinforcing and provide approximate depths to our client. It is always ideal to have concrete walls or floors scanned using GPR prior to any cutting or drilling. This wall was precast then delivered to the warehouse and lifted into place.

Ground Penetrating Radar is ideal on a busy construction site as well as a place of occupancy. GPR does not require evacuation of the area as does...

Ground Penetrating Radar Systems, Inc. of Salt Lake City, UT was contacted by a local General Contractor that was preparing to do a remodel of an x-ray room at Mckay-Dee Hospital in Ogden, UT. The GC on this project was wanting to core multiple holes and did not want to hit any electrical conduits. The area that was to be scanned was found to be on metal decking. Since GPR has difficulty detecting objects in the lower valleys of the decking, GPRS marked out the upper and lower valleys of the decking along with rebar and conduit when applicable. GPRS strongly advises drilling only through upper sections. Please don’t take the risk of coring holes like this without having them GPR’d first.

Ground Penetrating Radar is best on a busy construction site as well as a place of occupancy. GPR does not require evacuation of the area as does traditional x-ray concrete imaging....

GPRS’s office in Las Vegas, NV. was hired directly by McCarran Airport to locate underground utilities prior to the installation of a new underground gas line. Part of the scope was to locate all utilities just outside of B gate, as the photo above indicates. While scanning around B gate we were able to locate fuel lines, water, gas, and some underground power conduits to the gates. GPRS was able to locate these lines by using both an EM locator and GPR. The power and existing gas line was traced out by direct connecting to the pipe or by attaching to a tracer wire with our transmitter box from the EM locator. Once we are direct connecting to a pipe or tracer wire, we are able to induce a signal along that line and trace it out with the locating wand to find its exact route. Once these lines are located with the EM locator, we then can scan over top of them with...

GPRS’s office in Salt Lake City, UT was hired by a client to locate utilities outside on a property in Slaterville UT by a company prior to building a new auto parts store on this property. GPRS utilizes both Ground Penetrating Radar as well as your typical electromagnetic locating wand. The area scanned was approximately 1 acre. We were able to trace out electrical, gas and communication lines in the area. Once all of the lines were identified we were able to confirm the approximate depths by using GPR to see the lines underground. The above picture represents two gas lines and a communication line that were located. Call GPRS and we will find all your necessary underground utilities that are blocking your clear route for excavating.

Along with marking all findings on the ground with either pin flags or paint, GPRS also offers a service of collecting all the findings...

GPRS’s Phoenix office was contacted by an out of state contractor to locate some underground utilities outside of a small mental health facility in Chandler, AZ. The contractor is installing new temp trailers to house some of the office space while the facility goes through a renovation phase. These temp trailers need to have full working utilities for the duration of the project, in order to do so they need to trench new lines to the source at the building. The trenching of the new temp lines will be trenched on the northeast side of the building where all of the incoming utilities enter the existing building. There is a lot of underground utilities along this side of the building that the contractor was concerned with prior to trenching the new underground lines. While scanning this area we were able to locate water, power, gas, sanitary, and some communication lines. We traced all of the power by direct connecting to the above ground electrical equipment and tracing with the...

GPRS, Inc. - GPRS - of Charlotte North Carolina was contacted by an environmental consultant to locate any utilities within 5’ of multiple proposed soil boring locations at a movie theatre in Statesville, NC. A 10’ x 10’ was marked out and all utilities in the area were located and marked out with spray paint to allow the consultant to have options on soil boring placement as well as for the potential of needing to step the soil boring out for any reason such as refusal. Our qualified contractors at GPRS are able to mark any findings in real time so that the consultant and driller could work directly with GPRS to solve problems and move the soil borings to clear locations. The consultant was able to advance the soil borings safely and gain the necessary info to further their investigation thanks to GPRS.

Photo of GPR findings near Boring 7, an electrical line and unknown line were found in the area and clearly marked. GPRS takes pride in keeping everyone safe onsite and helping solve problems that may come up while...

GPRS, Inc. - GPRS - of Raleigh North Carolina was contacted by an electrical contractor to locate any utilities within 10’ of a proposed trench at Neuse River Waste Water Treatment Plant. The client was running temporary power from an existing transformer to three temporary office trailers. A 10’ area on either side of the proposed trench was marked out and painted on the surface to assure safe digging and a safe project. We used Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and EM pipe locator to locate multiple electrical feeds, water lines, and communication lines in the area. It is important to call GPRS to get any private utilities located to assure a safe project and to avoid any unnecessary costs or down time. GPRS is the most affordable and has a greater than 99% accuracy rate around the country and prides itself in keeping projects running smoothly and safely. GPRS is able to...

GPRS (Ground Penetrating Radar Systems, Inc.) was recently hired by a local contractor during a project where they are remodeling 16 suites in a downtown Cleveland apartment building. Prior to our arrival, the contractor saw cut through live electrical conduits in the concrete slab. The electrical and communication conduits had no set pattern or drawings to give the contractor an idea of where they were in the floor. The contractor contacted GPRS in order to determine where the conduits were located along with the steel beams so that they could saw cut the floor between the beams. Once we arrived at the site, we walked the area of concern (area to be scanned) with the onsite contact and discussed the areas still requiring saw cutting. This was done in order to determine the exact scope of the job and how the contractor would like the findings marked. GPRS has the capability to mark findings with marker, crayon, paint, tape and even a drawing if requested. This site requested to paint the findings out using white paint for the beams and red for the conduits. Upon completing...

GPRS, Inc. was requested on site to perform a ground penetrating radar (GPR) scan on a commercial property in Charlotte, NC. The purpose of this scan was to help identify the location of any utilities or anomalies on site prior to excavation. The customer had requested a public locate for utilities, however based on the location of their project, a private utility locate was needed to help identify any possible utilities in the area. GPRS was able to identify the location of the existing utilities and mark any other anomalies that may have been in the way prior to excavating. All the utilities that were located with GPR were able to be identified with approximate depths. GPRS was able to save the customer valuable time and help prevent any possible damage to unknown utilities.

For this specific project, we used a...

A General Contractor had an excavation project in Richmond, VA. The scope of the project was to locate all utilities along a private road approximately 2,000 linear feet long prior to excavating to tie into existing utilities to shut off all services. The General Contractor decided to contact Ground Penetrating Radar Systems of Virginia. It seems to be all too often, that when the land or property is handed over to the contractor to start the construction process there is never enough information on what lies beneath the surface. This particular property used to have a prison standing spread across approximately 65 acres. Everything has been completely removed except what lies beneath the surface. It was also suggested to the client to perform an EMI (Electromagnetic Induction) survey to help locate any manmade objects such as leftover foundations, underground storage tanks, drums, or any other buried surprises.

GPRS was able to complete the investigation within just a couple of...

A client recently gave Ground Penetrating Radar Systems, LLC. of Washington, DC a call to see if we would be able mark out utilities within portions of the Capital’s lawn area. The client called GPRS to come out and clear 10 areas that we had previously marked out. At GPRS we used our the GSSI 400mhz antenna along with the SIR 3000 in a 2’ grid pattern to locate any possible underground utilities in the concerned areas. GPRS also scanned a 20’ area around each of his marks and found out that there were multiple unknown utilities running through those particular locations. There were a couple of utilities we picked up with the radar within the requested drilling locations. In conjunction with the radar GPRS goes back over the areas and uses Radio Detection to see if there are any live power and any communication lines while using the radio mode.

GPRS saved this client from hitting these critical utilities by utilizing our services and potentially saving the company from any costly repairs, down time, and possible injuries that may have occurred...

A miscellaneous metals contractor was given the task of designing and installing support structures on the roof of new construction condominium in Arlington, VA overlooking Reagan National Airport. The steel support structures were required to be anchored into the roofing slab in various locations on site. The locations on the roof’s concrete slab where the structures were set to be placed contained reinforcement steel (rebar) and post tension cables that could not be struck under any circumstances when drilling and/or anchoring into the slab. Measures needed to be taken in order for the contractor to locate the rebar and post tension cables within the slab; they needed to GPR scan each anchor location. Ground penetrating radar, or GPR, is a form of non-destructive testing which allows GPRS, Inc. to detect subsurface anomalies within the concrete slab. Once detected, GPRS can trace out, then mark out the layout of the reinforcement mat and post tension cables within the concrete slab so that the client could look to avoid as much rebar as possible and all post tension cables when...

Ground Penetrating Radar Systems was recently contracted to complete a concrete scan prior to the design of a massive solar power canopy at a commuter parking garage in Washington DC. The parking garage was required to stay active in order to continue to house the vehicles of the commuters working in our nation’s capital.

GPRS was tasked with not only scanning and marking out all subsurface anomalies including rebar and conduits, but also responsible for documenting the approximate rebar spacing and approximate depth of the rebar within the concrete slab in each area scanned. The requested data was vital because it played a significant role in the design of the anchor plates for the overhead solar canopy. The technologies used on this project included the standard locating equipment (GSSI 2GHz palm antenna and MiniXT concrete scanners), but also included a detailed written report including data tables, site photos and data screenshots of the areas scanned.

During the concrete investigation, the Washington DC based GPRS...

GPRS was contracted by an engineering firm in the Chicagoland area to locate underground utilities on a site that was 18 acres in size. GPRS was able to locate all utilities at the site as well as create a detailed non-survey grade CAD deliverable and google earth overlay site map of the area. Don’t let the snow slow you down this winter!

All scanning conducted was also implemented through our SIM process. Click on this link to learn more about our industry leading SIM training and processes!

Our state of the art GSSI GPR equipment can send signals into concrete that send data back in real time. The signals are safe for workplaces so there is no need for any stop in work for floors below or around the scan areas. GPRS also uses the RD-8100 Locator to locate live power and radio frequency (RF) signals underground. We can also detect utilities in or under concrete using our transmitter box which sends out a frequency via induction or conduction with an exposed or known surface utility line.

“GPRS deploys the best equipment operated by...

GPRS was contacted by an engineering firm to locate all site utilities at an existing waste water treatment plant as well as to locate any underground abandoned foundations. The scanning that took place was all done in order to safely dig to install new equipment and tanks. GPRS was able to locate all utilities and suspect foundations as well as create a Google Earth aerial map with all of the findings and depths reading of each utility.

All scanning conducted was also implemented through our SIM process. Click on this link to learn more about our industry leading SIM training and processes!

Our state of the art GSSI GPR equipment can send signals into concrete that send data back in real time. The signals are safe for workplaces so there is no need for any stop in work for floors below or around the scan areas. GPRS also uses the RD-8100 Locator to locate live power and radio frequency (RF) signals underground. We can also detect utilities in or under concrete using our transmitter box which sends out a frequency via induction or...

GPRS was contracted by a local truck repair company to locate radiant heat tubes in several large areas. GPRS was able to locate all heat tubes by pairing GPR with our FLIR thermal imaging camera. The truck company was able to anchor in their new equipment safely after all scanning had been conducted.

All scanning conducted was also implemented through our SIM process. Click on this link to learn more about our industry leading SIM training and processes!

Our state of the art GSSI GPR equipment can send signals into concrete that send data back in real time. The signals are safe for workplaces so there is no need for any stop in work for floors below or around the scan areas. GPRS also uses the RD-8100 Locator to locate live power and radio frequency (RF) signals underground. We can also detect utilities in or under concrete using our transmitter box which sends out a frequency via induction or conduction with an exposed or known surface utility line.

“GPRS deploys the best equipment operated by skilled project managers who know how...

GPRS was contracted by a large industrial manufacturing facility to scan the existing slab on grade for possible underground utilities. These scans were conducted in order to provide safe locations for soil borings and for the anchoring of new equipment. During the scans GPRS found there to be many 480 and other high voltage lines embedded in the concrete as well as process water lines, sewer, and gas lines below grade.

All scanning conducted was also implemented through our SIM process. Click on this link to learn more about our industry leading SIM training and processes!

Our state of the art GSSI GPR equipment can send signals into concrete that send data back in real time. The signals are safe for workplaces so there is no need for any stop in work for floors below or around the scan areas. GPRS also uses the RD-8100 Locator to locate live power and radio frequency (RF) signals underground. We can also detect utilities in or under concrete using our transmitter box which sends out a frequency via induction or conduction with an exposed or...

GPRS was contracted by a city that is a suburb of Chicago to do all of their private and public water and sewer line locates. GPRS has the man power and scheduling flexibility to tackle any project thrown at us! GPRS was able to work with this city and is now providing them with a working google earth aerial overlay of any locate we do. This is in hope that over the years, we will be able to map the entire city and make the city engineers jobs easier when it comes to planning.

All scanning conducted was also implemented through our SIM process. Click on this link to learn more about our industry leading SIM training and processes!

Our state of the art GSSI GPR equipment can send signals into concrete that send data back in real time. The signals are safe for workplaces so there is no need for any stop in work for floors below or around the scan areas. GPRS also uses the RD-8100 Locator to locate live power and radio frequency (RF) signals underground. We can also detect utilities in or under concrete using our transmitter box which sends out...

GPRS was contacted by an environmental firm to scan an entire parking lot to search for possible underground storage tanks (USTs) in Chicago, IL. Due to poor record keeping or lost records there are still a lot of USTs that have yet to be uncovered in older cities. GPRS was able to find 3 suspect USTs on this site alone! After GPRS located these anomalies and located all private utilities, the environmental firm was able to safely retrieve soil samples for testing by drilling near to the suspect USTs.

All scanning conducted was also implemented through our SIM process. Click on this link to learn more about our industry leading SIM training and processes!

Our state of the art GSSI GPR equipment can send signals into concrete that send data back in real time. The signals are safe for workplaces so there is no need for any stop in work for floors below or around the scan areas. GPRS also uses the RD-8100 Locator to locate live power and radio frequency (RF) signals underground. We can also detect utilities in or under concrete using our...

Ground Penetrating Radar Systems was recently contracted to complete a site investigation prior to the installation of a new foundation at a plant in Pittsburgh, PA.

GPRS was tasked with locating any underground utility on site such as: gas, water, storm, and communication lines. We provided the location of each utility with as much accuracy as possible and gave depth where applicable. The technologies used on this project included the standard locating equipment (350 MHz antenna and EM locator).

Utility Lines Found Using Radio Detection and GPR

The site photos above depicts the main run of gas and water to this section of the plant. We were able to hook onto them using radio detection and then later confirm the accuracy and depths using Ground Penetrating Radar. With the Information provided by GPRS with locations and depths of these utilities that ran through the proposed location of the new foundation the client was able to review the specs of the project to safely work around our findings.

Utilities...

In January 2020, Ground Penetrating Radar Systems (GPRS) was requested on site by a general contractor to perform a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey. The contractor needed to core drill numerous holes to install new conduits and exhaust line runs for a new CT machine. The contractor needed to know if there were any conduits and or structural obstacles in the area to avoid drilling through them. GPRS located rebar pattern and post tension (PT) cables within the area as well as a beam. There were no conduits in the area scanned and where the hole was to be drilled. The rebar pattern was painted on the surface with B indicating bottom bars and T indicating top bars. The hole location was located and would sever a PT cable. Before you saw cut or core drill, call GPRS to know what’s in the or just under the slab!

The picture below shows the reinforcement pattern with contractors marking for a core hole.

Ground Penetrating Radar Systems, LLC. is very familiar with working closely with countless major commercial projects and contractors. Ground penetrating radar mapping...

Ground Penetrating Radar Systems was recently hired to scan for utilities in Cuyahoga Heights, Ohio. The scope of work was to scan a 50’x150’ area for utilities in advance of an additional installation. With the utilization of GPR technology multiple fiber communication lines were located prior to excavation. As these lines were plastic without tracer wires, GPR was the best way these lines could have been located. GPRS was also able to locate a water line in the area that the client was unaware of. By having the area scanned beforehand, the client avoided expensive and timely repairs. GPRS was also able to confirm that the electric main and gas mains were outside of the scanned area. GPRS, Inc. was able to complete the job in a timely manner to mark all utilities so that the project could stay on time. GPR is an accurate and effective way of locating underground utilities, underground storage tanks, and near-surface voids.

For more information on how GPRS, Inc. can help you on your next project, please contact Cory...

GPRS Scans for Beams and Rebar in an Elevated Concrete Slab

Ground Penetrating Radar Systems of Memphis, TN office recently worked with a local construction company to help them locate several areas suitable for coring locations to be placed in a concrete slab. Working at a hospital in Memphis, TN the client was going to drill upwards of 30+ coring locations for gas lines and oxygen lines from the floor below. The client was unable to determine if it was safe to drill without calling GPRS first. GPRS was able to show up within 24 hours and mark out all rebar and beams in the area to give the client safe options on where to core drill without hitting any structural support. Because the client decided to call GPRS rather than accept the risk of hitting any structural support, the client was able to move the coring locations quickly once GPRS laid out the rebar and beams. Each location was marked out in real time using Sharpie, which allowed the client to have the results permanently on the surface. Fast and accurate, the GPRS scanning method...

GPRS locates utilities for excavation at a Pump Station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Ground Penetrating Radar Systems was recently contracted to complete a site investigation prior to excavation inside a pump station in Pittsburgh, PA.

GPRS was tasked with locating any underground utility on site such as: gas, electric, and storm lines. We provided the location of each utility with as much accuracy as possible and gave approximate depth where applicable. The technologies used on this project included the standard locating equipment (350 MHz antenna and EM locator).

Utility Lines Found Using Radio Detection and GPR

The site photos above depict markings of gas and electric within the proposed excavation section of the pump station. We were able to hook onto them using radio detection and then later confirm the accuracy and approximate depths using Ground Penetrating Radar. With the Information provided by GPRS with locations and depths of these utilities that ran through the proposed location the client was able to review the specs...

Ground Penetrating Radar Systems, Inc. scans for conduits prior to plumber saw cutting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Ground Penetrating Radar Systems was recently called by a local plumber to assist in locating electrical conduits in a concrete slab they needed to cut in order to fix a drainpipe in Pittsburgh, PA. This project at a local hospital needed safety and accuracy to be of upmost importance to prevent injury or power loss to equipment. Ground Penetrating Radar Systems was able to identify clear areas as well as mark and identify electrical conduits located below the slab. Providing the plumber with as much information as we can directly assists with a safe and speedy project. While we identified multiple obstructions throughout their area of concern, we were also able to tell them an approximate slab thickness. All this information prevents delays on the project and keeps people safe. Striking a conduit can cost a contractor thousands of dollars in repairs, as well as potentially harming the workers cutting on site. Ground Penetrating Radar...

Concrete Scanning in Lancaster County in Central Pennsylvania

Background:

In January, Sam Hart of Ground Penetrating Radar System (GPRS) was contacted by a renewable power company to assist in their on-going renovation in Lancaster County. This has been the fourth phase in the last four years that the two companies have worked together. This phase included scanning (4) 5’x5’ areas. The renovation would include running new electrical conduit through the elevated slab to two new electrical cabinets. Sam Hart, project manager for GPRS in central Pennsylvania, worked closely to keep the project running on time for the client. The scanning areas first had to go through abatement, demolition and then the scanning took place. After the top and bottom rebar is marked out along with multiple conduits, the core drillers would then have a better idea of where they could safely drill.

The Problem:

In the (4) 5’x5’ areas the concrete was approximately 15 inches thick of cast-in-place rebar. The slab was made up of at least two layers of rebar. The rebar is...

GPRS Inc. (Ground Penetrating Radar Systems) was contracted to perform GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) scanning to locate subsurface items on a Post Tension deck in Lihue, Hawaii (Kauai).

The GPRS Hawaii branch worked with a large general contractor and was asked to do some GPR scanning investigation on an elevated post tension slab in Lihue, Hawaii (Kauai). In the post tension concrete structure it was essential for the general contractor to find the rebar (Top and Bottom Rebar), conduits and cables. GPRS LLC. was able to lay out all items in the desired location and locate the post tension cables and conduits as required by the general contractor’s team. GPRS LLC. was able to provide all necessary information needed in order to avoid all items. This information was then documented with photos and presented to the general contractor with a description of the scanned location.

Ground Penetrating Radar Systems' reliability and trusted accuracy in locating subsurface items is why GPRS was called upon for this work by the general contractor. GPRS arrived on...

Ground Penetrating Radar Systems was recently called by a local plumber to help assist in the installation of a couple concrete core drilling locations and anchor points in Pittsburgh, PA. The electrician needed to core drill through the slab to install a couple pipes and set anchors to the bottom of the slab. Ground Penetrating Radar Systems was able to identify clear areas as well as mark and identify reinforcing steel located in the slab. Providing the plumber with as much information as we can directly assists with a safe and speedy project. While we identified multiple obstructions throughout their area of concern, we were also able to tell them an approximate slab thickness. All this information prevents delays on the project and keeps people safe. Striking a conduit can cost a contractor thousands of dollars in repairs, as well as potentially harming the workers drilling on site. Ground Penetrating Radar Systems, Inc. was able to get to the job in a timely manner which allowed the contractor to stay on schedule. Ground penetrating radar is an accurate and effective way of...

Ground Penetrating Radar Systems was recently contracted to complete a site investigation prior to the installation of a canopy throughout a drive through. The General Contractors on site knew that utilities were running to and from the restaurant and needed to know where he could drill the anchors for the canopy.

GPRS was tasked with locating any underground utility on site such as: electric, storm drains, and potential unknown utilities. We provided the location of each utility with as much accuracy as possible and gave depth where applicable. The technologies used on this project included the standard locating equipment (400 MHz antenna and EM locator).

We were able to locate the main power running to the restaurant using radio detection, and then later confirmed it while using ground penetrating radar. The contractor needed a depth and the trench in which the conduits were traveling marked, to help avoid drilling into them. We were able to find the power by first using our radio detection wands, and that was later confirmed with our...

Ground Pentrating Radar Systems was recently hired to complete a site investigation prior to core drilling in several locations throughout the building. The general contractor had a map showing how the PT cables were being ran. GPRS was tasked to scan these locations marking rebar, and pt cables and to disguinish between the two. GPRSprovided depths of the cables and the path they were traveling.

Site photo taken of one of the coring location represented by the orange dot. This particular location had a pt cable that was traveling through the proposed coring location, with rebar traveling besides it and also a rebar traveling in in opposite direction. With this information given the contractor was able to relocate the coring and avoided drilling through a pt cable and avoid any injuries.

In this particular location the contractor wanted to have 4 more cores in line with the one already drilled. Gprs was able to find and distinguish pt cables from rebar, you can see where the cables traveling left to right, were...

GPRS locates storm lines at military museum outside of Columbus, OH.

Ground Penetrating Radar Systems was recently contracted to try and locate the existing storm sewer lines running throughout the site. The museum was looking to add on to the structures and wanted to be sure the storm lines were not in the intended area.

GPRS was tasked with locating existing storm sewer lines on this property. We provided the location of the utility in question and gave depth where applicable. The technologies used on this project included the standard locating equipment (400 MHz antenna and EM locator).

The site photo above shows GPR being used to locate and mark concrete storm lines. An attempt was made to locate these existing lines using the Duct Hunter and RD but was unsuccessful due to turns in the lines. The general contractor in charge of this project was interested in the path of this storm line for future building locations. We were able to locate the line throughout the site providing accurate depths of all findings.

Existing Storm...

Ground Penetrating Radar Systems was recently contracted to complete a site investigation prior to the installation of several concrete caissons. The environmental company on site knew that some of these locations were close to potential underground electrical lines, as well as potential unknown utilities.

GPRS was tasked with locating any underground utility on site such as: electric, storm drains, and potential unknown utilities. We provided the location of each utility with as much accuracy as possible and gave depth where applicable. The technologies used on this project included the standard locating equipment (400 MHz antenna and EM locator).

Site photos taken of some of the electrical lines we located, this particular location was clear of any utilities or obstructions. When we arrived on site, we discussed what needed to be done and walked the site. The site contact conveyed that their primary objective was to install three soil boring locations, and wanted to go ahead and clear those locations, as well as the concrete pad for future drill locations. We were...

Ground Penetrating Radar Systems was recently called by a local electrician to help assist in the installation of a couple concrete core drilling locations in Columbus, Ohio. The mason needed to drill into the slab to install a couple anchor rods to secure a CMU block wall. Ground Penetrating Radar Systems was able to identify clear areas as well as mark and identify reinforcing steel located in the slab. Providing the mason with as much information as we can directly assists with a safe and speedy project. While we identified multiple obstructions throughout their area of concern, we were also able to identify clear areas that didn’t present post tension cables or rebar. All this information prevents delays on the project and keeps people safe. Striking a post tension can cost a contractor thousands of dollars in repairs, as well as potentially harming the workers drilling on site. Ground Penetrating Radar Systems, Inc. was able to get to the job in a timely manner which allowed the contractor to stay on schedule. Ground penetrating radar is an accurate and effective way of...

GPRS (Ground Penetrating Radar Systems, Inc.) was hired by a local general contractor in January 2020. They planned to saw cut and remove sections of existing concrete slabs in order to install new plumbing below the concrete. The locations to be saw cut were inside multiple concession areas at Comerica Park, home to MLB’s Detroit Tigers. The contractor hired GPRS to locate existing conduits/piping within or below the concrete slab where saw cutting was to take place. Damaging utilities can result in a multitude of negative consequences (e.g., personal injury, downtime, and costly repairs). This is never a good scenario, especially at such a high-profile site as a major league ballpark.

Upon arrival, we performed a site walk with the contractor who had already laid out the areas that were to be saw cut. Our 1600 MHz ground penetrating radar (GPR) antenna was then calibrated and the areas in question were scanned in a grid pattern to identify utilities and their depths below the surface. During our investigation many conduits/pipes were identified within the areas...

GPRS recently completed a concrete investigation and analysis at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry in Ann Arbor, MI. The project that GPRS was working on was being overseen by Granger Construction and John E. Green Company. The scope of the project was increased upon arrival as multiple contractors onsite are planning to core drill many locations throughout a roughly 7,500SF room on the 3rd floor. The elevated slab being cored has steel rod that cannot be hit when drilling.

The main concern that the contractors had was getting all of the steel rod travelling north and south in this room marked out. Getting information on the elevated slab was vital for the contractors and the university because the structural integrity of the floor could not be jeopardized. Understanding the importance and accuracy of this, they reached out to GPRS.

Upon arrival to the site, GPRS was escorted to the area to be scanned. The original scope was to scan approximately 36-40 core locations on the 3rd floor. Once the scan area was reached GPRS was informed that the entire room...

There are many different types of slabs, and some are more difficult to scan than others. Unfortunately, the slabs that are most difficult to scan also happen to be the slabs with the greatest danger. Cast-in-place PT (Post Tension) slabs are he most difficult to scan, and they also carry the highest liability, since PT cables are very costly to repair, and can even compromise the structural integrity and create risks to the surroundings (e.g. they can shoot out the sides of the building).

For this reason, we highly recommend that customers bring in GPRS to scan PT slabs. Even customers that have their own GPR system would be wise to limit its use to basic slabs. This month, we had two large construction companies bring us in to scan PT slabs. In both cases, the companies own their own GPR system, and in both cases, they had hit PT cables which their operators had missed. We were tasked with rescanning the areas that had already been scanned, and the prior markings were generally very good, but our services were needed to properly perform the...

We received a call this week from a customer who was concerned about piers that had been recently poured. There was concern over whether the rebar inside the piers had been placed correctly, or had perhaps shifted during the pour. The customer needed to know the depth of the horizontal rebar and the distance from each bar to the top of the pier. Because of concerns over who was at fault in the situation, another party had already had the piers scanned by their own GPR company, which will go unnamed. Keep reading to see how our results compared with the competitor’s results.

SOME PROBLEMS

1. The Age of the Concrete

The concrete was relatively fresh, only a few weeks old, so the concrete had very low GPR visibility. Concrete needs to age for about a year to achieve full GPR visibility, though decent visibility is achieved after a few months. Concrete that is less than a month old has very low visibility because some moisture is still trapped inside.

2. Surface irregularity.

The...

GPRS Inc. (Ground Penetrating Radar Systems) was contracted to perform GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) scanning to locate subsurface items on a pre-tension slab, Kahulului, Hawaii (Maui).

The GPRS Hawaii branch worked with a local general contractor and was asked to do some GPR scanning investigation on an elevated pre-tension slab in Kahulului, Hawaii (Maui). In the pre-tension structure it was essential for the general contractor to find the slab thickness, rebar (Top and Bottom Rebar), conduits and cables. GPRS LLC. was able to lay out all items in the desired location with depth on the pre-tension cables and as required by the general contractor’s engineering team. GPRS was able to provide all necessary information needed for the engineers. This information was then documented with photos and presented to the general contractor with a description of the scanned location.

Ground Penetrating Radar Systems' reliability and trusted accuracy in locating subsurface items is why GPRS was called upon for this work by the general contractor. GPRS arrived on site...

GPRS Inc. (Ground Penetrating Radar Systems) was contracted to perform GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) scanning and toning to locate underground utilities in Waikiki, Oahu Hawaii.

The GPRS Hawaii branch worked with a local contractor and was asked to locate underground storm drain and irrigation to saw cutting in Waikiki, Oahu Hawaii. In this area it was essential for the contractor to not damage the underground drain or irrigation lines that run through the desired saw cutting locations. GPRS Inc. was able to locate and mark these underground utilities onto the surface of the asphalt and concrete so that the excavation could be performed without damaging the drain or irrigation.

With Ground Penetrating Radar Systems' reliability and trusted accuracy in locating underground utilities on dozens of previous projects for this contractor, GPRS was immediately called upon for this work. GPRS arrived on site within 24 hours to perform the work the contractor required on short notice. GPRS used GPR and Toning equipment to locate any utility and marked directly on the...

A general contractor needed to locate utilities prior to excavating. The contractor knew there were multiple high voltage lines in the path of the proposed trenching line, as well as some grounding they didn’t want to disturb. The contractor was preparing to excavate approximately 200 linear feet within an electrical substation in State College, PA. The estimated depth of the trench was 36 inches. The client reached out to Ground Penetrating Radar Systems, whicho specializes in underground utility locating. Sam Hart, who covers the Central Pennsylvania area for GPRS, was the project manager on site who was able to assist the client with this project. He located the grounding grid which was approximately 18 inches deep. He was also able to locate multiple electrical conduits at various depths which originated at the Trenwa. These conduits branched out from the Trenwa to multiple structures in the substation. There was also a conduit to a light pole within the proposed trench line. He marked all findings on the surface as well as their depths for reference. The EM pipe...

GPRS Video Pipe Inspection can detect defects in pipes that can cause future problems. GPRS was recently called out to a job site for an inspection of pipes for a future construction project. The customer contacted GPRS VPI department to perform an inspection on over 5,000 linear feet of sewer pipes. The vpi robotic crawler was able to video and inspect over 25 pipe segments from manhole to manhole. The customer was provided videos, pictures, and reports for every pipe segment inspected. Performing video pipe inspections prior to construction work can prevent major issues or address any future concerns over pipe integrity.

Recently, Ground Penetrating Radar Systems (GPRS) was requested to perform a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) scan. A New York telecommunications contractor is planning on expanding a cell tower. The telecommunications contractor needed GPRS to locate any utilities that would be in the proposed expansion area. After performing the scan, the proposed expansion area had one unknown utility in the way.

As a supplement to GPR, we also used radio detection to help identify live power, communication and other utilities that may have a power signal on them. Once the utilities in the path were identified they were marked directly on the surface so the customer will know where the utilities are. After all the utilities were located on this project, the customer brought in a trencher to install drain tiles. Because GPRS was onsite to help identify any anomalies that may be present, the customer was able to trench on the site without striking any existing utilities that were present.

We used a GSSI Ground Penetrating Radar Unit with one specific antenna.

GPRS also...

Recently, Ground Penetrating Radar Systems (GPRS) was requested to perform a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) scan. An excavating company needed GRPS to locate any utilities in a 45’ by 45’ area on their site. After performing the utility locate, GPRS found two utilities in the proposed area (Water and Electric).

As a supplement to GPR, we also used radio detection to help identify live power, communication and other utilities that may have a power signal on them. Once the utilities in the path were identified they were marked directly on the surface so the customer will know where the utilities are. After all the utilities were located on this project, the customer was able to excavate and auger with confidence. They stated that because GPRS was onsite to help identify any anomalies that may be present, they were able to drill and excavate on the site without striking andy existing utilities that may be present.

Ground Penetrating Radar is a great tool for locating utilities on the site. GPRS uses multiple technologies on every site to ensure the accuracy of our...

Recently, Ground Penetrating Radar Systems (GPRS) was requested to perform a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) scan. A local construction company needed GPRS to locate in- floor heating. The project called for the construction company to add offices inside a local manufacturer’s facility. It is important to know where the in-floor heating is so that the wall anchors are properly placed so that it isn’t compromised.

As a supplement to GPR, we also used radio detection to help identify live power, communication and other utilities that may have a power signal on them. Once the utilities in the path were identified they were marked directly on the surface so the customer will know where the utilities are. Because GPRS was onsite to help identify any anomalies that may be present, the customer was able to anchor on the site without striking anyd existing utilities that may be present.

We used a GSSI Ground Penetrating Radar Unit with one specific antenna. For portions of this project involving concrete scanning, a 1600 MHz antenna was used with the GPR. This antenna allows...

Recently, Ground Penetrating Radar Systems (GPRS) was requested to perform a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) scan. A nationwide civil engineering company is planning on repaving a portion of a major retail store’s parking lot for their online grocery department. After performing the scan, three utilities were found (Electric, Water, and Sewer).

As a supplement to GPR, we also used radio detection to help identify live power, communication and other utilities that may have a power signal on them. Once the utilities in the area were identified they were marked directly on the surface so the customer will know where the utilities are. After all the utilities were located on this project, the customer was able to install the online grocery pick up parking spaces. Because GPRS was onsite to help identify any anomalies that may be present, the customer was able to repave without striking any existing utilities that may be present.

GPRS knows that you can’t simply use one piece of technology to find all that is below the surface. That is why on each project we complete we...

On October 18, 2019 Ground Penetrating Radar Systems (GPRS) was requested on site by a general contractor to perform a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey at an apartment complex in Cleveland, Ohio. The contractor needed to core several holes in the concrete. The concrete slab in this apartment complex was constructed with post tension cables. GPRS was able to lay out the pattern of both rebar and post tension cables in the concrete slab. By utilizing GPRS, the client was able to safely and confidently core through the floor and proceed with the project with no added expenses or delays. Before you saw cut or core drill, call GPRS to know what’s underground!

The pictures below show the rebar and post tension cables that GPRS located which enabled the client to avoid all obstructions while core drilling.

Ground Penetrating Radar Systems is the best way to ensure the locations of reinforcement and conduits prior to saw cutting/drilling through concrete. For more information on how GPRS, Inc. can help you on your next project, please contact Cory Kennedy at...

Ground Penetrating Radar Solutions - GPRS - of Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina was contacted by a general contractor to locate all reinforcement, beams, and conduits within an elevated concrete slab in order to core drill for missed plumbing and electrical sleeves within a new building near Duke University in Durham NC. Approximately 200 areas needed to be scanned due to missed sleeves during the original pour. In order to core drill the new holes, the general contractor needed to avoid all post tension, as requested by the project engineer. They also wanted to avoid all conduits and rebar to ensure safe drilling. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) was used to scan larger areas so that the contractor would have options on hole placement. Also, the findings are marked in real time so that the contractor could work directly with GPRS to solve problems and move the cores to clear locations. GPR found the slab to be approximately 6” thick post tension slab with a mat of rebar and conduits embedded. The Post Tension was found to be running in the beams in one direction and...

GPRS (Ground Penetrating Radar Systems, Inc.) was recently hired by a local contractor to scan for any utilities in an area where an existing slab would be removed and replaced. The contractor started excavating in the area before our scanning when they discovered a gas line running through the area they would be excavating in. Prior to our scanning, the contactor believed that this gas line ran in a different direction according to the site plans given to them from the building’s owners. Once we arrived, we walked the site with the onsite contact and discussed their plans for removing the existing slab as well as how deep they planned to excavate for the new slab. This was done in order to determine exactly what areas needed scanning and to get an idea of how deep we should scan for utilities. Upon completing the walk-through with the customer, we first used our EM Pipe Locator and walked the proposed area to get an idea of any live communication or electrical signals present within the areas to be scanned. Once we were ready to scan, we set-up and calibrated our 350MHz...

Ground Penetrating Radar Systems, LLC. of Minneapolis, MN was contacted by an electrical subcontractor to locate reinforcement and conduits in an elevated, post tension, concrete slab in Egan, MN. The customer was looking to core drill through the slab and did not wish to strike any power, post tension cables or under slab contents during the process. GPRS, Inc. arrived on site to supply the customer with concrete imaging without delay, providing the information needed and keeping the project on schedule. Our standard turnaround time for scheduling projects is twenty-four to forty-eight hours and we are often available to be on projects for same day service requests.

Ground Penetrating Radar was ideal for this site as it is an active new construction building in Egan with many people on site for the construction project working on different floors. GPR does not require the evacuation of the area as does traditional x-ray concrete imaging. GPR doesn’t emit any radiation and is completely safe to be around. Traditional xray is mostly done after hours; GPR can be done...

Ground Penetrating Radar Solutions - GPRS - of South Carolina was contacted by a general contractor to locate all reinforcement, beams, and conduits within an elevated concrete slab in order to core drill for electrical boxes for tables and desks within a building on the campus of Clemson University. The general contractor needed to avoid all reinforcement, as requested by the project engineer. They also wanted to avoid all conduits to ensure safe drilling. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) was used to scan larger areas so that the contractor would have options on hole placement. Also, our findings are marked in real time so that the contractor could work directly with GPRS to solve problems and move the cores to clear locations. GPR found the concrete slab to be an approximately 6” thick cast in place slab with conduits embedded. When performing the concrete scanning, we were able to mark out the reinforcement and give depths per the client request; we found reinforcement in both directions between 2.5’-3” deep. While using the radar we also found and marked out the beams...

A solar energy tech contractor was given the task of designing and installing a group of solar panels on a concrete dock of a water treatment plant in Washington DC overlooking the Potomac River. Structural columns and beams needed to be anchored into the concrete slab in order to support the solar panels on the water treatment dock. The locations on the concrete slab where the structural columns were set to be placed contained reinforcement steel (rebar) that needed to be avoided as much as possible when drilling for their column anchors. In order for the contractor to locate the reinforcement (rebar) placement within the slab, they needed to GPR scan / x-ray each precise location. Ground penetrating radar, or GPR, is a form of non-destructive testing which allows GPRS, Inc. to detect subsurface anomalies within the concrete slab. Once detected, GPRS can trace out, then mark out the layout of the reinforcement mat within the concrete slab so that the client could look to avoid as much rebar and/or conduits as possible when drilling and/or anchoring.

The solar energy...

Ground Penetrating Radar Solutions - GPRS - of South Carolina was contacted by a general contractor to locate any utilities within 5’ of a proposed sign at a Wal-Mart in Spartanburg, SC. A 10’ x 10’ area was marked out and all utilities in the area were located and marked out with spray paint to allow the contractor to have options on sign placement as well as for the potential of an additional sign in the area. Most people will just call 811 or “PUPS” and rely on their mark out to avoid any issues but GPRS will confirm any utilities in the area as well as look for any private or unknown utilities with much better accuracy, usually within 1’. In this particular area, an unknown utility was found crossing through the area, without a private utility locate this line likely would have been struck with unknown cost, lost time, and injury.

GPRS is able to mark any findings in real time so that the general contractor can work directly with GPRS to solve problems and move the sign to a clear location. The contractor was able to install the sign safely with no underground...

GPRS was contacted by a local engineering firm to scan a concrete slab in two adjacent rooms in a museum on campus at Stanford University, Palo Alto. Because they needed to know the location of each piece of rebar, every conduit, and each beam prior to renovation, GPRS was asked to scan every inch of the slab in each of the two rooms.

Because of the size of the project, as well as the quick turnaround needed for the scanning, GPRS was able to have two project managers onsite for three days each. Along the walls were bookshelves that could not be moved so GPRS was able to scan the slab from the basement below to ensure that everything in the slab was located, marked, and accounted for.

The wood floors in the rooms were going to be preserved so GPRS was instructed to make sure that the markings were temporary. Blue painters tape was used instead of a typical marker or crayon for the layout used on many construction sites that are scanned. Not only did this allow for removal once construction started, it made for a stunning visual effect upon completion that was...

At GPRS we often preach to all of our employees about the push to be the job site “problem solvers”, and we often step onto sites with an apparent problem that needs solving. Whether a trench needs to be dug, a core needs to be drilled, concrete needs to be cut, a pipe needs to be video inspected, or many other needs we can handle, GPRS always tries to have the answers. With the ability to solve problems all over we may “save the day” on several different occasions, but GPRS recently saved the day in a big way on a project in Southern California.

GPRS was called out by a reputable General contractor who was working on a large-scale job for a high- end client (Forbes top 150 business.) The job they were tasked with was to completely buildout two existing shell, multi- story buildings to allow the client to move into the space(s). The concrete in these buildings is reinforced with post tension, rebar, and conduit, which makes for a complicated task for any GPR scanning company. The GC decided to employ a company to perform the cutting/coring and...

In a sea of hardhats, GPRS is found at the caboose of this construction train. Although GPRS was in the back of this line, our work was surely not. GPR and EM locating is crucial and always a first step in any big project.

GPRS was contacted by a major pipeline company to conduct four- way utility sweeps around their pipeline near Davenport, IA. GPRS was able to locate all critical lines prior to the contractors’ work on this pipeline. All scanning conducted was implemented through our SIM process. Check out this link to learn more about our industry leading SIM training and processes!

GPRS was also able to provide the client with surface markings with depths of the structural steel as well as on site photos and a job summary report documenting any important information in regard to the scanning.

Our state of the art GSSI GPR equipment sends radio signals into concrete that send the data back instantly to locate objects. The radio waves are safe for workplaces so there is no need for any stop in work for...

GPRS of Kansas City was contracted by a client in Kansas City to locate underground utilities before the start of their project. Ground Penetrating Radar Systems, Inc. utilizes the Subsurface Investigation Methodology (SIM) to limit subsurface risks. SIM pairs electromagnetic induction with ground penetrating radar and a highly trained Project Manager who utilizes a specific standard operation procedure that maximizes the technologies at our disposal.

Ground penetrating radar is a great tool to use when searching for underground utilities, but it has its limitations. This is the reason why GPRS, Inc. uses electromagnetic induction. Electromagnetic induction allows the GPRS Project Manager to use a tracer wire to induce and trace a specific signal to locate utilities. This is a technology to use when attempting to locate a utility that’s too deep for the ground penetrating radar. The electromagnetic locator can passively detect live AC power or radio signals that are traveling along some conductive utilities. The EM locator can be used in conjunction with a transmitter to...

You may have watched the NFL draft from your home or favorite sports bar; hopefully you enjoyed it. It was quite a production throughout, but maybe even more amazing was the effort to set the stage for the event! There were thousands of crew members that helped to create the one of a kind stage and environment at the end of Broadway St. in downtown Nashville.

One of the crews that played a critical role in the success of the event was GPRS. GPRS was called to the project on a weekly basis to support operations by locating subsurface utilities throughout the work area and beyond. GPRS was utilized to provide utility locating prior to driving fence posts, tent anchors, support columns and placing temporary electrical, drainage and sewer lines. Throughout the weeks leading up to the NFL Draft event, GPRS located dozens of main utility lines including gas, electrical, water, sewer, storm and telecommunication. GPRS was also successful in locating a number of secondary and service lines. Having each of these utilities located ensured that the other personnel on site were safe...

Ground Penetrating Radar Systems, Inc. of Minneapolis, MN was contacted by an electrical subcontractor to locate reinforcement and conduits in an elevated, post tension, concrete slab in Minneapolis. The customer was looking to core drill through the slab and did not wish to strike any power, post tension cables or under slab contents during the process. GPRS, Inc. arrived on site to supply the customer with concrete imaging without delay, providing the information needed and keeping the project on schedule. Our standard turnaround time for scheduling projects is twenty-four to forty-eight hours and we are often available to be on projects for same day service requests.

Ground Penetrating Radar was ideal for this site as it is an active office building in Minneapolis with many people on site for the construction project as well as tenants on different floors. GPR does not require the evacuation of the area as does traditional x-ray concrete imaging. GPR doesn’t emit any radiation and is completely safe to be around. Traditional xray is mostly done after hours; GPR can...

Ground Penetrating Radar Systems, LLC. was contacted by an electrical contractor in Fargo, ND prior to drilling through an elevated concrete slab. The contractor was concerned about drilling through critical reinforcement and thus contacted GPRS to do concrete scanning using GPR (ground penetrating radar). This particular project involved the building of a 17-story building in downtown Fargo along with an adjacent parking ramp. This particular Fargo building had lots of different types of slabs with consduits, rebar and post-tension reinforcement in different areas. GPRS was able to perform the concrete scanning in a non-destructive and timely matter without interfering with the other work being done on site. While on site, GPRS was able to help out another Fargo plumbing contractor with locating rebar in a poured wall prior to core drilling. With the schedule and scope of this Fargo project being of highest importance, GPRS was able to have a project manager on site within 24-48 hours. By having project managers located near all major cities nationwide, GPRS is the industry...

GPRS was contacted by a local construction company to scan for suspect radiant heat tubing at a new Tesla facility near Chicago, Illinois. The contractor needed to find the heat tubing in order to safely remove the metal sheath around the existing vehicle lifts future building projects.

GPRS also scanned several areas for the electricians on site in order for them to safely dig a trench for new underground electric lines for the Tesla charging stations. GPRS was able to pair thermal imaging and GPR technologies in order to locate the heat tubing for a safer dig and saw cutting.

The thermal camera we use can detect changes in temperature as small as <0.1°C with accuracy with 2°C. When the system is heated near to or after the start of the project there is a contrast between the temperature of the tubing and the concrete slab.

“Time is a primary currency traded on any given construction project. At Ground Penetrating Radar Systems, our everyday efficiency in operations allows us to respond to the immediate needs of our customers, often within 24 hours or...

It’s no mystery that drilling for environmental samples comes with certain risks. Overhead power lines, above ground obstacles like crowded parking lots, and, perhaps most challenging of all, underground utilities.

Drillers, geotechs, and environmental firms alike know this particular challenge full well. Because of this, robust damage prevention plans are created in attempt to eliminate line strikes and other hazards associated with drilling for samples. Various best practices are considered, implemented, and refined as experience dictates.

GPRS does not provide geophysical, geological, land surveying or engineering services. If you need such services, please contact an appropriate professional. If you are interested in hearing more about how GPRS can help you on your next project, please call us at: 972-922-0223