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SUBSURFACE UTILITY ENGINEERINGA branch of engineering practice that manages certain risks associated with subsurface utilities by means of: utility mapping at appropriate quality levels, utility coordination, utility relocation design and coordination, utility condition assessment, communication of utility data, implementation of utility and accomidation policies. (American Society of Civil Engineers / Federal Highway Administration / So-Deep definition - Jan. 2000). A BRIEF HISTORY OF SUBSURFACE UTILITY ENGINEERING From an article titled -SUE Applies Engineering, Surveying and Geophysics to Damage Prevention,- Underground Focus Magazine, September, 1997: This issue is concentrating on subsurface utility engineering. As such, it is fitting that we take this space to talk about the origins and key developments, a history if you will, of this rapidly growing field of engineering. There are many contributions to the development of SUE. We have tried to touch on what we believe are significant events, people, and highlights. For those persons and/or firms not mentioned that may have contributed something significant, we offer our apologies up front. Henry "Garon" Stutzman is regarded as the "inventor" and prime force behind many of the ideas and concepts of subsurface utility engineering. Mr. Stutzman was working as relocation engineer for Washington Gas Light during the heyday of construction activity in the metropolitan Washington D.C. area in the 1970s. He became convinced that the traditional methods of dealing with utilities (which, despite the growing acceptance of SUE, have not changed all that much) were wasting the money of the rate payer and taxpayer (in other words, You and Me). He was aware of the advantages of air/vacuum systems for safe excavation and exposure of gas systems for anode emplacement. The spark of the idea that this safe excavation method could be used to gather data on the exact location of a utility during the design stage, coupled with his great energy, caused him to leave WGL and form So-Deep, Incorporated. In 1982, the County of Fairfax, Virginia entered into a contract with So-Deep for "Locating" (test holes). This was the nation's first instance of a governmental body entering into a task-order basis contract for locating of utilities. Finding utilities within an 8 inch window proved to be challenging in the old urban environment around Washington. More and more water and gas lines were made out of non-conductive materials and frequently multiple utilities were in close proximity to each other. About that time, there was a large cable TV build starting up in Fairfax County, Virginia. As part of Media General Cable's franchise agreement and agreement with Virginia Power (whose existing rights of way would be primarily utilized), Media General was responsible to ensure the protection of all existing utilities within that right of way. So-Deep, Inc. negotiated an agreement with Media General in 1983 whereby So-Deep would utilize appropriate surface geophysics to identify these utilities in advance of construction. This was before the practice of "joint locating" by utility owners became popular. Additionally, So-Deep would use their surface geophysics and their air/vacuum excavation for cable road bores. Jim joined So-Deep to manage this contract. Looking to expand these services, Garon approached the Virginia Department of Transportation in late 1983 with the concept of designating all the utilities on a highway project in the design stage so that designers could avoid them on paper when possible. J.C.Carr, State Utility Engineer for VDOT, saw the potential and allocated $10,000 for a trial project. The selected project was a massive road reconstruction in Crystal City, VA traversing the Pentagon and National Airport areas. Construction plans were already drawn, with utilities plotted from owner records and supposedly "certified" as correct by the utility companies. So-Deep designated the utilities during nighttime hours and a VDOT crew surveyed the designations and plotted them on the plans. There were vast differences from the utility owner certifications. So-Deep then performed approximately 100 test holes to prove their designations were accurate and to further identify the potential conflicts. On the record, VDOT stated to the Federal Highway Administration that over $1 million dollars in savings to the tax payer were realized. Off the record, the figure was $7 million or more. Based on the strength of these savings, VDOT initiated a contract with So-Deep to perform this work state-wide in early 1985. This became the first state subsurface utility engineering (although not yet called that, nor yet a professional service) contract in the nation. The scope of services for "designating" and "locating" are substantially unchanged over the years, and remain the basis for every state DOT SUE contract due to the promotion of So-Deep's scope by the FHWA. About this time, the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) entered into a contract with So-Deep to provide designating and locating services. WSSC realized that Maryland statutes dictated that the survey work associated with these services, when used by a public agency, must be "sealed" by a registered professional. This was the first instance of any portion of SUE work required to be endorsed by a registered professional. This requirement set the stage for future development of SUE as a professional service rather than a contractor service. The three necessary professions for subsurface utility engineering were now in place under one corporate roof: registered engineers, surveyors, and geologists. Other states such as Arizona, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Florida had trial projects performed by So-Deep and subsequently began the process of advertising state-wide or district contracts for designating and locating. Another big step in the development of the subsurface utility engineering profession came in 1986 when VDOT developed a contract with So-Deep to be their representative for utility relocation design and coordination for utility owners. This was the first time in Virginia that outside forces were deemed experienced enough in utility issues to act as the state�s agent in determining federal reimbursement and utility easement issues. Subsurface utility engineering now had components of designating, locating, and utility relocation design. So-Deep's senior management team realized that their creation needed a distinctive name and after much debate, decided that "SUBSURFACE UTILITY ENGINEERING" was apt and descriptive. This senior management team was to provide most of the innovations and developments of subsurface utility engineering in subsequent years. In 1989, this term was presented to the world at large at the first FHWA National Highway Utility Conference in Cleveland, Ohio. The FHWA quickly accepted this term and promoted its use thereafter. In 1989 came the first recognition by a court of competent jurisdiction that subsurface utility engineering services are professional services rather than contractor services. This came about when So-Deep challenged a state agency when they decided to procure these services on the basis of price rather than qualifications. It became obvious to the courts that information that was placed on plans that was to be relied upon by the public clearly fell into the professional services category. Furthermore, the statutes governing the practice of geology, land surveying, and engineering in the State of Virginia clearly were all involved in the collection and interpretation of data supplied by subsurface utility engineers. In 1990, So-Deep was asked to demonstrate various designating and locating techniques for a Department of Energy project at the Savannah River Site (SRS). The DOE's reliance solely upon records and GPR imaging was resulting in dangerous utility damages. Garon Stutzman was discussing nuclear safety concepts prior to the work at SRS and recognized parallels with utility issues. The four "utility quality levels" were developed and defined at this point. This concept was quick to catch on with briefings at DOE, DOD, DOT, and other federal and state agencies. The FHWA continued to collect data from state DOTs that suggested significant savings through the use of SUE. As a result, in 1994 they issued a request for proposals to generate additional educational and training materials and procurement guidelines for SUE. So-Deep was awarded this contract and developed the film "Subsurface Utility Engineering: A Proven Solution." This film, along with the longstanding efforts to present the concepts of SUE at engineering conferences, led to the American Society of Civil Engineers to establish a national standards activity regarding the responsibilities of engineers, project owners, and contractors for the collection and depiction of utility data on design and construction documents. (This is now published as ASCE/C-I 38-02). |
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