Many institutions and property owners now required this type of assurance. The resulting success of vacuuming out prior to drilling services is a very cost effective method to protect facilities. In 1994, Boston's Logan Airport suffered numerous utility breakages attributed to out-dated records during drilling contracts. Baystate Subsurface Investigation developed vacuum excavation programs whereby the airport no longer has to close portions of the airport during subsurface investigations, and airlines no longer have to move aircraft back from the gates to accommodate environmental and geometrical analysis work. Since the inception of this program, no utility damage has occurred during drilling services and there has been no loss of revenues or schedule delays to the airlines.
Vacuum excavation can provide similar success for any drilling project.
Breaking bad habits can be difficult and classroom instruction will never replace field experience. However, in any type of construction or directional drilling, location and accurate documentation of underground facilities is a must. Currently, many One Call and damage prevention laws and numerous construction associations endorse vacuum excavation as one of the safest methods for exposing utilities. Yet, too often, accidents occur and utilities are damaged due to engineers designing projects without a utility investigation. Admittedly, it is not easy for contractors to bid and be very successful in such a competitive and growing marketplace.