Locating and surveying
Cable and pipe utility asset records for GIS in Austria and southern Germany
A mark on the road lasts until the next rain. A utility asset record lasts as long as the network stands. We survey in the located cable and pipe routes, give them attributes and hand them over in the format your geographic information system works with – wherever the as-built records are incomplete or missing altogether. Because the survey equipment and the evaluation carry the journey, we travel beyond the region for this work: throughout Austria and into southern Germany.
What we do on site
We record and map the existing assets and hand them over in the target formats, converted for the interface of your GIS. For every object we record whether it was surveyed in, located or taken from an old plan. Undocumented existing assets are located beforehand with cable locating, sonde and ground-penetrating radar. The build-up can be carried out section by section and continued with every construction measure.
Key facts at a glance
| Methods | Electromagnetic cable and pipe locating, ground penetrating radar (GPR), sonde location, GPS-based survey, optical survey with a total station, attribution and data model, data conversion for GIS interfaces |
|---|---|
| Application range | Supply and municipal networks, industrial sites, properties, sections of route |
| Duration | One day to several days, depending on the scope of the job |
| Result format | .shp, .gpkg, .dxf, .pdf, documentation as required |
| Service area | The whole of Austria from the head office in Traiskirchen, plus southern Germany – Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg – via CFT Group Deutschland GmbH, Lange Zeile 27, D-85435 Erding |
For you as a business
Utilities, municipal utilities, local authorities and industrial operators face the same task: the network has grown over decades, the documentation has not. We record it and hand it over in the target formats, converted for the interface of your system – so that the handover is not a rebuild. The record can be built up section by section and updated with every construction project.
How the job runs
1. Reviewing the existing data. You gather together what exists: paper plans, old extracts, existing GIS data. We clarify the target system, the interface and the attribute schema. You can reach us in Austria on +43 (0) 2252 53169, in Germany on +49 (0) 173 6842932, Monday to Thursday 8:00–16:30, Friday 8:00–12:00.
2. Locating. The routes are recorded and marked on site. If the area is completely unknown, an area-wide investigation comes first.
3. Surveying in. Every marked point is given coordinates; manholes, gate valves, distribution cabinets and plant are photographed and assigned to the objects.
4. Processing and handover. We build up the geometry, convert it into the target formats and hand it over.
Equipment and methods
Locating the existing network
Before anything can be surveyed in, it has to be found: services that will carry a signal – cables, metallic pipes, services with a tracer wire – are followed from the surface by electromagnetic locating. Locatable sondes go into plastic pipes, and whatever carries no signal at all is read by ground penetrating radar from the differences in density of the ground. That also makes recordable the assets of which neither a plan nor a recollection has survived.
GPS-based survey
A GNSS receiver on the survey pole determines the position of every located point from satellite signals, corrected via a reference correction service. In open ground this is the fastest method. Its limit is the clear sky: between the walls of a building, under dense tree canopies, in narrow street canyons or under bridges the accuracy breaks down.
Optical survey with a total station
Where GNSS fails, the total station measures direction and distance from a known station. It is independent of satellites and also works inside buildings and beneath overhead structures. It requires a clear line of sight to the target and control points through which the survey is tied to the coordinate reference system.
Attribution and data model
A line on its own is not yet a utility asset record. Every object carries the medium, the material, the dimension and, above all, the origin of the information: surveyed in, located or taken from an old plan. That distinction later decides how far the line on the plan can be trusted.
Data conversion and GIS interfaces
The handover is made as .gpkg or .shp for the GIS, as .dxf for CAD and as .pdf for everyone without system access. The formats are not equivalent: .shp limits attribute names to ten characters, .dxf carries the drawing and its layers but no attribute data – which format is the leading one we establish with your target system.
What you receive
The data set in the agreed target formats .shp, .gpkg, .dxf and .pdf, the accompanying documentation and, on request, route and service drawings. With those you can plan construction work, answer enquiries and narrow down faults without searching the archive.
Costs and effort
We give neither a figure nor a guide price, because the length of route, the depth of recording, the range of attributes and the target format determine the effort involved; we agree the cost range by telephone before the work starts. Trace and access cover under buildings insurance concerns leak detection after an escape of water and does not apply here.
The re-survey is part of the scope of work. If a later excavation shows that a route we surveyed in is not correct, we re-survey free of charge and correct the data set. If our measurement was correct and the digging was simply done beside it or not deep enough, we charge for the call-out, because in that case there is no measurement error on our part. The same rule applies to our cable fault location, cable locating and pipe locating.
Frequently asked questions
In which formats do we receive the data?
As standard, as .shp, .gpkg, .dxf and .pdf. Which format is the leading one we establish with your target system, so that the import works without rebuilding anything.
Which coordinate reference system is the data delivered in?
In the coordinate reference system of your existing data, so that the new data fits in exactly.
What applies if there is nothing at the surveyed-in position?
Then we re-survey; that is part of the scope of work. If our measurement was wrong, the re-survey costs nothing, and we correct the data set. If our measurement was correct and the search was simply not precise enough or the digging not deep enough, we charge for the call-out, because in that case there is no measurement error on our part.
Can we build up the utility asset record section by section?
Yes. The recording can be divided by district, by street or by network section and updated with every construction project. The structure and the formats stay the same throughout, otherwise the parts will not fit together in the end.
Do you also take over existing old plans?
Yes, as a data source. We mark content taken over as taken over, however, and not as measured. What comes from an old plan has a different reliability from a surveyed-in point, and that has to remain visible in the data set.
Related services
Network locating and cable identification
The field work from which the geometry of the utility asset record comes.
Site utility clearance survey
When whole areas are investigated before as-built records are made from them.
CCTV drainage survey
When the condition inside the pipe is to be documented alongside the route.
Describe the findings.
The more precisely you describe the findings, the more directly we can go to work. Plans, readings and photos help us settle the method in advance.
What happens next
- We read your message and match the case to a method.
- We come back to you – usually with a question that shortens the appointment.
- We confirm the appointment and what it costs before anyone sets off.
Rather talk?
+43 (0) 2252 53169
Mon–Thu 8:00–16:30 · Fri 8:00–12:00
Describe your case.
Fastest by telephone – then we settle straight away which method fits and what you should prepare.
Outside office hours, write to office@cft.at.