Frequently Asked Questions
What is subsurface utility engineering?
Subsurface utility engineering, also known as SUE, is an engineering practice that manages the risks associated with underground utilities. Using a variety of nondestructive geophysical investigating techniques, licensed surveyors and engineers verify the existence, condition and exact location of underground utilities. This information is recorded in a retrievable format, often in the form of digital mapping compatible for GIS database use.
Why should I use SUE?
SUE has been credited with creating safer job sites, reducing utility conflicts and relocations, curbing project delays, minimizing traffic disruption and decreasing right-of-way acquisition costs. For every dollar spent on SUE, $4.62 is saved in construction costs, according to an independent study sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration and published by Purdue University. The study also documented that the cost of SUE services is typically less than one-half of one percent of the total construction cost.
An article in the March/April 2004 edition of ASCE’s Journal of Construction Engineering and Management noted that “the cost-benefit analysis, based on 71 actual construction projects where SUE was employed, revealed that more than ten times the funds invested in the SUE services were returned to project owners.” The highest cost savings factor was the reduced number of utility relocations.
Information gained from utilizing SUE can be used during both design and construction. When designers know where utilities are located, they can plan accordingly by siting structures to avoid the need for utility relocation. Contractors who have complete utility information upfront are less likely to damage utilities during construction.
What kinds of projects are best for SUE?
SUE is appropriate for any project in which verification of the existence, condition and location of underground utilities is needed. Clients include federal, state and local governments; design consultants; DOTs; utility providers, etc.
What SUE services does McKim & Creed provide?
McKim & Creed provides all four quality levels of SUE, which include:
- Quality Level D – Record information verification
- Quality Level C – Record information correlation
- Quality Level B – Utility detection and mapping
- Quality Level A – Utility exposure and precise location
Other SUE services include data collection, utility inspection, electromagnetic detection, ground-penetrating radar, computer processing and map development.
Working with our SUE specialists, McKim & Creed’s award-winning team of engineers and surveyors can collect data and design infrastructure systems that cause minimal disruptions with maximum safety considerations.
Together, subsurface utility engineering, surveying and engineering professionals can help you stage construction that will reduce negative and costly impacts and eliminate many unknowns. The result is a better-engineered project that minimizes the likelihood of damage, improves safety and saves you money.
