ProStar strives to be an innovative leader in providing state-of-the-art solutions to prevent damages to buried utilities. ProStar’s new developments include excavation guidance systems, staking solutions, emergency response mapping system and RFID technologies.

“The ProStar systems offer a major step towards the goal of minimizing utility damage and facilitating utility database updates in terms of accuracy and accessibility. Accurate three-dimensional position information independent of local landmarks, real-time database updates and proximity warnings are important assets towards the goal of fewer injuries, deaths and property damage due to utility strikes.”

– Ray Sterling, Ph.D., P.E. Director, Trenchless Technology Center at Louisiana Tech University

Damage Prevention

In the US alone, more than 20 million excavations are performed annually and each new excavation or ground penetration operation risks conflicting with the more than 30 million miles of utilities already installed underground. When conflict and damage occurs, lights go out, gas leaks to the atmosphere, traffic flows are disrupted, property and environmental damage may occur, lives may be lost and an owner, agency or contractor is exposed to claims and litigation.

Currently, field systems for visualization, positioning, mapping and integration of underground utility data lack the necessary levels of precision required for damage prevention operations. At the heart of any effective damage prevention program is the timely communication of accurate information between all involved parties. The accurate display of buried utility location to excavators is the most critical component to effective damage prevention. For effective damage prevention decisions an integrated system supporting real time data distribution and 3-D display of the buried utilities relevant to equipment operator position is necessary to support accurate “dig or no dig” decisions.

ProStar Online proprietary systems and Microsoft infrastructure, including BizTalk, Sequel Server and Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) technologies is designed to support damage prevention solutions.

Excavation Guidance System

The ProStar EGS provides utility location information to a field operator or excavator in a real-time, moving map display of the surrounding utilities relevant to equipment positioning with a cab-mounted display. Excavation ”buffer-zones”, profiles and calculated dig areas are computed in real-time. The interactive GIS integration moving map display revolves around the user position and automatically performs zoom to the center of the user’s GPS map coordinate with the option to rotate the map based on the direction of travel. The system detects the encroaching utility and computes its distance and the ProStar EGS coordinate readings and visually displays the distance and asset attribute information to the locator and/or equipment operator. Configurable audible alarms may be interfaced to provide operator warnings. ProStar EGS running on any machine mounted or hand-held computing device provides the machine operator with superb position awareness which can be used for guiding the excavating operations.

Staking System

By law, the excavator must communicate information about planned excavations to the utilities that have underground facilities in the area. Utilities must in turn determine the exact locations of their underground facilities and communicate that information to the excavator to ensure facilities are not damaged during the excavation process. One-call centers and locators facilitate this process. The industry needs faster, more accurate and more efficient means of determining and communicating precise geospatial information for the vast number of excavations. ProStar software and data services will produce a dramatic reduction in the number of locate tickets issued to facility operators relative to the number of locate requests received from excavators. This will be achieved through substantial improvements in the quality and communication of utility location information and the reuse of that information for subsequent utility location requests. ProStar is currently developing the technologies to provide a better solution.

Utility Locate System

By law, the excavator must communicate information about planned excavations to the utilities that have underground facilities in the area. Utilities must in turn determine the exact locations of their underground facilities and communicate that information to the excavator to ensure facilities are not damaged during the excavation process. One-call centers and locators facilitate this process. The industry needs faster, more accurate and more efficient means of determining and communicating precise geospatial information for the vast number of excavations. ProStar software and data services will produce a dramatic reduction in the number of locate tickets issued to facility operators relative to the number of locate requests received from excavators. This will be achieved through substantial improvements in the quality and communication of utility location information and the reuse of that information for subsequent utility location requests. ProStar is currently developing the technologies to provide a better and more accurate solution.

RFID

ProStar has engaged in a relationship with UtilyStar, LLP to create an asset management and damage prevention solution integrating RFID with its ProStar Online data management system. This will be provided through cataloging utility information in a chip attached to buried assets and then transmitting and displaying the information using web services with ProStar Online. RFID will improve on current asset management methods and assist any professional involved in damage prevention and management of utility assets.

The UtilyStar solution embraces advanced RFID technologies and ProStar web based data management technologies. UtilyStar has partnered with Odin Technologies the leader in RFID technology services to develop this comprehensive and systematic solution that addresses the needs of a better and more accurate utility asset management as well as damage prevention using RFID. Since 2002, ODIN has deployed the largest and most sophisticated RFID systems in the world and wrote RFID for Dummies.

For more information on the UtilyStar, LLP and RFID technology contact Layne Tucker.

*ODIN was top rated service provider focused solely on RFID in a survey conducted by RFID Update.