CSA Standards has just published CSA S250 Mapping of Underground Utility Infrastructure. This new standard has its origins from long established mapping best practices and internal utility company mapping standards. It has been developed by a committee of nationwide industry subject matter experts, regulators, general interest and user groups, all with a vested interest in improving the overall quality and consistency of mapping and records information.
Until recently, accurately identifying and recording the positional location of utility infrastructure was not formally required nor was it carried out in a consistent manner. Today, there are thousands of kilometres of underground pipes and cables whose locations have never been accurately mapped or recorded.
One of the key benefits of CSA S250 will be improved accuracy and reliability and more confidence in the location and properties of underground infrastructure. This Standard also promotes better record keeping that will improve the safety of company and contractor employees, the environment, as well as the public by reducing the utility hits or strikes. The Standard establishes accuracy levels that set tolerances for the spatial accuracy of as-builts. It also specifies the utility attributes (e.g. colours, naming conventions, symbology) to be used for describing and depicting underground utility infrastructure. The goal is to encourage consistency when data is shared and reviewed. The standard also requires a more structured approach and governance to mapping utility records by establishing procedures for improved mapping accuracy and a uniform format for utility feature descriptions, as well as processes for notification of mapping errors and practices when sharing data.
CSA S250 can be purchased at www.shopCSA.ca.
