February 18, 2005

Internet Resources

By Korky Koroluk

Technology worth watching

In many ways, journalists are singularly privileged people.

We often get a front-row seat at important events. We get to meet interesting people. And, if one is interested in technology, it’s wonderful to be able to watch technologies evolve.

It’s even more fascinating to watch different technologies come together to form the toolkit for a whole new engineering subdiscipline.

That’s what happened when new pipe and cable locators came into use, when ground-penetrating radar was developed, when vacuum excavation systems were invented, when these and other technologies got tossed into the toolbox and became the instruments used by engineers practicing subsurface engineering, or SUE.

Some of the components of the SUE toolkit have been around for several years, but the discipline itself is really pretty new — new enough that people in various construction sectors are still being introduced to it.

I was able to get such an introduction recently thanks to the friendly folks at the Ontario Sewer and Watermain Construction Association, and the group’s executive director, Sam Morra.

A seminar on SUE was one of the highlights of the group’s recent annual meeting in Ottawa. It was presented by Lawrence Arcand, SUE manager for the consortium of TSH/TBE Subsurface Utility Engineers, of Whitby, just east of Toronto.

Arcand was explaining to his audience just what SUE is, and how it can help them. There was plenty of discussion. The audience, after all, was made up of people who, from time to time, find nasty little underground surprises waiting for them as they go about their work.

So it’s important for them to know exactly what lies in the path of their excavations, and how deep it is. SUE can tell them that. But it’s important to many others as well. People building streets come to mind. So do people excavating for foundations.

There was so much discussion at Arcand’s seminar that time ran out before he could show the audience any of the case studies he had ready. Too bad.

When I got back to my office, I went on to his company’s website and found six or eight case studies that are really effective in explaining the advantages of SUE for anyone who designs underground facilities or who builds them. If you’re interested, go to www.tshtbe.ca then click on Case Studies.

Arcand mentioned that people can download a standard (ASCE 38-02) published by the American Society of Civil Engineers. It lays out guidelines for the collection and depiction of subsurface utility data. He didn’t mention, though, where to find the download site.

Start from the TSH/TBE home page then click on Resources, then ASCE Standard 38-02. That will take you to a publications page and on from there to a download site. It will cost you $44 (U.S.) to download the standard as a PDF.

Speaking of technology that has come of age, I was delighted to hear, just a couple of days after Arcand’s presentation, that PCL Constructors Canada has hooked up with a little outfit called Innovative Water and Sewer Systems Inc., which has been struggling for years to get its proprietary, small-bore sewer system accepted in the Canadian marketplace.

Progress had been made, but it was slow. Now, though, partnering with a giant like PCL in the marketing, design and construction of small-bore systems, has given the technology instant credibility — especially among municipal engineers who had proven themselves slow to adopt it.

If you want to know more about small-bore sewers and how they work, visit IWSSI’s website at www.iws si.com.

The site also has an interesting case study consisting of a cost comparison of a small-bore system installed near London, Ont., and the estimated cost of a conventional system.

You’re always welcome to comment on anything you see in this column, or suggest topics for discussion. You can reach me at korkykoroluk@rogers.com.

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