Skip to main content

Quicker ground surveys with GPR

MK Surveys, based in Milton Keynes, is now using an advanced, portable ground penetrating radar (GPR) system. The purchase of Opera Duo, the latest innovation for utility location and mapping by market leaders IDS, further strengthens MK Surveys’ capability in this expanding market.
September 11, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
The versatile GPR unit from IDS offers accurate and quick ground surveys

MK Surveys, based in Milton Keynes, is now using an advanced, portable ground penetrating radar (GPR) system.

The purchase of Opera Duo, the latest innovation for utility location and mapping by market leaders IDS, further strengthens MK Surveys’ capability in this expanding market.

The Opera Duo is designed and engineered for easier and faster collection of deep and shallow depth data, over all terrain, and with the facility for the operator to generate detailed onsite reports.

As early adopters of the original IDS Detector Duo in 2007, MK Surveys has moved again to acquire the latest equipment from the Italian manufacturer of GPR systems.  The acquisition of innovative GPR equipment on release has helped MK Surveys steadily expand its utility services and increase its staffing levels accordingly. A utility department which started with one surveyor and a single unit now employs eight, plus two trainees, with a fleet of Detector Duo GPR units that are in daily use.  

David Rust, Director at MK Surveys commented, “The market has grown steadily since 2007 and now utility surveys are a consideration on virtually all construction projects, for very good reasons. Contractors need to know where the utilities are before breaking ground in order to avoid costly and potentially dangerous mistakes.

Drilline Products have been active in the creation of a GPR Masterclass run by the University of Greenwich. The inaugural course, specifically designed for GPR operators, took place during April 2014 and future courses are due to run every two months. Drilline Products is a leading UK supplier of GPR systems to the surveying and structural investigation sector and is the UK dealer for IDS and American supplier Radius.

Related Content

  • DenimoTech focuses on today's challenges
    November 27, 2012
    Empty environmental commitments from governments, falling bitumen quality and the impact of the economic crisis - DenimoTech asked some of its global distributors about the challenges of today’s markets - Kristina Smith was there to listen in Competition from Chinese manufacturers; highways abandoned half-built; the worst year for road building in the last 20 years. These are challenging times for DenimoTech’s distributors whose goal is to sell the firm’s bitumen emulsion and polymer modified bitumen plants
  • Chinese construction equipment manufacturers increasing export focus
    December 2, 2013
    Chinese firms are growing their expertise in terms of products and international sales – Mike Woof reports China’s major off-highway construction equipment manufacturers have grown in a relatively short period and now number amongst the largest players in the sector. Some of the key firms are looking to boost exports and are providing tough competition, particularly in the emergent markets. Best known for its wheeled loaders, LiuGong has been developing its excavator range, with production of the E
  • British Tunnelling Society conference: digging deep for data
    December 13, 2016
    Tunnelling innovation is creating mountains of data for contractors and designers, delegates to a recent British Tunnelling Society (BTS) conference heard Successful innovation in tunnelling techniques and technologies is creating more and more data, thanks to digitalisation.
  • Data sharing boosts workzone safety
    March 19, 2012
    Faster and safer utilities works are the benefit of innovative data sharing moves – Mike Woof writes. Utilities works in urban areas can cause major problems with regard to traffic congestion, as well as posing key safety issues for road users and site workers. Better planning of utilities operations can help tackle congestion and prevent jams, while also ensuring that on-site personnel have a safer working environment. To ensure that site workers know the exact location of buried utilities, comprehensive m