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

  • Life DYNAMAP: real-time mapping of road infrastructure noise
    October 15, 2015
    The world’s best road infrastructure project can also have the world’s worst traffic noise problem. But where to start defeating this noise pollution? Road traffic noise is one of the most obvious aspects affecting the quality of life in urban areas. To combat this, local, national and international authorities have developed initiatives to avoid, prevent or reduce exposure to noise. One of these initiatives – Life DYNAMAP – is underway by a group of researchers in Germany, Spain and Italy. The project is f
  • Airport preparation through compaction
    April 12, 2018
    Two major airport projects around the world are being constructed on poor ground and have required extensive compaction - Mike Woof writes With air travel continuing to increase around the world, airport capacity is being upgraded in many major cities. Two of the world’s largest mega cities, Beijing and Istanbul, are constructing new airports to cope with growing demand. This is because the existing facilities are simply unable to cope with projected growth for aviation and some of the airports are alrea
  • Are drones homing in on road construction?
    August 4, 2015
    It may be early days for using drones – unmanned aerial systems (UAS) -- to map construction sites, but technology and legislation are moving in that direction. At the moment drones can fly within only a 500m radius of the ‘pilot’ standing on the ground, making the flight area a 1km diameter. This is the key limiting issue for any sector, especially road construction, says Jonathan Gill, a robotics engineer and a qualified drone pilot for the past seven years. The logic is that a drone remains withi
  • Bentley’s point cloud innovation for information modelling in road design
    August 22, 2013
    Latest software packages from Bentley Systems will help optimise project design and construction efficiency – Mike Woof reports Software systems have come a long way in helping optimise construction projects from design through construction to delivery. And the latest software from Bentley Systems offers additional capabilities for road design applications. Bentley Systems is offering the V8i (SELECTseries 3) versions of its InRoads, GEOPAK, and MXROAD products. All of the products now share the