Private utility consulting framework
Scope, deliverables, and pricing for a SureTrace engagement. The same framework a single trench and a multi-site program retainer run off of — so the project team knows exactly what to expect from the first call through closeout.
Three phases, one coherent engagement
Every SureTrace engagement moves through the same three phases. Each phase has a defined outcome you can hold us to, and the activities below describe what is included.
- Review existing as-built records, prior locating reports, and any private utility documentation already on file.
- Interview site contacts, facility managers, and previous contractors about known and unknown private assets.
- Identify high-risk zones: building entries, utility corridors, recent excavations, and historically missed segments.
- Establish 811 vs private demarcation so the field team knows exactly where the public ticket stops.
- Deploy complementary geophysical methods (GPR, EML, RF/EM induction, sonde tracing) wherever signal conditions allow.
- Mark findings using APWA color code with private-line indicators so the marks are unambiguous on plan and in field.
- Survey mark-outs to project coordinate system with handheld GPS or RTK where accuracy matters.
- Record depth estimates, signal confidence, and assumptions for every point.
- Cross-check field findings against mark-out tickets, prior reports, and known utility owner records.
- Pothole or vacuum-excavate conflict points where horizontal accuracy is critical.
- Document assumptions, signal-strength notes, and limitations transparently.
- Hand off deliverable to client with a closeout briefing.
What you walk away with
Format and depth are confirmed in the scope-boundary agreement during pre-field preparation. Every closed engagement includes the deliverables below.
Field markings in APWA color code with private-line indicators; surveyed coordinates delivered in the project datum.
Per-utility narrative of methods used, signal confidence, depth estimates, and limitations — written so a non-locator can read it.
Clean cartographic deliverable overlaid on the project base map, callable in the field by phone or tablet.
Prioritized list of follow-up actions: where to pothole, where further geophysics is warranted, and what to require of subcontractors.
Live walk-through with the project team to confirm they understand the deliverables, the limitations, and the path forward.
Indicative starting pricing
Final pricing is set in the scope-boundary agreement before mobilization and depends on footprint, geophysical complexity, and access constraints. Get in touch for a tailored quote.
- Up to 0.5 acre footprint
- One geophysical method sweep
- Mark-out + survey
- One-page findings memo
- Up to 5 acre footprint
- Multi-method sweep (GPR + EML + RF)
- Mark-out, survey, and field report
- Findings map + recommendations memo
- Closeout briefing
- Up to 6 site visits per quarter
- Standard engagement deliverables each visit
- Quarterly program review
- Priority scheduling
Reach out about your next engagement
Send us a brief outline of the site and we'll come back with a scope and indicative pricing within two business days. Or hand the field team the printed checklist before they leave the truck.