SureTrace private utility consulting framework
Reusable engagement definition: scope, deliverables, and pricing.
Document header
Scope of work
A SureTrace engagement moves through three phases. The activities below describe what is included in each phase, and the outcome the project team can expect to see when the phase closes.
Pre-field intelligence
Outcome: A defensible project plan before boots hit the site.
Activities:
- 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.
Field detection sweep
Outcome: Ground-truthed private utility data on the ground.
Activities:
- 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.
Diligence + verification
Outcome: A delivery the project team can act on without surprises.
Activities:
- 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.
Deliverables
Every closed engagement includes the deliverables below. Format and depth are confirmed in the scope boundary check during pre-field preparation.
Marked and surveyed site
Field markings in APWA color code with private-line indicators; surveyed coordinates delivered in the project datum.
Format: On-site + GeoJSON / KMZ / shapefile
Field report
Per-utility narrative of methods used, signal confidence, depth estimates, and limitations — written so a non-locator can read it.
Format: PDF with appended coordinates
Findings map
Clean cartographic deliverable overlaid on the project base map, callable in the field by phone or tablet.
Format: PDF + interactive KMZ
Recommendations memo
Prioritized list of follow-up actions: where to pothole, where further geophysics is warranted, and what to require of subcontractors.
Format: PDF, 1–3 pages
Closeout briefing
Live walk-through with the project team to confirm they understand the deliverables, the limitations, and the path forward.
Format: 30–60 min, in-person or remote
Pricing
Indicative starting pricing. Final pricing is set in the scope-boundary agreement before mobilization and depends on footprint, geophysical complexity, and access constraints.
| Tier | Best for | Starting at | Includes |
|---|
| Targeted scope |
Single trench, single building, or known corridor. |
$1,800
per site visit |
- Up to 0.5 acre footprint
- One geophysical method sweep
- Mark-out + survey
- One-page findings memo
|
| Standard engagement |
Pre-construction survey for a typical commercial or institutional site. |
$4,500
per site |
- Up to 5 acre footprint
- Multi-method sweep (GPR + EML + RF)
- Mark-out, survey, and field report
- Findings map + recommendations memo
- Closeout briefing
|
| Program retainer |
Owners with rolling capital work across multiple sites per year. |
$12,000
per quarter |
- Up to 6 site visits per quarter
- Standard engagement deliverables each visit
- Quarterly program review
- Priority scheduling
|
Field-tech assessment checklist
Use this checklist on every engagement. Items are confirmed before the field team leaves the site.
1. Pre-field preparation
Before the GPR or EML comes out of the truck.
- Existing utility records reviewed — As-builts, prior locate reports, facility maps imported or printed for the truck.
- Site interviews logged — Facility contact, prior contractors, anyone with historical context.
- 811 ticket status confirmed — Public utilities are a separate scope — verify the ticket is clear or expired before private work begins.
- Scope boundary agreed in writing — Footprint, depth-of-interest, accuracy tolerance, and exclusions confirmed with the client before mobilizing.
- Site hazards walked — Overhead lines, confined spaces, traffic plan, biological / chemical, lone-worker check.
2. Geophysical sweep (GPR / EML / RF)
On the ground, working systematically across the footprint.
- GPR grid spacing matched to target size — 0.5 m for thin utilities, 1.0 m for larger targets; tighter where obstructions pull anomalies.
- Active EML applied where conductors exist — Direct-connect or clamp where accessible; inductive only as fallback.
- Passive RF / broadcast-tuned — Sweep for live power, CATV, telecom — distinguish from induced or rerouted signals.
- Known target QC passed — At least one known utility located on site as a sanity check before reading anomalies.
- Anomalies logged with confidence rating — High / medium / low — every anomaly gets a coordinate and a reason for the rating.
3. Mark-out + survey
Translating detection into something the project team can use.
- APWA color code + private-line indicator used — Paint, flags, or whiskers per condition; “P” or dashed pattern for private lines.
- Survey tied to project control — Handheld GPS, RTK, or total station per the agreed coordinate system and accuracy tolerance.
- Depth annotations recorded — Numerical or categorical (shallow / medium / deep) — whichever the project team agreed to.
- As-found sketch retained — Pencil / tablet sketch of field conditions captured before leaving the site.
4. 811 vs private demarcation
Closing the gap between public-ticket obligations and private findings.
- Public utility response physically verified — Do not assume the 811 locator has marked everything; walk the marks before cross-referencing with private findings.
- Private utilities flagged distinctly — Different paint, flag color, or symbol — anything that prevents a sub from confusing them with the public ticket.
- Coverage gap noted on the deliverable — Any zone between the public-ticket marks and the private sweep edge is called out, not implied.
5. Deliverables confirmation
Closing the engagement cleanly.
- Field report drafted before leaving site — Notes from the truck, not a reconstruction three days later.
- Recommendations memo reviewed — Pothole list, follow-up geos, subcontractor requirements — drafted while the site is fresh.
- Hand-off briefing scheduled — Date, attendees, agenda confirmed with the client before the report goes out.