Comparison
Four ways to know what is below.
811 marks, a GPR survey, radar in the excavator bucket, and verification at the dig point. They answer different questions, and a crew needs more than one.
| 811 marks | GPR / SUE survey | In-bucket radar | Dig-point verification GroundScope GSX1000 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who runs it | The utility owners' locators | A locating specialist or SUE firm | An excavator operator from the cab | The crew, anyone on it |
| When | Days before the dig | Days or weeks before, by appointment | During digging | Seconds before, and again at each lift |
| What it is based on | The owners' records and traceable signals | A site scan, interpreted by the specialist | Radar in the bucket, reading as it digs | A radar scan of the exact dig point, read by software |
| Non-metallic pipe | Only with tracer wire | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Private and abandoned lines | Usually not marked | If within the surveyed area | If in the bucket's path | If under the scan path |
| Depth in clay and wet ground | Not applicable | Limited from the surface | Reads just ahead of the bucket | Limited from the surface; unlimited with progressive scanning from the trench |
| Training required | None for the excavator | Certified specialist | Operator training | About ten minutes |
| Cost per check | Free | Hundreds to thousands per visit | Per excavator, fitted to the machine | Seconds of crew time |
| Record left | Marks on the ground, a ticket number | A report or map | Alerts in the cab | A stored scan with position, time, operator and detections |
| Replaces the others? | No | No | No | No. It confirms them, or catches what they missed. |
In-bucket radar is a category of product offered by other manufacturers; the description here is general.