SNC-Lavalin Group member, Atkins has been appointed by the Geospatial Commission to create a digital map of underground pipes and cables which will ‘revolutionise’ construction and development across the country
The National Underground Asset Register forms part of the government’s efforts to build back better, greener, and accelerate the delivery of infrastructure projects from design to build.
Fast and secure data access will save utilities companies and local authorities time and money, alongside improving efficiencies in construction and development, reducing disruption, and enhancing worker safety.
Working alongside UK mapping agency Ordnance Survey and geospatial data leader 1Spatial, Atkins will deliver the build phase of the project to create a ground-breaking nationwide geospatial platform.
The platform will view all underground asset data and help to tackle the £2.4bn in lost value to the economy each year from accidental utility strikes.
‘Unlocking improvements in safety, certainty and efficiency’
Guy Ledger, digital director at Atkins, said: “By harnessing technology to enable data sharing, we’re able to transform how we deliver projects and infrastructure by unlocking improvements in safety, certainty and efficiency
“We now look forward to working with the Geospatial Commission and partners to develop the National Underground Asset Register – a truly exciting and transformative project for the infrastructure sector.”
The digital underground utilities map will be built over the next three years and starts in the North East of England, Wales and London.
It adds to Atkins’ portfolio of digitally-driven planning solutions, including the London Planning Data Hub – a real-time planning data service which is accessible to the public.
