ABOUT US

Our company was established in 2018 by a small team of expert and experienced subsurface investigators. Our team brought our combined 40 years of experience, our desire to provide services to our communities, and our vision to improve the industry with first-rate customer service to the table to build the brand that is now known as Prime Locate.

We have proudly provided a broad range of innovative and effective underground detection services to Perth-based clients and throughout the whole of Western Australia. Our services minimize any risks that one might encounter when breaking ground on any number of job sites, whether they are big or small, commercial, private, or environmental.

WHAT WE DO

Prime Locate specialises in locating and mapping underground assets and infrastructure.

There is a vast network of critical underground assets, such as power cables, water mains &
fibre optic, that is owned by the numerous utility providers throughout Australia. Prime Locate helps to identify and detect these assets which cannot be seen as they are buried below ground. Knowing which assets exist below the subsurface can reduce the many risks involved in breaking ground on a new project.

We use state of the art equipment such as electromagnetic devices (EMF) along with ground
penetrating radar (GPR). The use of these devices allow us to pinpoint the location subsurface utilities, which helps to reduce the downtime of our client’s projects.

Our EMF equipment can be used to detect conductive materials (such as copper cables & steel pipes) . The frequencies induced by this equipment help us to track and pinpoint the exact proximity of cables, pipes and other underground assets on your project. The use of ground penetrating radar (GPR) will determine the location of non-conductive assets (such as PVC). We can identify water mains, high-pressure gas lines, or buried pits along with smaller services like property feeds and private pipework. When using a combination of both EMF and GPR, we are able to achieve high quality results on a range of projects. When necessary, we can also confirm results by the use of vacuum excavation (potholing).

Prime Locate can guarantee a quality service, quick response and a direct approach to our client’s needs. All services will result in an expertly itemised report or service plan. We have a clear understanding of the importance of project deadlines whilst also ensuring the safety of all involved.  

WHAT IS DIAL BEFORE YOU DIG?

Dial Before You Dig is a Not for Profit organisation that delivers a vital national community service designed to assist in preventing damage and disruption to Australia’s vast infrastructure networks which provide essential services we use every day. Protecting Australia’s infrastructure assets is crucial in keeping essential services such as electricity, gas, water and telecommunications flowing to the community.

Any project, irrespective of size, has the potential to damage assets located around the work site, leading to service interruptions, delays, costly repairs and in the worst-case scenario, injury or death. Obtaining information from Dial Before You Dig Members significantly minimises these risks by providing information about the work site. Safety is a fundamental aspect of any excavation project and so Dial Before You Dig should always be the first point of contact: The Essential First Step.

Where to lodge an enquiry?

Online via the website: 1100.com.au

Duty of care information: https://www.1100.com.au/safety-information/duty-of-care/

Australian DBYD Standards: https://www.1100.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/ASSETS1.pdf 

COMPARING QUALITY LEVELS

AS5488 – 2013 Quality Levels 

There are four utility locating accuracy levels, which are defined as ‘Quality Levels’ in AS5488 – 2013. These range from ‘D’ being the lowest, to ‘A’ being the highest and most accurate. 

To minimise the risk of damaging buried assets, all sub-surface measurements where shown in design or construction should have an AS5488 Quality Level defined and recorded. 

Any plans and information provided by DBYD Certified Locators following a location should indicate the Quality Level classification details of the asset locations undertaken. The default Quality Level for subsurface information without a Quality Level specified is ‘D’. Many Dial Before You Dig Asset Owner Members do not specify an AS5488 – 2013 Quality Level, therefore the default value of QL-D should apply.

 To avoid damaging buried assets when excavating the subsurface information relating to the location must be to Quality Level ‘A’.

 See below for a guide on interpreting the Quality Levels described in AS5488 – 2013. 

For full details refer to AS5488 – 2013, which is available for purchase from Standards Australia.  

QUALITY LEVEL D

(least accurate level and if used on its own has a high risk of damage)
QL-D information is generally obtained from existing records provided by utilities as a result of a Dial Before You Dig enquiry being lodged. In many cases the asset depicted on the plan is in a schematic format only and intended only to indicate its presence. 

QUALITY LEVEL C

(low accuracy and a high risk of damage)
Is described as a surface feature correlation or an interpretation of the approximate location and attributes of a subsurface utility asset using a combination of existing records and site survey of visible evidence – for example you can see the pit lids shown on the plan but the actual position of underground connection between pits is still assumed. 

QUALITY LEVEL B

(significant risk reduction)
Provides relative subsurface feature locations in three dimensions. The minimum requirement for QL-B is relative spatial position, this can be achieved via an electromagnetic frequency locating device. An electronic location provided by a DBYD Certified Locator to QL-B standard would have a maximum horizontal tolerance of plus or minus 300mm and a maximum vertical tolerance of plus or minus 500mm. 

QUALITY LEVEL A

(meets location accuracy standards for minimum risk when excavating)
Is the highest Quality Level accuracy and consists of positive identification of the attribute and location of a subsurface utility at a point to an absolute spatial position in three dimensions. It is the only quality level that defines a subsurface utility as ‘Validated’