Navigating the Underground: Exploring and supporting ground penetrating radar-enhanced utility surveying

Utility strikes pose a significant challenge in the construction industry. In 2022, the Netherlands reported approximately 47,000 such incidents, leading to cost overruns, service disruptions, environmental damage, and safety risks. Although utility maps and trial trenches (i.e., cut-and-cover excavation) are commonly used to survey utilities before excavation work, these methods often fall short. The geophysical ground-penetrating radar (GPR) method offers a non-intrusive and rapid alternative. However, GPR’s effectiveness is often hindered by insufficient insights into its local use dynamics, resulting in failed applications and limited adoption among construction organizations. This PhD dissertation addresses this gap by providing context-rich, practice-based insights into GPR’s use in utility surveying. These insights enhance our understanding of the advantages and challenges associated with GPR-enhanced utility surveying. To improve practitioners’ understanding of GPR deployment, these insights are used to develop operational decision support and guidance for the use of GPR onsite. By doing so, this dissertation provides practical tools and knowledge for navigating underground utilities with GPR, aiming to enhance its local use and contribute to reducing utility strikes.