Field Technology

Building upon the pioneering discoveries of 19th century scientist Michael Faraday and 1960’s Bell Labs research, Alberta Pipefinders uses modern, multi-channel, high-voltage transmitters and ultra-sensitive receivers to give the most accurate results possible when locating buried facilities. Specialized equipment such as ground penetrating radar, electronic stethoscopes, and ECDA current mapping tools are utilized in areas where traditional locating equipment fails.

 

Traditional and modern surveying practices are utilized to ensure the precision of both the fieldwork and the documentation the fieldwork produces. Members of our field staff are required to attend a stringent training regimen in surveying, EM signal theory, Locating theory and practices, and methods of grounding and bonding.

 

Our field crews are equipped with the latest information technology, including several subscription services such as Abadata Lite and EGIS, which provide our crews with updated information on pipelines and wellsites, legal survey plans, and construction as-built plots. In addition, we employ mapping technology such as GPS-enabled Streets/Trips and Google Earth / Google Maps, and hard copy maps (Generally 1:50000 forest series). Our field crews are provided with a compiled document containing all job info, including survey, mapping, and access. This document is provided to our crews in both electronic format and also in hard copy, to guard against computer failure.

 

All API personnel are certified to perform locating and mapping services to our clients. Qualification is achieved through factory training, industry certification, in-house certification, and experience gained through supervised field training. All API field staff have a minimum of locator training level III, which consists of 16 hours of classroom training and 40 hours of hands-on instruction. All technicians are guided and overseen by their field supervisors, and a passing mark is required prior to a technician being deemed qualified to perform supervised work

 

Our technicians are trained to follow API’s standards, which meet or exceed the local jurisdiction’s standards. Personnel are trained in public relations and are always clean, friendly, courteous, and knowledgeable. Our crews always respect the environment, the landowners, our clients, and the public at large. 

 

 

 

 
Welcome to Alberta Pipefinders Inc.

Alberta Pipefinders Inc. is dedicated to a "Zero-Tolerance Policy" towards utility damage. We believe that digging any hole is a deadly serious business that must always be carried out in a safe and responsible manner.

 

Whether you are planting a new tree in your back yard or building a new pipeline, the precise identification and marking of the buried facilities in your area of ground disturbance is the first step to making sure that your workers and infrastructure are kept safe from harm.

 

Regulatory compliance and public safety are key aspects when performing ground disturbance.  Our initiatives in creating industry-recognized standards ensure that our employees, our clients, the environment, and the public-at-large are kept safe from harm by preventing damage below the ground, before it happens.

 
Workers Killed during Ground Disturbance In Texas
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Written by Dig Safe
Tuesday, 08 June 2010 14:18

Workers Killed in Texas after boring through a 36" pipeline

JOHNSON COUNTY, Texas -- A work crew ruptured a high-pressure natural gas pipeline Monday June 7, 2010, triggering an explosion and massive fireball that killed at least three workers and injured at least seven others. There was still one person missing at the time of this writing.

The fire burned for about two hours, with fireballs erupting to a height of about 200m. The blast was felt and heard in Pecan Plantation, a 5,000 person community located 5km North of the site of the explosion.

 
Alberta Pipefinders Provides Assistance in the Aftermath of Eco-Terrorist Attack
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Written by Scoop Digsby
Wednesday, 07 July 2010 23:00

Grovedale - Crews from Alberta Pipefinders attended the site of an Eco-Terrorist attack which occured last night just outside of Grovedale Alberta, a small community with a population of 500 people. Grovedale is located about 15km South of Grande Prairie at the edge of the boreal forest and is considered an important gateway into the delicate Wapiti and Kakwa natural areas.

The attack came overnight when persons unknown opened valves on a 400 barrel tank containing emulsified crude oil, causing it to empty part of it's contents onto the ground before being contained by alerted workers.

Approximately 200 barrels of the toxic mixture were released before automatic alarms triggered and workers came out to shut the valves and assess the damage. "The prompt response to the SCADA's alarm allowed us to get onto the site before damage was caused to the surrounding environment" said a company spokesman, "The damage to our facility, while severe, is nothing compared to the possible destruction of the natural habitat."

 
The Philosophy of Damage Prevention

“Incidents happen to the unprepared”

 

At Alberta Pipefinders we believe that damage can be prevented by paying careful attention to detail.

 

 
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