The concept of SUE is gaining popularity worldwide as a framework to mitigate costs associated with project redesign and construction delays and to avoid risk and liability that can result from damaged underground utilities.
In response to this challenge, in 2003, The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) developed standard 38-02: Guideline for the Collection and Depiction of Existing Subsurface Utility Data, which defined the practice of SUE.
Many countries followed the U.S. lead by creating similar standards including Malaysia, Canada, Australia, Great Britain and most recently, Ecuador.
Developed and refined over the last 20 years, SUE classifies information according to quality levels with an objective to vastly improve data reliability.
Although it does not classify utility definition, colours or symbols, the Malaysian standard does specify an accuracy ±10 cm for both horizontal and vertical readings.
[4] CSA S250 complements and extends ASCE Standard 38-02 by setting out requirements for generating, storing, distributing, and using mapping records to ensure that underground utilities are readily identifiable and locatable.
Its systematic use can provide both a means for continual improvement in the reliability, accuracy, and precision of future utility records; and immediate value during project development.
Combining these concepts will lead to a continual reduction in the risks created by underground utilities during future projects involving excavation of any kind.
In this situation a SUE provider would collect the required information and add it to the asset management database, according to the four quality levels prescribed by ASCE Standard 38-02.