32. National Underground Asset Register, 21 September 2023

 

Guy Ledger, Divisional Digital Director, Engineering Services, Atkins presented the September webinar on the National Underground Asset Register.

There is estimated to be around 4 million kilometres of buried pipes and cables in the UK, and a hole dug every 7 seconds to install, fix, maintain or repair these assets that are critical in keeping the water running, gas and electricity flowing, and our telecommunications lines connected.  Approximately 1 in every 65 holes dug results in an accidental asset strike (about 60,000 a year), causing around £2.4 billion worth of economic cost, putting workers’ lives at risk and disrupting our day-to-day lives.

The National Underground Asset Register – NUAR – is a solution to avoid this risk.

Led by the GeoSpatial Commission, NUAR is a programme to create a single, comprehensive data-sharing platform on the location of all underground assets.  The fundamental purpose of NUAR is to streamline the data-sharing process, reduce the risk of potentially lethal utility asset strikes and promote more efficient management and maintenance of underground assets.

In his presentation Guy provided an insight into the programme so far, covering the challenges of engaging and onboarding some 650+ asset owners, sharing and transforming their data, and creating a platform that Users are prepared to adopt.  The presentation was followed by a lively discussion around the issues of data accuracy, updating, liability and security.  Our thanks go to Guy (pictured below) for an excellent presentation.