Re: Across, not down
Yup. I like these-
https://leica-geosystems.com/products/detection-systems/cable-locators/dd-smart-utility-locators
I think training is certainly an issue, but so can be telco civils. So a lot of CATs use a transmitter that needs to be clamped to utility for best accuracy, but for fibre and trunk runs, access to locator wires is harder. But that's the challenge with cheaper EML vs GPR systems.
Or civils gangs just don't bother. One morning I was waiting for the bus and watching a VM crew lifting pavement slabs and starting to dig with a shovel. Cue flashbang and street lights going out. Luckily the digger didn't get electrocuted, just a face full of spatter from the arc. Crew didn't have eyewash in their van, but luckily I had a bottle of water on me to do that while waiting for the ambulance.
They can be expensive mistakes though as people have died hitting buried power cables, or just injured, and then there's the invoice from the utilities for damage & restoration.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
