A new marker/detection system that reveals - without digging - multiple details about buried facilities has been developed by 3M Company.
The 3M Dynatel M Series Locating and Marking System provides accurate and efficient location of underground features as well as detailed information about them using digital technology.
The new ID marker system, first of its kind in the industry, provides positive identification of marked facilities, making it more useful for locating and maintenance than conventional passive marker locating. It is available through the 3M Telecom Access Products Division.
"The 3M Dynatel iD Marker Locator System uses a new technology in ball markers with a chip inside that can be programmed in the field to convey important information about each marked underground facility," Dick Taylor, 3M business unit manager, said.
"Markers are located by means of a utility-specific radio frequency signal, and they respond to the locator with details including a unique identification number, the owner of the underground component, its function (splice, valve, etc) and other information."
3M ID marking technology enhances management of underground facilities for telecommunications as well as natural gas, water, sewer, CATV and electric power utilities. It can pinpoint both conventional passive markers and new 3M iD markers on all of the established utility marker frequencies. It also provides efficient cable/pipe locating and tracing and cable sheath (earth return) fault location. 3M`s new marker/locator system includes handheld 3M Dynatel 1420 and 2200M Series locators, and 3M EMS 1400 Series iD ball markers.
Unlike conventional markers, the new 3M system can differentiate every marked underground feature, even distinguishing between the facilities of multiple utilities with adjacent buried markers tuned to the same frequency. Software configuration functionality built into this new 3M Dynatel locator system provides ease of use even for inexperienced workers because each locator can be programmed to include only those functions required by the operator.
As the complexity and value of underground services continue to grow and multiple communications and utility services share limited rights of way, maintenance costs increase along with the potential for inadvertent damage, according to 3M. Thus accurate, detailed and timely records are increasingly crucial to effective asset management. The new 3M Dynatel M Series Locating and Marking System will be a powerful asset management tool and database/mapping resource, benefiting owners of underground facilities as well as contract locators as they pursue improved productivity and effective damage prevention.
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3M Telecommunications, headquartered in Austin, Texas, is a global leader in materials, components, products and services for more than three decades. 3M, a $16 billion diversified technology company with leading positions in telecommunications, electronics, industrial, consumer and office, healthcare, safety and other markets, celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2002.
Headquartered in St Paul, Minnesota, the company has operations in more than 60 countries and serves customers in nearly 200 countries. 3M businesses share technologies, manufacturing operations, brands, marketing channels and other important resources. 3M is one of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average and also is a component of the Standard & Poor`s 500 Index. Additional information about the company is available on the Internet at www.3M.com.
More information about the 3M Dynatel M Series Locating and Marking System is available through the company`s Web site at www.3M.com/telecom, or by calling Rick Gebhardt on +27 11 806 2403.
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