It’s no secret that long-standing buildings hardly remain exactly the same as their original designs. As more rooms or features are added on, the original design becomes less and less accurate—which is when one need for an “as-built” drawing emerges. This drawing, also known as a red-line or record drawing, is simply a drawing that illustrates how a building is actually built. At Enhanced Scanning, we’re often called in to help with something called a utility as-built update, which involves scanning for the utilities under the ground and using a CAD overlay to illustrate where the actual ut ..read more

We like to think of ourselves as ground penetrating radar aficionados. We’re more than just utility scanners. We’re a team that’s truly passionate about the technology, and we die a little inside every time we hear someone say, “GPR is just a fancy metal detector.” The uses of GPR are far more powerful than those of a metal detector. It’s a powerful and innovative technology that presents numerous possibilities. And yes, it also has its limitations. We wanted to take an opportunity to share a little about GPR technology, including some history, different GPR uses, and the current limitatio ..read more

It’s not often we get the chance to perform GPR scanning in Alaska, so we were thrilled when we got a call from our colleague asking if we’d be interested in helping perform concrete scanning in Alaska since she wasn’t available for the project. Three weeks and one day later, we were on a flight to a concrete military building in central Alaska. Project Details: Concrete + Metal + Freezing Temps = Voids Like most of our throwback stories, this concrete building wasn’t your average poured-in-place concrete structure. No, this military building was meant to guard against HEMP (high-altitude ..read more

Our founder and CEO, Forrest Sim, recently had the opportunity to get his hands on some of the latest GPR equipment and other new technologies in the global excavation industry. We’re breaking down his experience and takeaways around emerging ground penetrating radar technology, industry trends, and other important take-aways concerning safe excavation. Exploring New Technologies in Ground Penetrating Radar Testing out the latest antennas on the market is one of the ways that our team at Enhanced Scanning stays up to date on new technology. Forrest had the opportunity to try out the latest ..read more

If you caught our blog about the time we discovered whale bones, you already know that ground penetrating radar has a proven place in paleontology, but it also has a place in the toolbox on archaeological sites. Ground penetrating radar allows archaeologists to explore a dig site before breaking ground. By completing a GPR scan, archaeologists can uncover the most likely places for buried artifacts, discover any soil structure changes, and identify any risks for damage. No two archaeology jobs are the same, however. Sometimes you have to accommodate budgetary constraints or look for very s ..read more

Have you heard about 5G street lights? They’re basically just modified street lights enabled with 5G technology. Instead of using a separate tower or facility to provide 5G, companies can use 5G street lights instead. Pretty cool stuff. But, to do that, those companies have to first hire an underground utility locator to ensure that it’s safe to dig up the old lights and replace them with the new ones. That’s where we come in. Here at Enhanced Scanning, we’ve been part of numerous exciting projects, like finding a whale skeleton, exploring an underground cave, and locating underground objec ..read more

Choosing the right GPR antenna might sound simple, but there’s more to it than meets the eye. You have to know what you need. Otherwise, you could spend a lot of money on a tool that doesn’t work well for what you’re trying to do. Think of it this way. There are thousands of artists in the world, but painters don’t necessarily use the same tools as sculptors. Sure, they both use brushes, but they’re very different types of brushes with very distinct applications. It’s the same with ground penetrating radar equipment. GPR is like an art form, where masters of specific fields don’t have the sam ..read more

GPR scanning can be a solitary trade, especially for those GPR professionals that are flying solo. In a recent LinkedIn post, we talked about a gift we were making for our true love: the ground penetrating radar (GPR) industry. We spent over two-and-a-half years creating and refining this present — and it’s finally ready to be unveiled.  Founding board members Forrest Sim of Enhanced Scanning, Jan Francke of Geolitix, and Andy Kitson of Murphy Geospatial proudly introduce the GPR Consortium, the first and only global professional association specifically for GPR professionals. Why cons ..read more

Most people who visit this city park ? would never know that under the tennis courts and concrete slab is a massive underground water tank in need of a seismic upgrade. But this subterranean municipal reservoir is where many of those visitors actually get their water from. Check out Forrest’s LinkedIn post for a behind-the-scenes video of what lies underneath. No one had been inside this water tank for a quarter of a century, but now it needed general maintenance and a seismic upgrade to protect against natural soil degradation and intense ground movement from earthquakes. Enhanced Scannin ..read more

Anyone in the construction industry knows that building codes exist for a reason. So, if the engineer says that rebar must be placed a specific distance apart in a concrete masonry unit (CMU) wall, the structural integrity of the building depends on contractors following those specifications to the letter. But, sometimes, unscrupulous contractors looking to save a buck or two decide to ignore the specs and take shortcuts to get the job done cheaper. That’s exactly what we encountered at a Veterans Administration hospital project where our scanning expertise was required to provide rebar verif ..read more