BBI’s SUE Group Participates in the International Utility Locate Rodeo

BBI’s own Miguel Mendez, David Amaya, and Shishir Manjunath of the SUE group participated in the International Utility Locate Rodeo hosted by Texas811 this past weekend in Denton, Texas. Shishir was a Rodeo volunteer, while Miguel and David competed in the event, which challenged participants to accurately locate underground utilities within both a defined area and given time. The event had 65 participants from all over the country who were separated into various categories including telecommunications, subsurface gas, water, power, and a category called “The Locate from Hell.” David and Miguel participated in the subsurface gas and telecommunications categories, respectively. They both also successfully participated in the “Locate from Hell” category, which had to be completed within 3 minutes.

This year was the first time for participants to compete in the UTTO (Underground to Cloud) Locate Simulator event that showed the accuracy of locating an underground utility in a virtual environment. Participants used wireless IoT technology and EM modeling to determine the accuracy of the location.

The goal of the International Utility Locate Rodeo is to recognize the profession of underground utility facility locating and to demonstrate the safety, skills, and ongoing educational efforts associated with high-quality workmanship. For more information about this event, visit http://www.locaterodeo.net/