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California Contractor Expands Business & Saves Customers Money By Using The RIDGID® SeekTech®SR-20 Utility Locator

When Moreno Valley Unified School District decided to construct outdoor covered cafeterias called “lunch shelters” at its schools, the supervisor for maintenance and operations suggested first hiring a contractor to locate utility lines. He believed that locating lines in advance would save the district a significant amount of money in changes and redesign costs.

The school district signed a contract with All Flow Solutions, a general engineering contractor specializing in utility line locating, horizontal directional drilling, pipe bursting repair, pipe lining, vacuum excavating and infrastructure repair for the public sector. Founded in 2002, All Flow is co-owned by cousins Preston McCormick (a West Point graduate and engineer) and Rock Tremblay (a master plumber and plumbing contractor).

All Flow researched a variety of utility line locators, eventually choosing the RIDGID® SeekTech® SR-20 locator. “I decided to purchase the SR-20 because I found it easier to use compared to other locators,” said McCormick. “Also, we are pleased with the quality of the other RIDGID equipment that we own.”

utility_project_profile.jpgThe SR-20 uses a combination of multi-directional antennas, a revolutionary mapping display and state-of-the-art processing to provide more information to effectively and easily locate underground utilities. The locator not only traces transmitted frequencies, it also offers advanced passive modes that allow users to search for other metallic lines that might be present.

The SR-20’s unique mapping display and audible tones help guide the user by showing 1) target line direction and changes in direction as they occur 2) left-right guidance arrows 3) signal strength and 4) a proximity number that increases as you get closer to the target.

McCormick believes that the SR-20’s four integrated features give him the confidence he needs when locating. He said, “If it was just one feature, I wouldn’t have the level of accuracy that I would be comfortable with. With the additional information, I was confident of my findings.”

All Flow also uses the locator to verify the company’s ground penetrating radar. “The SR-20 provides information that the penetrating radar does not always give,” said McCormick. “The radar can only locate lines 3 to 4 feet down, and the SR-20 locates deeper.” For each site located, the SR-20 saved the customer 10 percent of the total cost of the project by avoiding unnecessary potholing or repairing a utility line that could have been hit because of a poor locate.

On the Moreno Valley project, McCormick located and marked the utilities before construction began. That way, the architect could redesign the shelters’ dimensions and footings, as well as where they were going to be built to avoid complications of hitting a utility line. Using the RIDGID® SR-20 saved the school district money, and helped All Flow grow its customer base through recommendations of satisfied customers.

“Because we use the SR-20, we are able to bring positive results to our customers, and that is the best form of advertising,” said McCormick. “The SR-20 has been invaluable to our business. It has more than paid for itself by growing our profits and our customer base.”

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