Before You Dig Australia (BYDA), a global frontrunner in the damage prevention industry, is revolutionising the protection of underground infrastructure through its innovative and automated solutions. The latest offering from BYDA introduces new features aimed at significantly mitigating risks associated with underground work by streamlining response collation.

A Paradigm Shift in the Industry

As the national custodian of crucial safety information for Australia’s underground assets and infrastructure, BYDA handles over 10,000 daily inquiries from a diverse range of stakeholders including governments, civil construction firms, builders, homeowners, and utilities.

At the heart of its operations is SmarterWX, a robust software platform that processes over 15 million referrals annually. This enables BYDA to avert damage and disruption to more than $465 billion worth of vital underground assets.

In 2021, BYDA embarked on a significant digital transformation journey, integrating its systems with SmarterWX, powered by Esri’s ArcGIS platform. This digital overhaul leveraged smart mapping technology to provide a safer, faster, and more efficient digital experience. The platform offers instant access to critical safety information, facilitating workflow automation and providing support for both asset owners and field workers.

Staying Ahead of User Needs

A standard inquiry to BYDA typically generates six responses from various asset owners, with approximately 30 documents (plans and safety information) to review. In urban areas, inquiries can lead to notifications to up to 20 asset owners, requiring users to collate emails from each owner and review over 100 documents before commencing excavation.

Recognising an opportunity to alleviate the administrative burden on service users, BYDA and SmarterWX have developed an application that minimises risk by reducing the cognitive load on users.

The Game-Changing Solution

The latest innovation set to enhance BYDA’s referral system is the introduction of response collation. This feature is a game-changer in how information is communicated, streamlining the referral process, eliminating confusion, and boosting efficiency.

The feature amalgamates asset owner responses into a single digital interface, significantly cutting down response times and improving information accessibility for workers and the community. The new interface provides a smart location for users to store, manage, and access current and past inquiries. Additionally, the solution offers a ‘one-click’ option to download all responses in a single file.

These upgrades form part of BYDA’s technology roadmap, developed in collaboration with SmarterWX, with a focus on continuously evolving systems to drive improvement.

No longer are users confined to sharing static PDFs. SmarterWX is rising to meet industry demands for interactive maps and GIS compatible data sharing. The solution design was informed by comprehensive input and research, including in-app survey feedback, discussions with users, enquirer workshops, member webinar feedback, and user testing.

Reaping the Benefits of Technological Advancement

The response collation technology has the potential to reduce risks associated with working near underground assets by providing a single, unified view of all sub-surface infrastructure within the work site.

SmarterWX:

• Streamlines workflows
• Boosts in-field and in-office productivity
• Reduces on-site risk
• Helps protect assets

SmarterWX technology empowers BYDA to prioritise both member and community needs in its decision-making process, while fostering a culture of innovation and digital transformation.

BYDA is setting the global standard for integrating technology into damage prevention, delivering safer and more efficient management and protection of underground infrastructure.

If you would like to learn more about how BYDA and SmarterWX worked together to develop and deploy game changing technology revolutionising the protection of underground infrastructure, download the Case Study.