PIPELINE LOCATE SOFTWARE
On a pipeline right-of-way, the locate record isn't paperwork. It's the operator's record of what was found and marked before anyone dug.
Today most of that record is a PDF, a photo of paint and the locator's word. The operator can see the ticket was closed. They can't see where the pipe was.
Your locator finds the pipe. TerraFlow records exactly where it is.
Your locator gives you a signal and a depth. TerraFlow records where you were standing when you got it, to the accuracy your receiver delivers, and stores that accuracy beside the point.
With an RTK receiver, that's a position the manufacturer specifies at about half an inch to an inch and a quarter (1 to 3 cm). Tolerance zones are set by state law, commonly 18 inches (46 cm) either side of the mark and wider in some states (PHMSA state law summaries). GPS.gov puts a phone's GPS at about 16 feet (4.9 m) under open sky, and it's worse under trees (GPS.gov). On a transmission line, that difference is the whole point.
What each pipeline locate records
- Position of every point, with fix type, correction source and accuracy
- Depth of cover, read from the locator and tied to the point
- Locate method, frequency and signal strength
- Utility type and subtype, material and diameter where known
- Ticket number, locator and a timestamp per measurement
- The sketch, drawn to scale from the captured points, roughly 90% done by the time the locate is
No measuring wheel. No tape. Nothing rebuilt at the end of the day.
Depth of cover, as the locator read it
TerraFlow records the locator's depth reading at every point, exactly as the instrument reports it, with the method, frequency and signal alongside. We record the reading. We don't adjust it or warrant it, and it doesn't replace the tolerance zone or hand exposure.
That's why it's used for depth-of-cover surveys as well as everyday tickets: the depth and the conditions it was read under both end up on the record.
The operator gets the record, not just the status
Records sync to Data Engine as soon as the tablet has signal, and go to the operator in the format they asked for: their GIS, their asset system or a file.
So the operator's damage prevention team can see what was found, not just that a ticket was closed. And every contractor on the right-of-way can send the same record, whatever locator they carry.
Why operators are asking
PHMSA's April 2026 advisory bulletin on excavation damage (ADB-2026-05) asks pipeline operators to build CGA Best Practice 4-11, Accuracy of Locating, into their procedures and to audit locator performance. The pipeline safety reauthorization bill the Senate passed in April 2026 (S. 2975, Sec. 211) lists white-lining, positive response before excavation and newly installed facilities being locatable among the one-call practices it wants states to adopt. It isn't law yet.
The contractors who already produce a checkable record will be ready when the operator asks.
Works with your kit
Locators: Radiodetection RD8200SG, RD8200 and RD8100. Vivax-Metrotech vLoc3 Pro, vLoc3 RTK Pro and vLoc2 Pro. Rycom. Receivers: Trimble R Series and Catalyst. Eos Arrow. Emlid Reach RS3. Juniper Geode. Bad Elf GNSS Surveyor. Corrections: Can-Net, Trimble FieldPoint RTX, or any NTRIP service.
Who owns the record
Not TerraFlow. How a contractor and an operator share locate records is between them.
Book a demo Utility mapping · Locate records
PVS Contractors and GTel run more than 40 TerraFlow licences on Trimble Catalyst with Can-Net, for sketching and depth-of-cover surveys.