Shaping careful commissioning together

In 2024, nearly 50,000 digging damage incidents were reported in the Netherlands, up from 2023 (source: RDI). In 60 percent of cases, the cause was the failure to locate cables and pipes or to locate them adequately. Excavation damage thus remains a persistent problem. TerraCarta helps prevent damage by accurately locating cables and pipes.

Excavation prevention

Since the introduction of the WIBON Act, formerly WION, rules have been established to protect cables and pipelines. The CROW 500 guideline elaborates these rules and names the responsibilities of all parties involved. A policy rule was added in April 2025 that clarifies the role of the client.

Clients must ensure careful preparation of excavation work, including through a risk inventory and action plan. TerraCarta supports municipalities and network operators in this task with a concrete and integral range of services.

Integral services

TerraCarta offers a portfolio of products and services that help clients to:

• To comply with legal requirements;
• Reduce the risk of excavation damage and project failure costs;
• Mandatory risk inventories and action plans to be prepared

Says project manager Arnout Boer, "Our approach supports clients in every phase of a project and helps them make choices that fit their goals. The accumulated information is reused in subsequent phases and projects, promoting efficiency and cooperation throughout the excavation chain."

Innovation with AI and new technology

TerraCarta specializes in locating underground infrastructure through techniques such as test trenching, radio detection and ground penetrating radar. Ground radar was long seen as expensive and unreliable, but thanks to AI analysis, TerraCarta can now quickly and accurately process large data sets.

A concrete result of this is the KLICscan service. This validates known cables from the KLIC notification and identifies unknown cables. "In an average residential area, we often find 40% more cables than are officially registered," Boer said.

For locating deep pipes, such as in directional drilling or culverts, TerraCarta developed the patented TerraProbe. This technique makes it possible to locate pipes accurately to a depth of more than 40 meters, where traditional methods fall short.

Advice and support

In addition to measurement work and technology, TerraCarta also offers customized advice. More and more clients are asking for support with risk analyses, bottleneck analyses and plans of measures required according to the WIBON & CROW 500. In this way TerraCarta also helps its clients with policy and process design - all aimed at preventing excavation damage and complying with laws and regulations.