Underground utility data is critical to safe, efficient infrastructure delivery – yet it remains one of the least trusted datasets in construction. This session explores how PAS128, PUMA accreditation, and the National Underground Asset Register (NUAR) can work together to change that.
You’ll get a practical, jargon-free explanation of what PAS128:2022 really means on live projects, why simply “specifying PAS128” isn’t always enough, and how PUMA accreditation helps clients and project teams distinguish between basic compliance and genuinely reliable delivery. Using real project examples, the talk will show how better standards and assurance can reduce risk, avoid redesign, and improve decision-making.
The session will also look ahead to NUAR and ask a crucial question: how do we make sure national underground data platforms are built on information we can actually trust? By linking survey standards, organisational accreditation, and data sharing, this talk sets out a realistic pathway to more consistent, reusable, and safer underground asset information.
If you commission, deliver, or rely on utility data, this session will give you clear, practical takeaways on what to ask for, what good looks like, and how to get better outcomes from underground information.
