3M marking and locating products enable MSOs to map entire installations, enabling them to know exactly where facilities are located, as well as to mark key areas ranging from failure and maintenance points to high-value facilities. This can be important not only to streamline the management of buried installations, but increasingly to meet regulatory requirements. Some federal homeland security requirements, for example, may mandate that utility, cable and other operators be able to precisely map the location of sensitive installations.
For helping MSOs know exactly where the critical elements of their buried infrastructure are, 3M™ Dynatel™ solutions include:
- Very reliable intelligent active electronic markers (ID markers) utilizing the latest RFID (radio frequency identification) technology that lets the user "engrave" relevant customizable information, such as what was buried when and by whom, up to a 5ft depth (US)
- Accurate, ergonomic locators that read the markers' information and allow a precise and easy determination of what is buried where
- Unique solutions that automatically transfer this information to a variety of GPS to create a digital map of the utility's buried infrastructure, which can be monitored or accessed from any computer
A critical capability for mapping and management of CATV facilities infrastructure is global positioning. Using 3M products, MSOs can match facilities precisely with Global Positioning System coordinates. The 3M™ Dynatel™ Locators 2200 M-iD Series is an example of a 3M locating solution that includes GPS-based ID capabilities. Versatile and easy to use, these locators feature software for electronic data upload, compatibility with many different GPS navigation devices, and an easy-to-use interface for data export to CAD or GIS applications.
