CPIP: preventing excavation damage

Cable and Pipeline Information Platform (CPIP)

Our CPIP platform allows public works contractors and other construction companies to request detailed information about underground cables and pipes. This information allows them to avoid material damage and life-threatening situations.

Specifically, this involves:

• making underground cables and pipes visible
• helping to prevent excavation damage
• facilitating data retrieval and sharing on a single platform
• facilitating data exchange between cable and pipeline network operators, excavators, governments, project developers, contractors, ...

CPIP gathers and displays data on cables and pipes

Cable and Pipeline Information Platform (CPIP) is a digital data-sharing platform for standardised data exchange. CPIP also offers the means to determine which network operators are active in a particular area in Flanders.

Excavating contractors requesting a plan in CPIP will immediately see which network operators are active in their excavation area and whether they have yet entered notifications of underground pipelines they may expect to encounter.

CPIP is a decentralised platform for processing plan requests. The platform compiles responses from all network operators into one handy digital map featuring all underground infrastructure at the requested location. Cables and pipelines have been divided into categories to allow the user to turn visibility on and off per category for a clear overview.

As much relevant information about each cable and pipeline as possible is made available in CPIP, such as the type of cable or pipeline, diameter, colour, location and so on.

Network operators have been providing standardised information about their cables and pipelines since 2016, ensuring the availability of uniform data that significantly improves the safety level of excavation works.

Solution for safe excavation

600.000 kilometres of underground cables and pipelines for gas, drinking water, electricity, wastewater and the internet have been installed in Flanders. In addition, many private companies have their underground cables or pipes. These facilities should not be subjected to damages during excavation works, whether by digging or piling heavy loads on unsuitable soil.

To exclude risks like these and maximise safety, all contractors must consult the information CPIP provides about the location and all underground cables and pipes before they start digging.

Private individuals intending to dig the soil, for instance, to build a swimming pool or pond or to dig a basement, also have to consult CPIP to check whether and where any underground cables and pipes may be located.

CPIP as a future-oriented data platform

One of CPIP's information platform responsibilities is connecting public authorities and private parties. Besides contractors, the latter include distribution companies, transporters (oil, gas and chemicals) and independent network operators (cables - data or electricity) and pipes (sewers...).

We are increasing CPIP's added value by integrating it with other data platforms, such as GIPPD, a platform providing information on traffic disruption caused by public works and events.

The CPIP team is adding more value to CPIP by integrating other business processes. We will link it with GIPPD, the platform that provides an overview of traffic disruption caused by public works.

This allows contractors to link a work order in GIPPD with one or more plan requests in CPIP (and vice versa). By cleverly linking these data, the parties involved can work more efficiently.

The CIPIP team intends to integrate more data streams in the coming years, allowing notifications about plots of land to flow straight through to the responsible network operator. Integrating CPIP data into Building Information Modelling (BIM) has been possible since 2016, albeit limited to 2D. Research into the options of adding 3D is ongoing.

The measurements of newly measured pipelines include Z-coordinates. Also, adding Z-coordinates to all existing measurements will give users a better understanding of all transport pipelines for oil, gas and chemicals.

CPIP for your business

Data collaboration extracts information from company silos, which creates opportunities for new business models to emerge. The CPIP data ecosystem offers plenty of opportunities to private companies, public administrations and consumers, and it will continue to evolve.

Leveraging data via Data Collaboration Platforms makes information available that will give rise to the creation of new business models. This way of working provides companies, governments and consumers with many opportunities for cross-sector collaborations, to develop new products and to improve service delivery.

Would you like to participate in the data economy? Do you have ideas for a collaboration with the Cable and Pipe Information Platform or other Data Collaboration Platforms? We would be happy to look at the possibilities with you.

Frequently asked questions about CPIP