BS PAS 256:2017 gives recommendations for improving the capturing, recording and maintaining of data related to buried assets (and associated above-ground assets) together with the sharing, in a security-minded manner, of asset information relating to utilities, local authorities and other providers' infrastructure.

This PAS is not intended to be used retrospectively and therefore only applies to those assets that are:

• a) newly-installed and newly-replaced (after the publication of this PAS);
• b) surveyed in line with the PAS 128 methodology (survey type A); or
• c) exposed whilst other work is being undertaken.

This PAS applies to buried assets located in public and private land.

This PAS covers:

• 1) a data glossary;
• 2) data formats, such as geography markup language (GML);
• 3) transition of spatial data, using relative accuracy as a minimum and moving towards absolute accuracy (including depth), together with supporting evidence such as photographs or tagging;
• 4) the inclusion of decommissioned or abandoned assets when sharing data;
• 5) a target number of days to make data available for sharing from installation;
• 6) the capture of data emanating from works carried out under a s50 licence or equivalent;
• 7) the inclusion of local authority and other organizations' buried assets;
• 8) movement from paper or microfiche records to a structured, accessible digital format;
• 9) the capture and sharing of measurable deviations from straight line installations;
• 10) the use of warning and protection devices to aid the final location of the buried asset; and
• 11) symbology, typology, colour coding and layering.

NOTE 1 At the time of publication, efforts to standardize symbology are being undertaken by The Survey Association and these are expected to be introduced as best practice when published. In the interim, this PAS directs users towards the NJUG publication, Guidance on the Positioning and Colour-Coding of Underground Utilities Apparatus [NR2] (see Clause 17). Each organization is advised to share the symbology used in its records whenever data is shared.

NOTE 2 Scotland already has a centralized Scottish electronic records system 4) which makes underground pipe and cable information accessible via the Scottish Road Works Register (SRWR).

NOTE 3 Attention is drawn to The INSPIRE Regulations 2009 [9], The INSPIRE (Scotland) Regulations 2009 [10], The INSPIRE (Amendment) Regulations 2012 [11] and The INSPIRE (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2012 [12].


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