Maintaining a high level of construction efficiency makes it easier for contractors to stay on schedule and under budget. It’s simple to envision how a power outage could halt work and cause other complications, such as increasing workers’ risk of injury.

The natural gas meter may be the textbook example of something that is said to be “hidden in plain sight.” Every structure – from house to hospital and grocery store to commercial warehouse – that uses natural gas as the feedstock for its furnaces, stoves or water heaters has at least one of the (usually) gray boxes bolted to its exterior.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has announced that a natural gas explosion that destroyed two five-story buildings in the East Harlem section of New York City was caused both by a defective pipe joint that allowed gas to leak from a gas main into the building, and an earlier breach in a sewer line that caused the gas main to sag and overstress the defective joint.

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has launched an initiative aimed at making sure the underground utility industry follows best practices for excavation, in an effort to save lives and avoid property damage.