Pinpoint Positioned
Triple A Locating Services LLC flourishes with multifaceted proficiency
After working for utility locating companies for 20 years, a 40-year-old Andre Leary had a vision—to own his own company and push the boundaries of conventional utility locating practices.
With an electromagnetic line-locating machine, a business mindset and a reputation in the industry for quality work, Leary established Triple A Locating Services LLC in 2014. He serves as President of this minority-owned firm, which is certified through the state of Maryland as a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and a Small Business Enterprise (SBE).
Named after him and his sons (Andre II and Andrew), the company is more than a locating service to Leary—it’s a personal journey to build an operation that endures across generations.
Leary says, “My goal is to create a legacy for my sons, an operation that will help them become the next generation of leaders in the business world.” He’s well on his way to realizing that vision.
Behind the Lines
Triple A Locating Services is all about finding, marking and mapping utility lines, including gas, electric, telephone, cable, propane, water, sewer, storm and irrigation systems. These lines can range from telecommunications, cable and fiber optics to pipes, drains and mains.
The profession has long required a technology-driven skill set. For Leary, a VM-810 line locator from Vivax-Metrotech helped him get his business off the ground. These electromagnetic sensors emit a radio frequency that reflects off conductive material, such as metal pipes.
Leary was able to build on existing relationships with public and private firms to secure project contracts. Examples include the Communications Construction Group, LLC, for which he located telecommunications lines prior to construction or renovation, and also Northern Pipeline Construction Co. (NPL), which required him to locate utility lines throughout the Baltimore area. But one solution is not enough in the crowded world of underground utilities.
Service Focused
The biggest limitation of electromagnetic technology is that it cannot locate unmarked plastic, asbestos, concrete, terracotta or non-ductile pipes. So, by 2015, with business growing, Leary began expanding locating services to include ground penetrating radar (GPR).
Leary says, “GPR allows us to locate utilities when the lines are plastic or do not have tracer lines associated with them.”
Specifically, he invested in the LMX100HR Locate & Mark GPR system, which offers a good balance of depth penetration and real-time image resolution to utilities and mark locations.
“While I did not buy the GPR machine with a specific job in mind,” says Leary, “I knew it would be useful in the future.”
That future came quicker than Leary expected. One of his first jobs that required GPR was for The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Leary was asked to locate a 1,500-foot plastic water line on the campus in advance of a large construction project.
Other projects would soon follow—as would the need for help. Leary realized that to build his dream operation he needed like-minded individuals, people willing to work hard and interested in enhancing their skills. By 2016, he hired his first employee, Kevin Haughton, as a field technician. With guidance from Leary, Haughton quickly learned how to use the electromagnetic locating tools and GPR.
By the end of 2016, Triple A Locating Services had expanded its client base throughout Maryland, Washington, D.C., and into Northern Virginia.
Cables, Pipes and Processes
With help in the field and a growing backlog of business, Leary invested in several more pieces of equipment in 2017.
Specifically, he added the 3M Dynatel Cable/Pipe Locator 2250, which is ideal for telecommunications locating and mapping, a Vivax-Metrotech vCamMX-2 CCTV drain inspection system (a mini, self-leveling camera for sewer jobs) and a SebaKMT Hydrolux radio detection device for locating leaks in water pipes.
One of the most heavily used pieces of equipment is the vCamMX-2, which is ideal for inspecting indoor drain lines, residential plumbing, indoor commercial lines and lateral lines for clogs, corrosion and/or holes in sewer lines for residential and commercial structures.
His team’s skills with the SebaKMT Hydrolux advanced acoustic locating machine have further helped expand business with speed and accuracy. The Hydrolux series of solutions incorporate digital signal processing (DSP) technology to detect leak sounds even in noisy environments.
The Hydrolux acoustic machine came in quite handy on a University of Maryland, Baltimore County campus project. In advance of construction work, the project team needed to locate a 150-foot water pipe and main. Leary comments, “With our skilled team and technical systems, we were able to find and mark the main very quickly so the project team could begin construction on time.”
“My goal is to create a legacy for my sons, an operation that will help them become the next generation of leaders in the business world.” Andre Leary, President, Triple A Locating Services LLC
On Location
Only in its fifth year of operation, the Triple A Locating Services crew is well-known throughout the Maryland, Washington D.C., and Northern Virginia area for timely, quality mapping, site layout and utility planning. The team has worked for clients that range from military installations and prisons to universities and utilities, including gas and telecommunications companies.
Leary says, “Besides our skilled use of a range of utility locating tools, our response time sets us apart from competitors. Many times a contractor can’t wait two days for help locating a utility line. They know we will be there. In most cases, we’re on-site within an hour—and we offer 24/7 emergency response.”
And the company is continuing to build a talented team. Triple A Locating Services now employs six skilled experts in the field, a group that represents over 60 years of combined experience in the locating business.
Leary says it’s more than doing a job; it’s about teamwork. He concludes, “I’ve built this company on the foundation of family, which includes my employees. We spend a lot of time together focusing on the three cornerstones of business: quality, responsiveness and affordable services. I believe we’re just getting started. With our team and technology, we’re pinpoint positioned to expand throughout the Mid-Atlantic and beyond.”