The method class
Magnetometric relative section-loss assessment used on planted and buried steel members.
Applications · Steel corrosion
Relative Loss
Understand steel corrosion without digging.
Non-destructive magnetometric assessment of planted and buried steel — relative section loss, member by member.
Adelaide · South Australia · Australia-wide
Planted steel. Buried steel. Before works begin.
Buried and planted steel corrodes where you cannot see it.
Digging every member to check is slow, costly, and often impractical. Relative Loss gives a non-destructive indication of relative section loss so further action can be ordered with clearer information.
We reduce uncertainty before works begin. This sits inside Aus-OMI’s above- and below-ground intelligence — not as a gadget on its own. Based in Adelaide. Working Australia-wide.
What it is
Magnetometric. Relative. Member by member.
Relative Loss is a magnetometric method. It compares measured magnetic response to infer relative loss of steel section — also called relative loss of section — on planted or buried steel.
The output is condition insight pole by pole and member by member: how much steel is left relative to expectation. Lighting columns, traffic poles, rec lighting, planted columns and I-beams.
- Method
- Magnetometric relative section-loss assessment.
- Where
- Planted or buried steel at and below the ground line.
- Output
- A relative loss indication per member.
- Purpose
- Order the next action before anyone digs.
What’s possible
Screen the steel. Then decide.
- Screen large numbers of steel assets without excavating every one.
- Reach steel that sits below ground level.
- Support keep / monitor / intervene decisions with a per-member indication.
- Plan prove-up digs where they earn their place.
- Bring the result into a wider site investigation when the ground around the steel also matters.
What’s proven
Magnetometric relative section-loss assessment on inaccessible steel.
In the field
A fast per-member field cycle against excavate-and-inspect. Coupling is consistent. The record is per member.
The use
Planted steel columns, poles and I-beams where corrosion at and below the ground line is the risk.
Methodology
How a survey runs.
- 01
Define the members
Steel members, access and the ground-line condition that matters. Lighting columns, traffic poles, rec lighting, planted columns and I-beams sit in the same method.
- 02
Set up and couple
Field setup and sensor coupling at each member. Consistency at the ground line is the work.
- 03
Acquire
Magnetometric readings at each member, including steel that sits below ground level.
- 04
Process
Readings become relative loss indicators, member by member.
- 05
Report
A digital record of relative section loss. What was measured, what was inferred, and the method behind both.
- 06
Next action
Keep, monitor, prioritise intervention, or plan a prove-up dig. Engineering decides. The survey supplies the order.
The science
Less steel. Different magnetic response.
Corrosion reduces steel cross-section. That change in section changes the member’s magnetic response.
Relative Loss interprets that response to indicate section loss relative to a reference. Non-destructive: a first-pass condition signal without exposing the full buried length.
Coupling height and consistency are part of the method. So is writing down what was measured and what was inferred.
Who this is for
Steel corrosion risk, before anyone digs.
Asset owners, contractors and engineers responsible for steel corrosion on planted and buried members. Lighting columns, poles and similar infrastructure steel. Planted steel poles common in Australia. I-beams included.
- Lighting columns
- Street-light poles
- Traffic poles
- Recreational lighting
- Planted steel columns
- I-beams and universal columns
Handover
What you receive.
A Relative Loss assessment, issued as a digital record. Depending on scope:
01
Relative Loss report
02
Per-member relative section-loss indicators
03
Asset list and access record
04
Method statement
05
Recommended next action by member
Wider site
Steel first. The ground around it, when it matters.
This page is steel corrosion. When the wider site also needs investigation — utilities, pavement, trees — that work is the same Aus-OMI investigation, on its own pages.
Questions
Before you brief us.
- What is Relative Loss?
- Relative Loss is a magnetometric assessment of planted or buried steel. It compares measured magnetic response to indicate relative loss of steel section — also called relative loss of section — pole by pole and member by member, without excavation.
- Can you detect steel corrosion without excavation?
- Yes. Relative Loss is a non-destructive indication of relative section loss on planted and buried steel. That is the point of the method: condition insight before anyone opens the ground.
- Is this the same as ultrasonic thickness testing?
- Relative Loss is magnetometric. It indicates relative section loss on planted and buried steel — poles, lighting columns, traffic poles, I-beams — from the ground line, without excavating the member.
- Does Relative Loss give remaining life?
- Relative Loss reports relative section loss per member. That is the input engineering uses to keep, monitor or intervene.
- What happens after a Relative Loss survey?
- A report, member by member. Then a next action: monitor, prove-up, or engineering review. The survey orders the work. It does not replace the decision.
Also in Adelaide
The same investigation, other jobs.
Relative Loss is steel corrosion on planted and buried members. The other applications are the same practice, different jobs.
Next
Send the drawings.
We reduce uncertainty before works begin.
Planted steel, lighting columns, traffic poles, rec lighting, I-beams. Send the asset list and the access. Brief us from Adelaide. We work Australia-wide.