Foundation Data FAQ

4M’s Foundation Data provides civil engineering teams with instant access to reliable utility data and actionable insights for smarter, faster infrastructure planning. Our advanced AI conflation engine collects and conflates millions of public utility records into a single, comprehensive utility map, offering detailed information on utility lines, owners, key attributes, and more.

By leveraging computer vision, 4M detects on-surface utility objects within your selected project area and visually verifies them using satellite imagery and Google Street View—saving time, mitigating risks, and ensuring greater confidence in project planning.
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Foundation Data includes key utility information such as:
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📌 Utility Lines: Details on specific utility lines, sectors, sub-sectors, and lengths.

📌 Utility Owners: Ownership details and utility provider names.

📌 Utility Attributes: Information on above- and below-ground utilities, including size, material, and installation date.

📌 On-Surface Object Detection: Detection of manholes and utility poles.

📌 Complementary Data Layers: Includes parcels, topography, floodplain, and estimated ROW.

📌 Downloadable Formats: Available in GIS-compatible formats (such as shp, gpkg, kml).

Our AI-driven process follows three key steps:
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🔹 Collect, Extract, and Conflate: Our AI algorithms gather, geo-reference, merge, and synthesize millions of public utility records from GIS servers, as-builts, permits, and more, creating an instantly ready-to-use utility map.

🔹 Detect and Validate: Using advanced AI-powered object detection and computer vision, 4M identifies on-surface utility objects (e.g., manholes, poles, valves, road markings, and more) and visually verifies them with satellite imagery, aerial data, and Google Street View.

🔹 Maintain and Update: Our AI continuously collects and updates information through a feedback loop triggered by source updates and changes, enhancing the map’s quality and accuracy. We maintain a complete history and track changes across all sources and datasets.
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📌 Foundation Data Recovery (FD Recovery): Using 4M’s scoring algorithm, we automatically detect which projects require data enhancements based on coverage gaps and data quality metrics. When a project does not meet our scoring criteria, the user will be notified that a data enhancement is underway (see below to learn more).

Using 4M’s scoring algorithm, we automatically detect which projects require data enhancements based on coverage gaps and data quality metrics. When a project does not meet our scoring criteria, the user will be notified that a data enhancement is underway.

FD Recovery supplements missing data using additional sources such as satellite imagery and engineering documents. This process is conducted by our geospatial specialists, ensuring that the most reliable and relevant data is incorporated into the map.

This enhancement is typically delivered within 1-2 business days, with automation efforts in progress to reduce processing time further by the end of 2025.

While FD Recovery improves data coverage, it does not involve full QA/QC validation or repositioning of existing lines. For expert-verified accuracy, Validated Data is available as an add-on.

Foundation Data is built using diverse and verified sources, including:
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✅ Public GIS Servers: Data from municipal, state, and federal agencies.

✅ Engineering Documents: Digitized and geo-referenced construction plans, as-builts, permits, and blueprints.

✅ Imagery: Satellite, aerial, and street-view imagery to detect utility markers and validate data.

✅ Geospatial Analysts: Experts conduct quality assurance (QA) checks to resolve conflicts, enhance data accuracy, and identify undocumented utilities.
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Every utility line displayed in 4M is generated using proprietary AI and Big Data methodologies.

Foundation Data provides moderate confidence-level insights and is as reliable as a comprehensive manual record search. However, it does not undergo full QA/QC validation and is not a replacement for Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) services.

If a project requires enhanced accuracy and certainty, Validated Data offers expert-verified insights with additional refinements, repositioning, and corrections. (click here to learn more)

For a detailed comparison between Foundation Data and Validated Data - visit this article.

Foundation Data is available in the following states:

✅ TX, FL, CA, CO, GA, NY, NC, OR, WA, UT, ID

📌 Coming Soon: WY, IL, PA

If your state isn’t listed, stay tuned for updates as we expand our coverage!

Yes. Our base map provider supplies the topography layer, which integrates data from government sources and private commercial providers. This ensures detailed elevation and terrain information to support infrastructure planning.

Foundation Data is regularly refreshed at the state level by reprocessing all steps—sourcing, structuring, vetting, and AI-driven conflation—to ensure data completeness on a monthly basis.

Yes! If you require expert-reviewed data with full QA/QC validation, Validated Data is available as an add-on, providing increased confidence in accuracy and completeness.

By providing immediate access to synthesized utility data, Foundation Data helps:

✅ Reduce reliance on time-consuming manual research.

✅ Identify potential conflicts early in the planning phase.

✅ Enhance coordination between field and office teams.

✅ Support more informed decision-making before excavation.

If you have further questions, reach out to your Customer Success representative—we’re happy to assist!