Common Challenges in Cable Avoidance and How to Overcome Them

At Sygma Solutions Ltd., we recognise that cable avoidance is an essential part of construction and excavation activities. Accurate detection of underground utilities prevents unnecessary damages, disruption of services, and, above all, potential risks to employees and the general public.

Even with the implementation of sophisticated machinery such as the Cat and Genny, cable avoidance remains a problem.

In this article, we discuss some of these issues and how they can be successfully overcome.

Operator Errors Due to Inadequate Training

Misuse of Cat and Genny equipment can result in missed or misread cables, making damage more likely.

Solution:

• Provide operators with extensive training, as the courses offered by Sygma Solutions Ltd. do.
• Hold regular refresher courses to maintain skills at their best and current.

Outdated/Inaccurate Utility Maps

One of the most prevalent problems operators encounter is using inaccurate or outdated utility maps. Such records might not indicate recent changes to infrastructure, raising the potential for utility strikes.

Solution:

• Always cross-check maps with a site survey prior to excavation.
• Utilise the most advanced technology, such as ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and electromagnetic detection equipment.
• Cross-check maps with several data sources where possible.

Ground Conditions

Some types of soil, for example, wet or clay-based soil, will interfere with the reception of signals and decrease the efficiency of detection equipment.

Solution:

• Adjust equipment settings for varying ground conditions.
• Make multiple passes with various frequencies to enhance accuracy.
• Use auxiliary tools such as signal clamps or sondes for better readings.

Interference from Adjacent Utilities

Superimposed signals from various utilities may render individual lines difficult to identify.

Solution:

• Apply frequency filters and signal differentiation methods.
• Employ systematic scanning patterns to demarcate overlapping signals.
• Refer to experienced professionals for challenging detections.

Time Pressure Resulting in Hurried Surveys

In close project timelines, operators can be in a hurry to detect utilities, which will lead to errors.

Solution:

• Provide enough time for proper surveys.
• Promote a safety and accuracy culture over speed.
• Utilise pre-dig meetings to emphasise the need for cautious cable avoidance.

Final Thoughts

Cable avoidance is crucial for safety and efficiency in excavation works. By overcoming these shared risks through effective training, the use of suitable equipment, and a systematic approach, operators can sufficiently minimise the threats of utility strikes.

At Sygma Solutions Ltd., we offer top-of-the-line training programs to equip experts with the capability and experience necessary for efficient cable avoidance. Get in touch with us today to discover more about our training programs and how we can assist you in maximising safety on your construction sites.

Want To Save Time And Expense? Our Online Cable Avoidance Training Is Ideal

At Sygma Solutions, we are well-known throughout the UK as the foremost provider of training courses in the area of location of underground services. Indeed, our team has a combined experience of over 100 years in the location and identification of them, so we know everything that there is to know. We also supply and service the Mala GPR equipment, so we have hands-on experience of those from the ground up – literally!

We have been providing courses at our offices in Wigan for many years combined with onsite training and practice in the use of the various tools – the CAT, Genny, and GPR – so that our students are able to take advantage of our expertise. Let’s face it: the use of these tools not only requires a total understanding of what they can do and how they do it, but it is also essential to understand that they do have certain limitations. So, for instance, under certain conditions, a CAT may show that there is nothing on the site that you have just surveyed, when in fact there is.

A very simple example of this could be the depth of the service. Some tools can only read down to a certain depth, so if the service is below this it will show as nothing there. Our courses cover what to do in these situations.

Covid

You may well remember that, back in 2020 we had Covid. What this meant was that it was not possible for people to meet up in a classroom in order to learn the principles of underground searches. However, that did not mean that operatives did not need training, so we very quickly produced classes of online cable avoidance training. This meant that operatives could continue to attend the classes without physically being present.

The classes were run by our experts using a system which meant that attendees could ask questions and get answers in the same way as if they were physically present. Our online cable avoidance training proved so popular that we just carried on using it.

That means that, today, you can learn all of the classroom teaching from your own home or office. It saves you all of the costs associated with staying away from home for four or five days, but you still learn all the tricks of the trade.

Of course, you do need to carry out the practical part of the work on site, so you can come to us at Wigan for this, or in many instances we can come to you. Call us to discuss your requirements.

CAT Training From Sygma Solutions

It is fair to say that, in the UK, most of the services that we need run underground in cables, pipes, and trenches. If they didn’t the landscape would be littered with ever more pylons and cables and pipes on the surface, so it is accepted that as far as possible they should be underground.

Underground, of course means out of sight, which is why we put them there in the first place. It also means that they cannot get damaged by vehicles running over them, storms, floods, and more.

All of which is, to use the old phrase, fine and dandy. Until it comes to the point when you need to repair or replace them, run pipework or cables along existing tracks, or something blows up and needs urgent attention.

Most people never think about any of this, of course, because as long as they switch the light on, and it comes on, that is all that they are interested in. Fair enough.

Finding The Right Cable Or Pipe Can Be A Serious Problem

However, if you are an operative working for any of the utility companies who has the perhaps unenviable job of digging down, finding the right cable or pipe, and then repairing or replacing it, then it becomes a serious problem. Not to put too fine a point on it, how do you find the cable or pipe that you need? How do you know exactly where it runs? The short answer is that you don’t, unless you happen to have accurate plans of where the service is laid.

Equally, how do you know that you are not going to hit and damage something else? You don’t. You may obtain plans from the other service providers in the area, but how do you know that they are accurate? You don’t.

The only answer is to carry out a thorough survey of the area before you even think about starting to dig. Fortunately, we have some very advanced tools that enable one to do this, in the form of the CAT and the Genny – abbreviations for Cable Avoidance Tool and Signal Generator.

Even then they have certain limitations, so you cannot just pop down to the shop and buy them. You need thorough CAT training in the use of them.

At Syma Solutions, we have over 100 years of combined experience in the use of these tools which is why we provide CAT training courses that teach operatives how to use them in all different circumstances, and – most importantly – the limitations that they have. If you don’t fully understand these, you could make a very unfortunate mistake.

Our HSG47 Training Teaches You Everything You Need To Know

One of the most important things when breaking ground anywhere is to avoid striking any one of the dozens of underground services that may be present on the site. As a minimum, striking an underground service is very likely to put it out of use, and so it will need to be repaired.

However, that is the minimum. The cost of repairing / replacing some underground services can run into many thousands of pounds. But even that is not the worst of it: while the service is out of action it can result in massive loss of income for some businesses, and there is the likelihood that they may well take legal action to recover their losses.

Even worse is that there can be danger to life. Striking an 11,000-volt cable can cause injury, and in some cases death. There is an average of around a dozen deaths of workers caused by such strikes every year.

So, it goes without saying that before even pushing a spade into the ground it is essential to carry out a survey of the site in order to establish exactly what sort of utilities are present, where they run, and how deep down they are, so that they can be avoided as digging commences.

HSG47

This is why the Health and Safety Executive has produced HSG47 (Health and Safety Guidance 47) that covers everything that you need to know. While it is aimed primarily at risks to health and safety, it will nonetheless help to protect services from strikes and all of the other issues that may result.

At Sygma Solutions we provide HSG47 training which will teach operatives how to follow the guidance in order to keep workers on site safe as well as protect underground services.

HSG47 guidance is divided into four chapters as follows:

• Identifying and managing the dangers
• Planning the work
• Detecting, identifying and marking underground services
• Safe excavation

Obviously, the first thing is to identify the services that are on the site and where they run. This is done using the various tools involved – chiefly the CAT (Cable Avoidance Tool) and Genny (Signal Generator). Only after carrying out this survey can the planning of the work begin.

It is also important to note that, while obtaining plans from the utilities in the area is a first step, they cannot be relied upon. Many are out of date and many more do not even exist!

There is obviously a lot more to cover, but our HSG47 training covers everything that you need to know when carrying out any sort of excavation.