When undertaking any sort of excavation work anywhere in the UK, and for whatever reason, it is essential to carry out thorough planning beforehand by obtaining plans from utilities and other service suppliers. It is also essential to understand that not all plans are accurate, up to date, or in some cases even available.

That is just the first part of the pre-excavation process. The second part is to carry out a thorough survey of the area to be worked using all the available tools such as the CAT and Genny and/or Ground Penetrating Radar which can locate services with which the CAT and Genny might struggle. Only when all this pre-excavation work has been carried out by competent individuals is it safe to begin the work on site.

The HSE has produced HSG47 which is its’ guide to undertaking excavations and it goes into considerable detail. It notes that even when emergency work needs to be carried out, it still requires planning and an assessment of the risks. A precautionary approach must be taken when breaking ground.

One needs to obtain plans or any other information about all underground services in the area when work is being planned. Wherever possible the owners/operators of services must be consulted, and in some instances, there may be more than one owner/operator.

There are also free services such as LSBUD – LineSearch BeforeUDig which can provide information about at least 800,000 kilometres of underground services in the UK, but this by no means covers everything. The HSE also points out that where there is no information readily available, as may be the case when emergency work needs to be carried out, it must be conducted on the assumption that there are underground services in the work area.

Most electrical services belong to the regional DNO – distribution network operator. However, some cables belong to other bodies, such as the highway or roads authority; the street lighting authority; electricity generating companies; the National Grid; the Ministry of Defence; the railway operator (usually Network Rail); the Independent Distribution Network Operators (IDNOs); or other companies.

Most gas pipes are operated by public gas transporters, but in the case of new developments may also be independent gas transporters, and also be properties fed from bulk-stored LPG where the pipes may belong to the property owners.

Then, of course, there are other underground services such as sewers, water pipes, telecoms, fibre optics, and so on, which are less likely to cause injury, although a water pipe under pressure could easily throw out stones from the soil. There is also the financial cost of damage to underground services which can run into considerable amounts of money.

When undertaking a survey with the CAT and Genny, operatives need to be fully familiar with their operation in all modes, and in particular with their limitations. At Sygma Solutions we mention this many times, but the plain fact is that the CAT and Genny do have limitations and it is essential that operatives are familiar with them and know how to account for them, and how to proceed even though there may be a negative reading. All of this is taught in our CAT training courses because the information is vital.

Indeed, our courses go into great depth about everything, both in class and during practical work out in the field. We are now also running classes online. The classroom part of our training is delivered using interactive software that allows for questions from delegates and answers from the trainer, and it can be accessed from any web browser.

For more information on our training courses, contact Pete direct on 0844 241 2597 or email enquiries@sygma-solutions.com.