Research carried out by Energy Networks Association and reported in November 2020 revealed some shocking news regarding contractors failing to check for underground electricity cables before commencing digging on site.

Having carried out a survey, ENA found that 93% of construction workers believed that they always dig safely, yet at the same time 31% said that they didn’t always check for underground electricity cables before commencing digging. 24% of respondents said that they did not do so because they did not think that they would dig deep enough to strike anything, while 15% of people said that they didn’t check because they didn’t think that it was their responsibility.

Over the last six years, an average of 70 people per year have suffered life changing injuries as a result of striking a live underground electricity cable. There are also about a dozen fatalities every year from striking underground services of all types.

Underground electricity cables and other services – water, gas, sewage, telecoms, fibreoptic, etc. – can be found in street works, road works, excavations, drilling and piling, demolition and site remediation, site investigations, and any other work that involves penetrating the ground. Electricity cables can run at any depth below ground level, and they carry voltages of domestic voltage of 230 volts and upwards. Worryingly, the ENA survey, reported on Nov 2^nd last year, also found that the incidence of electricity cable strikes had increased by 46% since the end of the first lockdown.

It is not only electricity cable strikes that can cause severe damage and injury. There are gas pipes that can cause fire and explosion and even waterpipes can be dangerous if they are under pressure and can hurl stones and other things from the ground at speed. 

All of this is why it is essential that ascertaining what utilities are situated in a place where it is necessary to dig must be the first thing that is done when undertaking any contract. The first thing is to plan the work, according to HSG47, which is the latest edition of the Health & Safety Executive “bible” on safe and secure working when carrying out any sort of excavation work.

The next thing is to locate and identify buried services. This can be done by contacting all the appropriate local utilities and obtaining plans and drawings. However, these cannot be totally relied upon. Unfortunately, there is no national method of keeping records, so different utilities keep them in different formats. They may also be inaccurate and out of date. In addition, in a lot of instances there may not be any plans available at all.

This means that it is vital to carry out a survey on site. Certainly, plans and drawings can give a guide but must not be taken as gospel. The two main pieces of equipment that are used for locating and identifying buried services are the CAT and the Genny – Cable Avoidance Tool and Signal Generator. These need to be used in combination in order to provide the best results.

However, these two tools are not infallible. They do have certain limitations and it is vital that operatives using them understand what those limitations are. This is covered in the HSG47 training course that we provide at Sygma Solutions.

Our CAT and Genny training is carried out in class and on site. Today, as a result of Covid-19 we also provide full classroom training online on a webinar platform. These online classes are fully interactive in order that attendees can ask questions and get answers from the instructor. Physical classroom sessions can be taken either at our headquarters in Wigan or at a place of your own choosing such as your own offices.

We are an Approved Training Organisation, and our classes are recognised by The Survey Association, the CSCS, and the CITB. Our team of instructors has over 100 years of experience in the use of cable locators and underground services detection techniques. We have also got manufacturing experience, so we know and understand what makes the CAT and Genny work.

In addition, we are agents for MALA GPR, and we can service and calibrate these tools in our workshop. We also have five nearly new Mala GPR Easy Locator units for hire if you wish to carry out your own survey.