Sygma delegates locating buried services with the Genny and CAT on a training day

Built and delivered for The Clancy Group

Course titleReference document

Sygma/Clancy Genny & CAT1

How this course compares with the EUS Category 1 standard

✓Proof of equivalence with EUS Category 1, and where the course goes beyond it

This document covers

Developed for ClancyEUSR endorsedAll 28 EUS criteria metEUS card as normal

This document shows how the Sygma/Clancy Genny & CAT1 course, developed exclusively for The Clancy Group and endorsed by EUSR, covers every assessment criterion in the EUS Category 1 specification, goes beyond it in a number of places, and still comes with the EUS card as normal.

EUS criteria

every one met

EUS assess practically

7 are written only

Beyond the standard

no criterion requires them

Certificate

EUS card

as normal

Accredited & approved by

Client guide

Confirmation of equivalence with EUS Category 1

Clients commonly ask for EUS Category 1 or equivalent at pre-qualification. This document answers that from the standard itself.

Every criterion is quoted exactly as EUSR wrote it, in their order and numbering, with the assessment method they set against each. All 28 are met. EUSR require 21 of them to be demonstrated practically and allow 7 to be answered in writing.

Part one maps the course against every criterion. Part two lists the 30 items it covers that no criterion requires. Part three compares the practical assessment.

The two courses

The standard

EUS Category 1: Locate Utility Services (HSG47)

Scheme Specification v1.0, 2025

The course

Sygma/Clancy Genny & CAT1

EUSR-endorsed programme, built for Clancy

Practical requirements from EUSR's Category 1 Practical Assessment Observation Record v1.0. Delivery rules from Scheme Handbook V3.0, November 2025.

Part one

Every EUS Category 1 criterion, mapped against Sygma/Clancy Genny & CAT1

EUSR's wording, unedited. The criterion numbers are theirs.

LO1

Be able to plan for the location of underground services

EUS Category 1: Locate Utility Services (HSG47)Scheme Specification v1.0, 2025			Sygma/Clancy Genny & CAT1EUSR-endorsed programme, built for Clancy
#	Assessment criterion, as written by EUSR	Assessed by	Met?	What we do
1	Interpret plans/maps in accordance with instructions	Practical	✓	Assessed on the ground, using the drawings for the site we are standing on rather than a generic exampleOn the ground
2	Identify plan references and symbols	MCQ/Practical	✓	Assessed. Plans from every provider, including keys, symbols and colour codesOn the ground
3	Explain potential safety considerations and control measures when carrying out a risk assessment	MCQ/Practical	✓	Covered and assessedOn the ground
4	Carry out a site-specific risk assessment and establish a safe working zone	Practical	✓	Assessed, recorded on the point of work risk assessmentOn the ground

LO2

Be able to prepare resources to locate and identify services

EUS Category 1: Locate Utility Services (HSG47)Scheme Specification v1.0, 2025			Sygma/Clancy Genny & CAT1EUSR-endorsed programme, built for Clancy
#	Assessment criterion, as written by EUSR	Assessed by	Met?	What we do
5	Identify the features of a typical Safe System of Work	MCQ	✓	Covered
6	Check appropriate PPE is free from damage, fit for purpose and available for use	Practical	✓	AssessedOn the ground
7	State potential contingencies and personal actions if unforeseen events or emergencies occur	MCQ	✓	Covered
8	Explain the roles and responsibilities of individuals involved in the work site operation	MCQ	✓	Covered
9	Identify appropriate resources and equipment required to carry out location and marking work safely	MCQ/Practical	✓	AssessedOn the ground
10	Check that a safe working zone exists and is appropriately protected with barriers and signs	Practical	✓	AssessedOn the ground
11	State the action to take if equipment is found to be defective or damaged	MCQ	✓	Covered
12	Complete a visual assessment of the location equipment and explain how you record any defective finding	Practical	✓	AssessedOn the ground
13	State the potential consequences if damaged or faulty equipment is used	MCQ	✓	Covered
14	Demonstrate all the pre-use checks on the location equipment to be used, in accordance with the specific manufacturer’s instructions	Practical	✓	Assessed as two separate checks, a function check and an in-service date checkOn the ground

LO3

Know how to locate, detect and mark different underground services

EUS Category 1: Locate Utility Services (HSG47)Scheme Specification v1.0, 2025			Sygma/Clancy Genny & CAT1EUSR-endorsed programme, built for Clancy
#	Assessment criterion, as written by EUSR	Assessed by	Met?	What we do
15	Check that all necessary preparatory work has been completed correctly, prior to work commencing	Practical	✓	AssessedOn the ground
16	Explain how different modes operate and their limitations	MCQ/Practical	✓	Covered, plus a session of its own on what the kit genuinely cannot findOn the ground
17	Demonstrate how to use the location equipment to detect and locate underground services	Practical	✓	Assessed, and broken into separate elements: control sensitivity, pinpoint, determine direction, trace and markOn the ground
18	Explain the limitations and challenges posed by specific types of underground services	MCQ	✓	Covered
19	Outline the advantages and disadvantages of using Ground Penetrating Radar as an additional piece of location equipment	MCQ	✓	Covered
20	Explain the importance of marking up signals detected and the variety of marking materials that can be used	Practical	✓	AssessedOn the ground
21	Identify any control measures needed to mitigate risks associated with location activities	MCQ/Practical	✓	Covered and assessedOn the ground
22	Demonstrate how both Parallel Sweeps and Radial Sweeps can be beneficial	Practical	✓	AssessedOn the ground

LO4

Be able to carry out location work in accordance with health, safety and environmental legislation, regulations, company policies and procedures (industry best practice)

EUS Category 1: Locate Utility Services (HSG47)Scheme Specification v1.0, 2025			Sygma/Clancy Genny & CAT1EUSR-endorsed programme, built for Clancy
#	Assessment criterion, as written by EUSR	Assessed by	Met?	What we do
23	Select appropriate mode required for initial sweep of the designated excavation area to locate a potential power cable shown on the site plan	Practical	✓	Assessed, following a visual survey of the site carried out as its own assessed disciplineOn the ground
24	Carry out locating and sweeping of the area to confirm underground services located	Practical	✓	AssessedOn the ground
25	Interpret correctly results shown by the location equipment	Practical	✓	AssessedOn the ground
26	Demonstrate the use of all available modes to locate another type of buried service shown on the plan	Practical	✓	Assessed, and broken into nine separately assessed applications rather than one demonstration. Listed belowOn the ground
27	Demonstrate the use of appropriate marking methods and materials to indicate the location of different services	Practical	✓	AssessedOn the ground
28	Record and report any unexpected findings, both prior to work starting and throughout the location activity	Practical/MCQ	✓	AssessedOn the ground

Part two

What Sygma/Clancy Genny & CAT1 adds

30 things delivered on the Sygma/Clancy Genny & CAT1 course that no EUS Category 1 assessment criterion requires. Where something is named in EUSR's guidance as an example but is not itself assessed, it says so.

Applying a signal

✓	Direct connection to a street light cable, correct technique and distanceOn the ground	The specification names street lighting only once, as a limitation of power mode. It never asks for a signal to be applied to one.
✓	Direct connection to a domestic LV service at a propertyOn the ground	Meter boxes and cable entry points appear only in the visual site assessment. Connecting to a house service is not required. Added to our practical assessment sheet in August 2026.
✓	Confirming the connection and that the signal has actually takenOn the ground	The specification requires the signal to be applied, not confirmed.
✓	Correct earthing on a direct connectionOn the ground	Not named anywhere in Category 1.
✓	Blind induction sweep in two directions across a siteOn the ground	Induction is required. A blind sweep, in two directions, is not.
✓	Nulling out a buried utility to find what sits next to itOn the ground	The modes listed in the specification are power, radio, signal generator and Avoidance or All Scan. Nulling out is not among them.
✓	Checking for airborne signal on every inductive applicationOn the ground	Not named anywhere in Category 1.
✓	Signal clamp, correct technique and distanceOn the ground	Named in the Supporting Information as an example of applying a signal. No assessment criterion requires it to be demonstrated.Guidance only, not an assessed criterion
✓	High frequency capacitance, the wrap around methodOn the ground	Named in the Supporting Information as an example. No assessment criterion requires it to be demonstrated.Guidance only, not an assessed criterion
✓	Three pin plug adaptorOn the ground	Named in the Supporting Information as an example. No assessment criterion requires it.Guidance only, not an assessed criterion

Locating

✓	Locate a joint, T-connection or bendOn the ground	Not named anywhere in Category 1.
✓	Identify sudden signal loss and explain why it happensOn the ground	Not named anywhere in Category 1.
✓	Recognise being too close to the transmitter, and correct erratic sensitivityOn the ground	Not named anywhere in Category 1.
✓	Depth checked two ways to confirm the readingOn the ground	The specification covers depth awareness and depth estimation, but never asks for the reading to be confirmed by a second method.
✓	Depth estimates taken at the correct distancesOn the ground	Depth estimation appears in the guidance only. Not one of the 28 assessment criteria mentions depth.Guidance only, not an assessed criterion
✓	Knowing when a depth reading is unreliableOn the ground	Depth uncertainty appears in the guidance only. No criterion assesses it.Guidance only, not an assessed criterion

Strategy

✓	Shallow cable alert: what it is for and how to disable it	Listed in the guidance as a locator-specific feature. No criterion assesses it.Guidance only, not an assessed criterion
✓	Continuously scan as the excavation progresses	Repeated detection sweeping appears in the guidance. No assessment criterion covers what happens once digging starts.Guidance only, not an assessed criterion
✓	Transmitter first: exhaust every connection option before induction, all active modes before passive	The specification notes passive modes may be insufficient, but sets no order of preference to work to.
✓	Dual-frequency transmitters and the benefit of each frequency	The specification mentions scanning all frequencies at once, not choosing between two.

Recording

✓

Data logging and C.A.T. Manager, so usage can be reviewed and evidenced afterwards

Data enabled locators appear in the guidance. No criterion requires recorded data to be produced or read.Guidance only, not an assessed criterion

Consequences

✓	What actually happens when a service is struck, service by service	The consequences of striking power, gas, water, sewers and fibre appear in the Supporting Information. No assessment criterion tests any of it. We teach it with real damage examples.Guidance only, not an assessed criterion
✓	HSG47, the wider regulations and company policy	HSG47 is named in the guidance and in the category title. No assessment criterion requires the guidance itself to be known.Guidance only, not an assessed criterion

Plans

✓	PAS128 drawings, and how a PAS128 survey differs from a STATS plan	PAS128 does not appear anywhere in Category 1 of the 2025 specification.
✓	Line search documents	Removed from the standard at the 2025 review. We kept it.
✓	Permit to dig: what it is for, and what it does and does not authorise	Permits to Work appear in Category 2, not Category 1.

Assessment

✓	Five practical disciplines, each assessed individuallyOn the ground	The specification requires the practical criteria to be met. It does not require them to be broken out and signed off separately.
✓	The delegate signs the practical assessment sheet	Not a scheme requirement. Signed on the day, in front of the trainer, confirming every element was actually covered.

Delivery

✓	More than half the day spent hands-on	The scheme sets a six hour minimum for the day but no split between classroom and practical.
✓	Built around Clancy procedures, methods of work and client requirements	The specification asks for company policy to be covered. It does not produce a course written for one client.

Part three

The practical assessment compared

EUSR set out the whole of what a Category 1 practical must contain in their Practical Assessment Observation Record. This is that list, in their words, against what a delegate actually gets on Sygma/Clancy Genny & CAT1.

EUS Category 1: Locate Utility Services (HSG47)Minimum practical requirement	Sygma/Clancy Genny & CAT1What the delegate gets
A safe and protected area of ground containing a minimum of three different services (e.g. Gas, Power, Water etc.) with one being a live power cable	A live site with numerous buried metallic utilities. One cable to a cabin is explicitly not enough, and it is a stated host site requirement
Recognised location equipment capable of detecting electromagnetic signals either from live power cables, or induced by the equipment generator	Genny4 and C.A.T.4+ brought by Sygma, enough for the whole group, and delegates encouraged to bring their own kit
At least two types of marking materials	Marking materials appropriate to the ground and weather on the day
A range of site plans showing symbols, colour codes and other relevant information	STATS plans for the actual practical site, supplied free by Sygma
Blank site-specific Risk Assessment forms	Point of work risk assessment completed by the delegate on the day
The individual provides oral explanations of various aspects of the planning and preparatory steps	Explanations still required, but the planning and preparatory steps are also carried out and observed
The Assessor must use oral questioning during the practical assessment, undertaking a holistic assessment	Oral questioning throughout, plus five separately assessed disciplines rather than one holistic judgement

The full course agenda

The classroom theory, the five practical disciplines, what the host site needs to provide and how the assessment works.

Open the course agenda →