The construction industry is a dangerous place to work. There can always be accidents which occur, however carefully a contractor plans and carries out the work. There can be accidents with scaffolding, accidents with tools used for working, accidents with vehicles on site, and so on.

One of the most dangerous areas is that sort of work which involves digging because there is always the possibility of there being underground services in the area. Some places are obvious, such as a residential area or an industrial estate. There are going to be all sorts of services running underground. However, you might be required to dig in a quiet lane out in the country where you might imagine that there is nothing whatsoever, yet there can still be services there.

This is why, when undertaking any sort of work which requires excavation, it is essential to prepare the work properly and also to undertake a thorough survey of the area in order to avoid a cable strike.

Obtain Plans

The first thing to do is to obtain plans from the utilities and local authority in the area of anything that they might be able to provide, but you cannot rely on these. They could be out of date, cables or pipes may have been moved, or for one of several other reasons they are wrong. You can only use these as a guide.

So, in order to ascertain what services are in the area that you need to dig, it is necessary to undertake a thorough survey to detect such services and determine exactly where they run and at what depth they are located. That can be easier said than done.

The two main tools that we use to locate underground services are the CAT (Cable Avoidance Tool) and the Genny (signal generator). These are mainly used in combination in order to locate and identify underground services. However, they do have certain limitations, and it is necessary for operatives to fully understand them so that mistakes are not made.

One fairly obvious error is that they may only be able to read to a certain depth, so you could have a situation where there was a negative reading when, in fact, there is an underground service there below the depth at which the equipment can read. The solution to this is to dig down about a foot very carefully and then take another reading which this time may show that there is a service there. These are the sorts of things that we teach operatives on our CAT and Genny training courses.

At Sygma Solutions we teach operatives both in the classroom and out on site so that they have a full understanding of the location of services in order to avoid a cable strike. In addition, we also now have online classes available for the classroom part of the training. The online courses are conducted in such a way that attendees can ask questions and get answers from their instructor in the same way that they would in a physical classroom.

Courses Availability

If the course you are looking for has no dates or you would like a course built for your company please contact

enquiries@sygma-solutions.com for current availability and booking form

Open Days

Please contact us about open days

PAS128 Utility Mapping Training Modules mapped to CICES competencies

–  2 days

Module 1 – Pas 128 Level D &C training to include level 3 assessment – CICES GEUS01 A-D

–  3 Days

Module 2 – PAS128 Level B Training – can include Level 4 assessment – CICES GUES01 E-I

Please contact enquires@sygma-solutions.com for future dates and a booking form

2 Day Advanced EM Course (RD8100/8200 & VIVAX)

In depth course covering electromagnetic locators, theory and intensive practical on our real world training site.

Cost: £295 per person
Location: Sygma Solutions training centre, Wigan

5th – 6th September 2024

Location: Sygma Solutions training centre, Wigan

Please contact us for future dates and a booking form

1 Day Mala GPR Module 1 – Theory & Practical

Cost: Contact us for price (2 spaces F.O.C. with Mala GPR Purchase)
Location: Sygma Solutions training centre, Wigan
Dates: Contact Us
Please contact us for future dates and a booking form

1 Day Mala GPR Module 2 – Post processing

Cost: Contact us for price (2 spaces F.O.C. with Mala GPR Purchase)
Location: Sygma Solutions training centre, Wigan
Dates: Contact Us
Please contact us for future dates and a booking form

2 Day GPR – All Manufacturers

Location: Sygma Solutions training centre, Wigan
Dates: Contact Us

Please contact us for future dates and a booking form

5 Day TSA & ICES Approved 5 Day Utility Mapping Course

Location: Sygma Solutions training centre, Wigan
Dates: Contact Us

Location: Worcester

Dates: Contact Us

Please contact us for future dates and a booking form

1 Day Public Genny & CAT Course

Cost: £175 plus VAT
Location: Sygma Solutions training centre, Wigan
Dates:
Please contact us for future dates and a booking form

Level 3 Utility Mapping Qualification – All Online

Cost: £275 PLUS REG FEE
Location: Online
Dates: To suit

Level 5 Diploma Utility Mapping Qualification – Online Workbooks – followed by assessment

Cost £1100 PLUS REG FEE
Location: Sygma Solutions training centre or your site
Dates: To suit

Open level 5 assessment dates at Sygma Solutions, Wigan

Level 5 Diploma Utility Mapping Qualification – in 5 days

Cost – contact us
Location: Sygma Solutions training centre, Wigan

2nd – 6th September 2024

Sygma PAS 128 Utility Surveyor Training Including Proqual Level 3 Utility Mapping and Surveying
Please contact us for future dates and a booking form

Location: Sygma Solutions training centre, Wigan

12th – 16th August 2024 Limited Availability

14th – 18th October 2024

25th – 29th November 2024

16th – 20th December 2024

Level 3 Utility Mapping and Surveying Public Course

12th – 13th August Limited Availability

14th – 15th October 2024

25th – 26th November 2024

16th – 17th December 2024

Location: Sygma Solutions training centre, Wigan

GPS Course & Total Station Introduction

This is a 2 day dedicated GPS course with an introduction to Total Station

Please contact us for future dates and a booking form

Please contact enquires@sygma-solutions.com for future dates and a booking form

Please contact:

enquiries@sygma-solutions.com for current availability and booking form

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