HSG47: What You Need To Know About Excavations

Avoiding Danger From Underground Services HSG47 is a guide produced by the Health and Safety Executive and it does what it says on the tin. It is designed for people involved in “commissioning, planning, managing, and carrying out work on or near underground services”. It is also of use to owners and operators of such services. This is the latest (third) edition and was updated in 2014.

PAS128 Utility Surveyor Training From Sygma Solutions

The Health and Safety Executive produces a guidance book known as HSG47 which is aimed at people involved in commissioning, planning, managing and carrying out work on or near underground services. The purpose of the guidance is primarily concerned with health and safety of those engaged directly in any type of excavation work rather than being concerned with damage to any underground services.

What You Need To Know About HSG47 Training

When you are engaged on any contract which means that the ground needs to be broken, there are a huge number of hidden dangers. The simple fact is that there are all sorts of underground services wherever you may happen to be. In fact, depending upon whose figures you believe, there are anywhere between 1.5 million and 2 million kilometres of underground services in the UK, and the simple fact that nobody actually knows the true figures shows you that they can be absolutely anywhere.

Excavation Safety – A Crash Course

Accidents during excavations can be incredibly dangerous when cables are not accurately detected and avoided. They may occur suddenly and pose a threat to life for anyone in the vicinity, due to explosions, fires and electrical shocks.

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EUSR HSG47 Training From Sygma Solutions

When you need to undertake any sort of contracting work that involves excavation, there are a number of things to take into consideration. There is always, the danger of striking underground services of one sort or another and doing so will result in issues that can range from simply costing money to fatal injury.

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The Shocking Figures Around Striking Underground Services During Excavation

Accidentally striking an electricity cable or a gas pipe, for example, when undertaking any sort of groundwork can have a massive effect on both the person doing the digging and the owner of the asset. According to Zurich Insurance plc, there is an average of 600 serious injuries and 12 deaths attributed to contact with the electricity network every year (https://www.highwayssafetyhub.com/uploads/5/1/2/9/51294565/an_insurers_perspective.pdf). That figure refers only to electricity cable strikes. However, there are estimated to be a total of 60,000 strikes of underground services every year including others such as gas, water, sewers, telecoms, fibreoptic, and more, which works out at 230 every working day.

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Shocking Statistics Concerning Safety When Carrying Out Excavations

Utility Strike Avoidance Group ((USAG) reported in November on research just released by Energy Networks Association (ENA) that found that nearly one-third of workers (31%) admitted not always checking for underground electricity cables before commencing to dig (https://www.utilitystrikeavoidancegroup.org/news-and-comment).

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Is Cable Avoidance Training Worth the Cost?

There are over 60,000 cable strikes each year in the UK alone. These accidents, which are often caused by workers being unaware of underground services, can be devastating for workers, businesses, and the community.

Even without considering the cost to human life which can be fatal in the worst cases, the delay to large scale projects can cost millions while disruptions to local communities due to services being disrupted can be severe.

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Utility Coding Explained: A Sygma Solutions Guide

When carrying out any sort of excavation work it is vital to do everything possible to avoid striking underground utilities. They can be absolutely anywhere. Some places are obvious, while others are not. The best thing to do is to follow the advice given in HSG47 by the Health & Safety Executive, and that is unless you know otherwise, you should assume that they are present where you are going to dig. The emphasis on the word “know” is ours.

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Locating Underground Services Is Essential Before Any Excavation

As a contractor, whenever you need to undertake any sort of digging or excavation work there is always a danger that you will hit some form of underground services. The fact is that, in the UK – and almost any other western country – they can be just about anywhere.

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