A Step-by-Step Guide for Aspiring Utility Surveyors in the UK

Are you aware of the existence of a complicated network of underground utilities? These include communication cables, water pipes and power lines. These are the lifeblood of modern society because it is impossible to function without electricity, water and the Internet. Before commencing any digging or excavation project, companies must hire a professional CSCS utility surveyor to ensure the excavation or digging site is safe.

Underground Utilities Can Be Found Absolutely Anywhere

Nobody knows for sure, but it is estimated that there are some 4 million excavations that take place each year in the UK. These can be anything from a small hole dug to repair a pipe or cable to something such as the foundations for a major building the size of Buckingham Palace. Well, perhaps not quite as big as that, but there are nonetheless some pretty large buildings created each year.

Striking Underground Services Is One Of The Biggest Dangers When Excavating

One of the biggest dangers that can be faced by workers in the water sector when working underground is that of striking electricity cables and other services. Such cable strikes can result in serious injury and are on occasion fatal.

The problem does not just face water sector workers but can affect any workers who need to become involved in excavation. It is believed that there are around 4 million excavations undertaken by workers in the UK every year, and that this results in some 60,000 cable strikes, or strikes of other utilities.

To Become A Utility Surveyor You Need Top-Class Training

The vast majority of the population of the UK, or for that matter anywhere else, never give a thought to how their water arrives at the tap, their electricity is able to turn the lights on whenever they press a switch, or what happens when they flush the toilet. These things are just “there” as far as most people are concerned.

Utility Mapping Training For Proqual Level 3 Qualification

One of the biggest dangers for health and safety when carrying out any work that involves excavation is that of striking underground services. Without the right sort of preparation, such strikes can happen on an alarming number of occasions, and sadly they can result in serious injury to workers and in some instances are fatal.

Striking An Underground Utility Can Be Life-Threatening

One of the biggest issues that construction workers can suffer from is that of striking underground services in the course of a project. If you are constructing anything much larger than a garden shed which can sit on the ground surface, then it will involve digging in order to install the foundations. If you are a worker who works for a utility, then you have to dig in order to lay pipes and cables or repair or restore old ones or replace them with new. Practically every sort of construction project begins with digging.

Health & Safety in the Construction Industry

Health and safety should inform pretty much every project in the construction industry in some way. As well as being factoid into the way tasks are planned and people are managed, there should always be some health and safety precautions and emergency protocols in place in case accidents take place.

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Far Too Many Contractors Are Failing To Check For Cables Before Excavating

When undertaking any sort of excavation work in the UK, it is vital to ensure, as far as humanly possible, that any underground services in the vicinity are marked and plotted so that when digging commences they can be avoided.

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Some Of The Things You Will Learn On Sygma Solutions Training Courses

At Sygma Solutions we are acknowledged as one of the foremost providers of cable location training courses in the UK We believe that every site survey for underground services should begin with the Genny. Our Level 2 cable avoidance courses are designed for operatives who need to boost their skills and confidence and at the same time obtain a first-class level 2 qualification in cable avoidance and utility location (which is a requirement if you wish to work on HS2).

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Why You Need To Undertake A Utility Avoidance Training Course

When undertaking any sort of contract that involves digging into the ground, there are, quite literally, hidden dangers. All types of services run underground – electricity, gas, water, sewers, telecoms, fibre optic, you name it – and they can be there exactly where you need to dig.

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