The Energy and Utility Skills Register (EUSR) is an independent skills platform that provides standards that are recognised in the utility sector. Dealing with sector skills, this body handles everything from water, waste management, gas and electricity.

For operatives who are handling excavations and projects involving underground infrastructure, accreditation from EUSR HSG47 is one of the best ways to uphold the standards of the cable avoidance industry.

Those who hold an EUSR HSG47 card will be registered with the body and proficient in handling excavation and digging work for a range of different projects, including those within areas containing water, gas and electricity pipework and other underground assets.

A Network of Industry Professionals

As well as the basic skills to operate safely and diligently, accreditation with EUSR provides overall support to agents in the energy and utility sector, and is well placed to align standards with practical application considerations. Through a wide range of schemes and its resource base, EUSR promotes the safety and welfare of all workers in the sector through proper cable avoidance practices.

How to Get Your EUSR Training

Our EUSR HSG47 CAT & Genny training programmes continue to be among our most popular at Sygma Solutions. Together with other CAT and Genny courses that we offer, this is an important part of building a compressive understanding of how to safeguard worker safety, avoid the risks of striking buried utility cables and generally promoting a positive attitude for the industry.

The program is specifically designed to provide guidance and knowledge required by those accessing sites or working near areas where there are underground utility services. While not always required, it is highly recommended that all individuals involved in process of excavation and cable avoidance should partake in the HSG47.

This includes individual operatives as well as site managers and planning officers who track and monitor the location of cable networks.

What Does the Course Cover?

The EUSR HSG47 course covers the potential risks of working in or around underground utility services, along with providing advice on how the potential risks can be reduced. You will also better understand how cable striking can negatively impact project progress and lead to costly repair work due to damage caused by these incidents.

Why Is Cable Avoidance Training Necessary?

We at Sygma Solutions believe that striking or damaging an underground utility service has huge direct and indirect consequences. Firstly, it poses a great risk to human health and operatives can be seriously harmed when their equipment strikes and touches underground cabling. In some cases, these incidents have proven to be fatal for workers.

In a wider sense, this damage of underground services can also disrupt the proper functioning of gas, electricity, water works, as well as sewage pipes. All these things are vital utilities that will need to be replaced immediately, which can cost a substantial sum.

When the contents of these pipes are exposed to the natural environment or surrounding communities, there are also secondary health implications which can be quite severe. For example, damaged sewage pipes can leak dirty water and harmful bacteria into the surrounding landscape.

The main issue is that identifying these cables and underground networks of pipes isn’t easy to do. There are millions of metres of pipework in the UK and some of these locations aren’t documented in government and counsel surveys. As such, workers will need to diligently assess areas for existing pipes before they start excavating.

To be a professional and effective surveyor, you must have some kind of formal training and education, or risk negligence and the chance of being fined a considerable sum if you damage any cables. You must be equipped with proper CAT and Genny training like the EUSR HSG47 card, which has become the gold standard for operatives today.

Is EUSR HSG47 Training Right for You?

The responsibility of conducting a site survey is a serious one. If you are charged with this role, you’ll need to equip yourself with the right skills and knowledge to carry out the task diligently. Before any serious excavation work takes place, you’ll need to guarantee the safety of your team from any potential cable strikes.

This might mean building a comprehensive report of a large area where cabling and underground infrastructure exists, or simply marking locations of pipework on the surface ground with spray-paint or other appropriate markings. Whatever the case, the EUSR HSG47 will give you the fundamental knowledge for you to achieve this.

In terms of your credibility and career prospects, having the card also puts you in a strong position during various projects and excavations. You will command greater trust from those you work with and be trusted to ensure cable avoidance is carried out effectively by your employers.