HSG47 is a publication from the Health and Safety Executive aimed specifically at all those who are connected in any way with works or contracts that involve any excavation.
The fact is that it is generally estimated, although there are no definite figures since records are not kept, that there are over 4 million contracts involving excavation that take place across Britain every year. That is an awful lot of digging, and it results in around 60,000 cable strikes – strikes of underground services of all types, not just cables – each year. Many of these strikes result in serious injury to workers and in some cases are fatal. There are around a dozen fatalities each year.
The problem is that there are anywhere from 1.5 million kilometres to 2.5 million kilometres of underground services of all types, depending upon whose figures you believe. Now if your contract involves digging in the high street or in a residential area it is fairly obvious that there are going to be underground services there. There will be water, sewage pipes, electricity, fibreoptics, and telecoms as a minimum, and there may also be gas in many areas, plus other underground services such as flammable liquids and gases, toxic liquids and gases, inert gases such as nitrogen and argon, and fluids under pressure.
Striking a telecoms cable or fibreoptic cable may not result in serious injury to workers, but it can cause problems for businesses and residents in the area. It can also be very costly to repair. One might think that striking a water pipe would not cause injury either, but in fact it maybe under pressure, and it can also propel stones and other items out of the soil.
Striking an electricity cable is always going to be serious, as is striking a gas pipe. Fire and explosion are definitely on the cards. However, striking a gas pipe can cause damage which is not immediately noticeable but may cause a leak later on. Flammable gases can also enter cable-carrying ducts, especially if the duct has been damaged. These gases can accumulate in manholes and underground chambers presenting a risk to workers needing to work there.
HSG47 states that a safe working system has three basic elements as follows:
All three are essential when undertaking work near any underground services.
Unfortunately, records kept by local authorities and utilities are often not available for a variety of reasons. If they are available, they may be incorrect. There are no common rules and regulations for keeping records, and they may have undergone transformation from drawings to microfiches to computerised records, and errors may have crept in along the way.
This is why it is essential to first obtain any available records, but not to rely upon them as gospel. A thorough survey of the area to be excavated must be carried out before any work is commenced.
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PAS128 Utility Mapping Training Modules mapped to CICES competencies
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Level 3 Utility Mapping Qualification – All Online
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Sygma PAS 128 Utility Surveyor Training Including Proqual Level 3 Utility Mapping and Surveying
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