Want To Save Time And Expense? Our Online Cable Avoidance Training Is Ideal

At Sygma Solutions, we are well-known throughout the UK as the foremost provider of training courses in the area of location of underground services. Indeed, our team has a combined experience of over 100 years in the location and identification of them, so we know everything that there is to know. We also supply and service the Mala GPR equipment, so we have hands-on experience of those from the ground up – literally!

We have been providing courses at our offices in Wigan for many years combined with onsite training and practice in the use of the various tools – the CAT, Genny, and GPR – so that our students are able to take advantage of our expertise. Let’s face it: the use of these tools not only requires a total understanding of what they can do and how they do it, but it is also essential to understand that they do have certain limitations. So, for instance, under certain conditions, a CAT may show that there is nothing on the site that you have just surveyed, when in fact there is.

A very simple example of this could be the depth of the service. Some tools can only read down to a certain depth, so if the service is below this it will show as nothing there. Our courses cover what to do in these situations.

Covid

You may well remember that, back in 2020 we had Covid. What this meant was that it was not possible for people to meet up in a classroom in order to learn the principles of underground searches. However, that did not mean that operatives did not need training, so we very quickly produced classes of online cable avoidance training. This meant that operatives could continue to attend the classes without physically being present.

The classes were run by our experts using a system which meant that attendees could ask questions and get answers in the same way as if they were physically present. Our online cable avoidance training proved so popular that we just carried on using it.

That means that, today, you can learn all of the classroom teaching from your own home or office. It saves you all of the costs associated with staying away from home for four or five days, but you still learn all the tricks of the trade.

Of course, you do need to carry out the practical part of the work on site, so you can come to us at Wigan for this, or in many instances we can come to you. Call us to discuss your requirements.

CAT Training From Sygma Solutions

It is fair to say that, in the UK, most of the services that we need run underground in cables, pipes, and trenches. If they didn’t the landscape would be littered with ever more pylons and cables and pipes on the surface, so it is accepted that as far as possible they should be underground.

Underground, of course means out of sight, which is why we put them there in the first place. It also means that they cannot get damaged by vehicles running over them, storms, floods, and more.

All of which is, to use the old phrase, fine and dandy. Until it comes to the point when you need to repair or replace them, run pipework or cables along existing tracks, or something blows up and needs urgent attention.

Most people never think about any of this, of course, because as long as they switch the light on, and it comes on, that is all that they are interested in. Fair enough.

Finding The Right Cable Or Pipe Can Be A Serious Problem

However, if you are an operative working for any of the utility companies who has the perhaps unenviable job of digging down, finding the right cable or pipe, and then repairing or replacing it, then it becomes a serious problem. Not to put too fine a point on it, how do you find the cable or pipe that you need? How do you know exactly where it runs? The short answer is that you don’t, unless you happen to have accurate plans of where the service is laid.

Equally, how do you know that you are not going to hit and damage something else? You don’t. You may obtain plans from the other service providers in the area, but how do you know that they are accurate? You don’t.

The only answer is to carry out a thorough survey of the area before you even think about starting to dig. Fortunately, we have some very advanced tools that enable one to do this, in the form of the CAT and the Genny – abbreviations for Cable Avoidance Tool and Signal Generator.

Even then they have certain limitations, so you cannot just pop down to the shop and buy them. You need thorough CAT training in the use of them.

At Syma Solutions, we have over 100 years of combined experience in the use of these tools which is why we provide CAT training courses that teach operatives how to use them in all different circumstances, and – most importantly – the limitations that they have. If you don’t fully understand these, you could make a very unfortunate mistake.

Our HSG47 Training Teaches You Everything You Need To Know

One of the most important things when breaking ground anywhere is to avoid striking any one of the dozens of underground services that may be present on the site. As a minimum, striking an underground service is very likely to put it out of use, and so it will need to be repaired.

However, that is the minimum. The cost of repairing / replacing some underground services can run into many thousands of pounds. But even that is not the worst of it: while the service is out of action it can result in massive loss of income for some businesses, and there is the likelihood that they may well take legal action to recover their losses.

Even worse is that there can be danger to life. Striking an 11,000-volt cable can cause injury, and in some cases death. There is an average of around a dozen deaths of workers caused by such strikes every year.

So, it goes without saying that before even pushing a spade into the ground it is essential to carry out a survey of the site in order to establish exactly what sort of utilities are present, where they run, and how deep down they are, so that they can be avoided as digging commences.

HSG47

This is why the Health and Safety Executive has produced HSG47 (Health and Safety Guidance 47) that covers everything that you need to know. While it is aimed primarily at risks to health and safety, it will nonetheless help to protect services from strikes and all of the other issues that may result.

At Sygma Solutions we provide HSG47 training which will teach operatives how to follow the guidance in order to keep workers on site safe as well as protect underground services.

HSG47 guidance is divided into four chapters as follows:

• Identifying and managing the dangers
• Planning the work
• Detecting, identifying and marking underground services
• Safe excavation

Obviously, the first thing is to identify the services that are on the site and where they run. This is done using the various tools involved – chiefly the CAT (Cable Avoidance Tool) and Genny (Signal Generator). Only after carrying out this survey can the planning of the work begin.

It is also important to note that, while obtaining plans from the utilities in the area is a first step, they cannot be relied upon. Many are out of date and many more do not even exist!

There is obviously a lot more to cover, but our HSG47 training covers everything that you need to know when carrying out any sort of excavation.

Striking Underground Services When Excavating Happens Almost Daily

Striking underground services when digging is, sadly, an almost daily occurrence in the UK. It has been estimated that some 4 million (yes, million) excavations take place in the UK every year. Not only that, but depending upon whose figures you believe, there are at least 1.5 million kilometres of underground services, although other figures state 2.5 million. Even if it is the first figure, it means that wherever you may dig there can be services already in existence.

They can also be in the most unexpected places. For instance, as we have mentioned before, if you are in a country lane out in the wilds and see a track across a field you may think there is nothing there. However, what if there is a home – a farm or something at the end of the track which you can’t see? Maybe even a country manor? There will be electricity cables somewhere, along with water, sewage, and possibly even gas pipes.

All of which is why it is essential to carry out an underground survey in order to locate and identify services before carrying out any type of excavation – wherever you may happen to be.

Utility Plans

Of course, the first thing to do is to contact all local utility companies in order to obtain whatever plans they have available. However, you cannot – ever – rely on such plans – for the simple reason that they are unreliable. This is because over the years, utility companies may make changes or alterations that are not noted on the original plans. Other utilities may have buried services alongside or above existing ones. In other cases, plans may simply not be available. Whatever the situation, utility plans can only ever be viewed as a guide, and nothing more.

This is why you must carry out an onsite survey before ever breaking ground. For this you need the relevant tools – chiefly the CAT and Genny – and you also need thorough training in how to use them.

As we have said elsewhere, you cannot just buy them and read the instructions. That would be like buying a car and reading them and then jumping in and driving it even though you have never driven a car before! The results don’t bear thinking about.

That’s why the utility location training that we provide at Sygma Solutions is the answer. We teach how to use them in all the different sets of circumstances that can occur when undertaking any sort of excavation work.

Our utility location training is carried out by experts with over 100 years of combined experience in the location of underground services. When you have finished and passed our course, then you can proceed with confidence.

Sygma Solutions’ CAT and Genny Training for Safer Operations

Giving your employees and contractors access to the proper equipment is a crucial component of ensuring the highest safety standards, along with utilising best practices. Prioritising safety will protect workers and site visitors from harm in addition to ensuring compliance.

Learn to Safely Use CAT and Genny Tools for Excavation Projects

CAT and Genny Training give workers the know-how to operate the Cable Avoidance Tool (CAT) and Signal Generator (Genny) properly. The basics of CAT and Genny are covered in this training program, along with detailed instructions on how to utilise these instruments to find and steer clear of subterranean utilities. Participants in this training acquire useful skills to avoid subterranean service hazards in accordance with HSG47.

Learn Safe Practices with Our HSG47 Substation Course

Personnel operating in and around substations, where there is a high danger of utility strikes due to the dense concentration of vital subterranean services including gas lines, high-voltage cables and other utilities, are the target audience for our HSG47 course.

Enroll in Cable Avoidance Training to Prevent Utility Strikes

CAT and Genny Training: What Is It?

The goal of CAT and Genny training is to teach workers how to identify and steer clear of subterranean utilities, including but not limited to cables and pipes, when excavating roads or pavements.

CAT and Genny scan procedures, equipment usage, potential risks, and safe techniques for locating subterranean utilities are all covered in the course. The law mandates that the proper safeguards be taken with regard to the locating and marking of cables, and HSE rules state that a CAT and Genny scan must be completed before work starts. Your employees must obtain their CAT and Genny certificates if they are expected to perform excavation work.

Cable Avoidance Training for Safe Digging and Excavation Work

Who is the CAT and Genny course for?

The CAT and Genny training courses would be useful for anyone whose job involves the safe and proper use of cable avoidance equipment. For example, any workers or supervisors in the UK who are responsible for identifying subterranean equipment in buildings or repairing roads and highways.

HSG47 Training: Safely Detect and Avoid Underground Services

The HSG47 Avoiding Danger from Subsurface Services course is a comprehensive training program that explains what a safe system of work for avoiding subsurface services should include.

The training is meant to be participatory, with theoretical and practical sessions that provide a complete knowledge/understanding of HS(G)47 and how cable avoidance technologies can be used in a construction, utility, or substation setting.