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).

With that said, when surveyed, 93% of construction workers and industry professionals believed that they always dig safely. Yet in the last 5 years, 354 people suffered life-changing injuries after striking a live underground electricity cable. Between the end of the last lockdown and the survey, incidents of cable strikes increased by 46%. Nearly half of all injuries over the last five years (47%) were reported on public highways, construction sites, and industrial buildings, making tradespeople at extreme risk of serious injury in the workplace.

Of the 31% of people who said that they didn’t always check for electricity cables, 15% said it was because it wasn’t their responsibility, while 24% said it was because they didn’t think they would dig deep enough to hit anything. In fact, electricity cables can run at any depth under the surface and will carry at least 230 volts (domestic voltage) and often a lot more.

Those are pretty shocking statistics, and in order to help reduce the number of injuries and fatalities suffered by construction workers, ENA has produced a short film called Think Before You Dig which is shown on the page at the link above.

The figures reinforce the fact that it is essential to take every possible step to check for underground services before digging, particularly since those refer only to strikes of electricity cables. There are also natural gas mains, sewers, water pipes, telecoms, fibre optic, petrochemicals, other gases, and so on. Even if they don’t actually cause injury, at the very least they are going to anger residents and businesses who are affected by the loss of their services until the utility company has come out and carried out the repairs. They can also result in punitive damages for contractors who cause such damage.

It cannot be emphasised enough that it is critical to undertake a survey of the area in which any sort of excavation is going to take place, even if the contractors “don’t think they will dig deep enough to hit anything”.

Not only does a surveyor have to use every tool at our disposal and check using them in all modes, but they also need to be very much aware that – as good as the CAT and Genny are these days – they still have certain limitations. Very simply, that means that even when using them it can on occasion appear that there is no underground service there when, in fact, there is. This is why attending one of the training courses that we provide at Sygma Solutions is vital. Between us, we have over 100 years’ experience of locating underground services and we teach everything that we know in our EUSR HSG47 training course.

HSG47 (third edition) is produced by the Health & Safety Executive and brings up to date the latest guidance on safe excavation work. It covers the three elements of a safe system of work which are planning the work, locating and identifying buried services, and safe excavation.

Certainly, the work needs to be planned, and this includes obtaining any plans, or STATS, available from the utility suppliers in the area. These should not be relied upon on their own but can give a useful guide. They are not always available and may contain errors or incomplete information. For example, a previous contractor may have been required to lay service at a certain depth but chose to cut corners and therefore did not dig as deeply as should have been done. The utility may still believe that the service is at the depth that was ordered, and that is what the STATS will show.

Our HSG47 training course goes into great depth and covers everything that any surveyor entrusted with locating underground services needs to know. This is why it is recognised by the Energy & Utility Skills Register. When you have undertaken this course with us, you will be armed with all the information that you need to carry out searches for the location of underground services, and you will also be able to obtain a EUSR card.