Locating Underground Utilities Before Undertaking Groundwork Is Critical

If you are the director of a contracting company that is engaged in any sort of ground work you will no doubt be very aware of the necessity for locating underground pipes and cables before undertaking any actual digging. Even so, you may not be aware of the appalling number of cable strikes that occur in Britain every year. Estimates vary, but an often quoted figure is around 60,000. Several of these result in serious injury and death.

Of course, the cost of repairs is one thing, but the University of Birmingham produced a report in January 2016 (http://assessingtheunderworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/IBuild-Cost-of-Strikes-Report-General-Anonymised-FINAL-1.pdf) which indicated that there is a ratio of 29 – 1. In other words, if you have a cable strike which costs £1,000 to repair, the true cost in terms of indirect and social costs such as downtime on site, loss of business by companies affected, and a whole lot more, is £29,000. 

It follows that locating and identifying underground utilities through the use of a CAT and Genny is critical in reducing the number of these incidents. The combined network of underground utilities – gas, water, electricity, telecoms, sewage – totals over 1.5 million km. This is five times the length of the UK road network. Furthermore, the utility industry undertakes about the same number – 1.5 million – of street works every year in order to maintain and upgrade the various systems. 

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Training In The Use Of The Vivax Metrotech VLoc Pro

The Vivax Metrotech VLoc Pro is an advanced tool that helps operators to quickly and accurately detect buried utilities. The Vloc Pro uses dual core processing and co-located antennae to ensure optimal performance. Vloc training is vital in order to learn how to use the tool to its’ fullest effect, and at the same time understand its’ limitations.

There are far too many cable strikes in the UK from contractors digging without being fully aware of cables and utilities underneath, the type of utility, and the depth at which it is located. Even one cable strike would be one too many, but the fact is that there are thousands every year, many ending in serious injury, and there are a dozen or so deaths every year as well. Professional Vloc Pro training can help to avoid some of these dreadful incidents.

Considerable emphasis is put on classroom Vivax training so that the operatives understand the need for surveying underground utilities, together with the guidelines of HSG47, and how they should conduct a survey to comply with the rules. Operatives should learn how to understand buried services STATS plans in order to gain some idea of the routes of underground utilities. They also learn about electromagnetic theory and the way that it is used in locating buried pipes and cables.

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Bespoke Vivax Training from Sygma Solutions

Understanding the leading industry equipment and processes is a highly important part of any operative’s career. Regardless of the client, location or application, being able to conduct operations with confidence and knowledge is a cornerstone of solid utility location and avoidance.

Training

When searching for courses or vivax training programmes that offer guidance and experience in this area, it is incredibly important to look for practical experience in addition to theoretical knowledge of application methods. Topics that may be covered will vary depending on your course, but the fundamentals will stay the same regardless of which training partner you choose.

Understanding different types of service plans, health, safety and financial implications and national legislation relating to avoidance of danger from underground services will be a part of any respected training programme.

Remember that training courses will usually require delegates to bring their own cable location equipment. Even if this is provided, the make and model may be different to what you will use so it might be better to come with your own equipment.

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The Best Utility Mapping Qualifications

Undertaking a professional qualification is an important milestone in the career of any operative. When planning your future, being able to act with experience, confidence and having a firm grasp of the advanced knowledge necessary to complete your task is essential.

ProQual QCF Level 2 Utility Training in Utility Location and Avoidance
When embarking on ProQual QCF Level 2 Utility Training, there are a number of areas that will be directly applicable to your eventual chosen application. Understanding the range of these important factors and processes will form the foundation of your future qualification and your understanding in the field.

ProQual Level 3 Utility Mapping Certification
The Level 3 Certificate in Utility Mapping and Surveying is highly important for those working in a surveying industry. This includes trainee surveyors or technicians, or those entering the surveying profession at various stages of their career.

The units covered during any relevant course will include the location and mapping of underground utilities in addition to understanding the system of navigation such as colour coding of underground services.

As a highly regulated area, courses will also teach the relevant regulations and guidelines relating to the location of readings maps, services, drawings, and surveys and reporting. 

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Plans Are Not Always Reliable When Tracing Underground Cables And Pipes

Electromagnetic detection of underground cables has been in use since the turn of the 20th century and today this method of locating buried pipes and cables is almost universal. The main disadvantage of using this method is that it will not locate plastic pipes or any other lines that are non-metallic. However, utility companies that take the trouble to add a tracer wire to plastic pipes will not have any problem.

Plans should always be used when attempting to locate buried pipes and cables, but one of the problems is that many of them are inaccurate, and in other instances are not in existence. Confusion can also be caused when buried cables are close to each other, or where one may be above another. 

The RD8100 is the latest in a long line of electromagnetic detectors which have been developed over a period of 40 years. Radiodetection RD8100 training is available from specialist companies that provide cable detection training to the employees of contractors who are likely to undertake any sort of groundworks and will need to be aware of the likelihood of any problems with utility cables on the site.

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The Reasons For The Serious Number Of Cable Strikes Every Year

It is estimated that no less than 1.5 million holes are dug in the ground every year in the UK by utility companies alone, let alone all of the other excavation carried out around the country in the course of construction works. It follows that it is inevitable that underground cables and pipes will be hit during the course of these works.

According to a study carried out in 2006 the reasons for utility strikes are due to one or a combination of factors including poor planning, lack of accurate information, lack of care around services, poor excavation techniques, limited understanding of cable avoidance tools and techniques, and rushing to finish a job.

According to the Health and Safety Executive in 2014, there are some 12 deaths and 600 serious injuries every year just from contact with electricity cables, let alone other utilities. It is also thought that operatives may take less care around some services – particularly telecoms – because they are perceived to be less hazardous than strikes on electricity cables or gas pipelines.

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Learning To Use Radio Detection Devices Takes time And Practice

Radiodetection is the manufacturer of a series of radio detection devices for locating and mapping underground cables and pipes.  They are used in more than 60 countries for the purpose of avoiding cables and pipes when a contractor has to excavate soil in any location. Who knows what might be down there – and more importantly exactly where it is located – before we start to dig? It would also be helpful to know just how deep a cable or pipe is. Damaging buried utilities can not only be extremely dangerous to operatives working on the ground, but it can also be very expensive.

The RD8100 range of precision locators is designed to be used to pinpoint accurately a range of different cables and pipes in a variety of locations.  These professional instruments represent the culmination of Radiodetection’s experience in the design and manufacture of locators.

However, using the RD8100 locators is not simply a matter of taking them out of the box and “off we go!” Learning how to use them takes time and practice in a number of different situations. Imagine never having seen a car before. You can’t just sit in the driver’s seat and drive. You need training in what and where all the gadgets are, what they do, how they do it, and how to use them. The same thing applies to the RD8100 range.

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