CAT And Genny Training Is Essential For Groundwork Operatives

CAT and Genny training is essential for all those involved in planning, managing, and undertaking any form of work involving excavation or penetration of the ground.

The CAT and Genny are tools used for the location of underground services and those can be found anywhere, even in the middle of a field. Used on its own, the CAT can locate underground electricity cables when there is power running through them, but not when the cable is dead. This is important because, taking street lighting as an example, the CAT can locate them when the lamps are on, but may not be able to locate them during daylight hours.

The Genny is an abbreviation for signal generator and is used to produce a signal which runs along, say, a water pipe or plastic gas pipe, and the CAT can then pick up the signal and locate the path of the service that way. However, even the CAT and Genny have certain limitations and it is essential for operatives to understand what those limitations are so that they do not get misled into believing there is no underground service in a certain position where there still could be.

Striking an underground cable or pipe can have tremendous implications, both financially and from the point of view of health and safety. It is estimated that there are 60,000 cable strikes in the UK every year, many causing severe injury, and around a dozen fatalities. This is why it is essential for operatives to undertake a CAT and Genny course so that they can learn everything needed to make informed decisions. There are also training companies who provide an EUSR CAT and Genny course, EUSR standing for the Energy and Utility Skills Register. The EUSR is also affiliated with the CSCS, and holders of an EUSR card that is affiliated to the CSCS can work on CSCS sites.

HSG47 Guidance From The HSE

HSG47 is guidance provided by the HSE for those undertaking any form of excavation work and is aimed at all of those involved in commissioning, planning, managing, and carrying out work on or near underground services, as well as the owners and operators of such services. The guidance applies to all situations where underground services may be disturbed and includes street works; road works; excavation, drilling and piling; demolition and site remediation; site investigation surveys; and any other work that involves penetrating the ground at or below surface level.

The guidance is in four chapters as follows: Identifying and managing the dangers; Planning the work; Detecting, identifying and marking underground services; Safe excavation.

The HSE notes that electricity cables are one of the most dangerous utilities when struck. Injuries are usually caused by arcing current and any associated flames or fire that may occur and are usually severe causing burns to the hands, face and body. Electric shock is also possible, but less likely. Damage can be worse if other utilities are nearby, such as gas pipes which can explode as a result of the electricity strike. Gas explosions can cause a huge amount of damage.

Damage to mains water pipes can cause flooding which may produce a risk of drowning, especially as the sides of an excavation may collapse upon workers. Flammable and toxic gases can enter cable-carrying ducts, particularly if the duct has been damaged. Such gases can accumulate in chambers, manholes, etc., and pose a risk to operatives who may need to work there.  

There are companies that provide an HSG47 training course in order to make operatives not only aware of the dangers but give them the skills needed to locate underground services using the CAT and Genny. All operatives who are to work on excavations should undertake an HSG47 course.

Cable Avoidance Training Is Critical For Contractors Undertaking Groundwork

Any contractor undertaking excavations of any description must be aware of the possibility, or indeed the likelihood, of underground cables and utilities that are at the precise point, or very close to, where the excavation has to take place. In fact, the problem should be approached from the point of view that there are very likely to be underground utilities and cables, rather than the fact that it is unlikely.

We have said this before, but just because you need to dig in a field which is currently full of sheep doesn't mean that there may not be underground utilities there. The field could just be the shortest way between remote villages, and that is why the utility company laid the electricity cables using it as a shortcut.

You would think that, knowing that, cable strikes would be rare, but the fact is that there are around 230 of them every working day, or about 60,000 a year up and down the country. Some of these result in serious injury, and there are even about a dozen fatalities every year as a result of hitting underground utilities. Some, such as water pipes, are relatively harmless, but striking an electric cable or gas pipe can have horrific consequences.

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