Level of Surveys for Underground Utility Mapping

If you are a contractor, you would be bestowed with the responsibility of carrying out level 5 utility mapping to locate and detect buried utility services. This is important because you would not want to strike a cable or a gas pipe during excavation. Cable avoidance is the best way to reduce cable strikes and maintain a safe working environment.

A comprehensive mapping of the area is integral to the protection of the workers and the people living near the excavation site. Also, it will save you from having to pay compensation costs. The equipment to be used and how much is to be mapped is decided by the surveyor. For instance, if you are a level 5 utility surveyor, you would be needed to establish technical information systems and site surveying management. For a better understanding, take a look at the different level of surveys.

Level 1 survey: This involves searching existing utility records, which can be consolidated into a single plan in CAD and overlain onto base mapping.

Level 2 survey: At this level, a visual walkover survey is carried out as a part of site visit. Normally, this would be an addition to level 1 survey.

Level 3 survey: Electro-magnetic location survey in both active and passive mode with located services being marked onto the surface of the ground.

Level 4 survey: This is level 3 survey in addition to ground probing radar (GPR).

Level 5 survey: This is a level 3 survey, along with recorded close centred GPR with post data collection analysis and interpretation.

For more information on level 5 NVQ utility survey, reach out to a professional training provider.

Why Do You Need EUSR CAT & Genny Training?

Striking an underground utility service and damaging it can seriously injure the workers on the excavation site and on some occasions, might even prove to be fatal. Damaging or making contact with water pipes, gas or electricity cables can be extremely dangerous. Even though striking sewer pipes might be considered less dangerous, but they can also cause health issues if the workforce is exposed to raw sewage. Also, the UK reports more than 60,000 cable strikes on a yearly basis.

The main problem with underground utility services is that they are practically everywhere. You may even find them in places that you least expect to. This is what makes a thorough survey of the underground crucial before the beginning of any kind of excavation work and the survey needs to be carried out by someone who has had professional EUSR CAT and Genny training.

The EUSR or Energy and Utilities Skills Register is an independent, but recognised body that needs surveyors to be properly trained to the highest levels. Whoever completes the training is handed with a card, which allows them to work on various projects like, HS2. There are a few reputed and professional companies providing EUSR cable avoidance training and offer courses that meet the standard of EUSR hsg47. By undertaking this specialist training programme, surveyors will be able to learn the correct use of the CAT & Genny in the different modes and also learn about their limitations.

So, sign up for a training programme and carry out excavation work safely.

Hsg47 Training. What’s It All About?

Many people are unsure what HSG47 training is all about. HSG47 is the guide to commissioning, planning, managing, and carrying out work on or near to underground services, that is produced by the Health and Safety Executive. The latest edition, which is the third, was produced in 2014 and still stands today.

The HSG47 course that we provide here at Sygma Solutions trains all those involved in the location and identification of underground services to the standard laid down by HSG47.

The fact is that underground services can be absolutely anywhere. You might expect to find them in the local high street, since there will be telephone cables, electricity cables, water pipes, sewage pipes, possibly gas pipes, and more, supplying all of the shops, restaurants, bars, and offices that are there.

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The Need For Specialist Training On The Use Of The CAT And Genny

Any contractor that is engaged in any type of work that involves digging – whether by hand or the use of equipment such as a JCB – must first undertake a survey of the area involved, including nearby, in order to establish whether there are underground utilities there, and if there are, what sort they may be. There can be electricity cables, gas pipes, water pipes, telecoms, sewer pipes, fibre optics, and more, and many of these may not show up on a utility company plan, or if they do may be inaccurately marked.

Striking underground utilities happens more often than you would imagine: in the UK there are some 60,000 strikes a year. Some are relatively harmless, while others cause serious injuries and are sometimes fatal. At the very best, striking a utility is going to delay the project, and the contractor will have men standing idle while the damage is repaired.

Before a spade is put into the ground, it is essential to carry out an underground survey using the CAT and Genny. These two tools used in combination can detect a lot of underground services, but they are not infallible. This is why anyone who is going to undertake such surveys needs to participate in CAT and Genny training on a recognised CAT and Genny course.

A number of bodies recognise certain courses, including the CSCS and the EUSR. Both of these bodies will award a card to anyone who successfully completes one of the courses they recognise. So if a surveyor attends an EUSR CAT and Genny course and passes the exam, he or she will be awarded an EUSR card and then be permitted to work on any site that accepts that card. And, of course, the same thing applies to the CSCS who will award one of their cards.

HSG47 Guidance From The HSE

HSG47 is guidance from the Health and Safety Executive on how to avoid the dangers from striking underground services when carrying out any sort of excavation work. It is the latest, and third, edition, and was issued in 2014.

As the HSE says, the guidance applies to anywhere that underground services may be found, such as street works; road works; excavation, digging, and piling; demolition and site remediation; site investigation surveys; and “any other work that involves penetrating the ground at or below surface level.” In other words, everywhere. They could have just used the last one and that would have covered it!

The sad fact is that there are some 60,000 strikes of underground services in the UK every year, many causing serious injury, and some of which are fatal. This is despite the fact that responsible contractors do take the trouble to carry out a site survey before they begin digging, using the two main tools, which are the CAT and the Genny.

The problem appears to be that many contractors do not understand the limitations of these two tools, and their surveyors have not been trained in their correct use on a fully-fledged HSG47 training course. If that were not the case, how would there be about 230 utility strikes every working day of the year? It simply wouldn’t happen.

This is why, if you are a contractor involved in any sort of work which involves ground penetration, you should ensure that your surveyors attend an HSG47 course which will teach everything that there is to know about the CAT and Genny, including – most importantly – their limitations. They do have certain limitations: for example, the depth to which they can read. This is just one reason why you should only dig down a foot in an area believed free of utilities because it may be the case that they are actually there, but that the CAT and Genny couldn’t locate them. So you need to check again before digging further.

Is Cable Avoidance Training Indispensable? Find Out!

Contractors and workers have to be extra careful when excavating or digging up an area in the UK. There are miles of underground utility services and if they are damaged, it can cause serious injury to the workers, along with disruption of services and resultant financial losses. Even though most supervisors or contractors take care to avoid accidental cable strikes, more than 60,000 cases are reported each year. This is because most of them are not aware of the right use of the two main tools used for the detection of underground utility services - CAT and Genny.

The CAT, also known as cable avoidance tool is used to locate live power cables that have power running through them. But, in order to locate all the buried services, it is mandatory to use the CAT & Genny together. The Genny or signal generator is used to apply a signal to the underground services like, telecoms, gas pipes, water pipes and so on, which the cable avoidance tool is able to detect.

The problem with using CAT & Genny is that you cannot simply purchase the equipment, read the instructions and consider yourself an expert. You need to undertake proper cable avoidance training to understand everything that the CAT & Genny are able to do and the things that they cannot do.

In the UK, there are several specialist companies providing professional CAT & Genny training programmes that you can register for to learn everything about the equipment.

Why Should You Undertake a CAT & Genny Course?

Are you a contractor who is going to undertake any type of digging or excavation work? If so, the first thing that you must do is to carry out a thorough survey of the area in which you are about to start digging. The survey will help in establishing if there are any buried or underground utility services in the area that you are about to excavate or nearby.

The fact of the matter is that there are miles and miles of underground gas pipes, electricity cables, water pipes, fibre optic cables and other such utility services. Some of them are even found in the unlikeliest of places. Without proper precautions and training in operating CAT & Genny, you will simply be adding to the 60,000 cases of cable strikes that severely or fatally injure contractors. A number of contractors rely on site maps, but these maps are outdated and inaccurate. So, you need to take the necessary steps to make sure that you do not accidentally hit a cable or gas pipe when excavating.

Those surveying the excavation site must have in-depth knowledge of the use of the CAT & Genny, which are tools used to detect and locate cables on construction, excavation and groundwork sites. The CAT is able to detect signals that are naturally radiated from metallic services and Genny helps to detect hard-to-reach underground utility services. By undertaking a CAT & Genny course, you will be able to gain practical experience in using the equipment.

So, make sure to sign up for a CAT course that is run by an experienced and professional company.