THE DANGER OF CABLE STRIKES AND HOW TO AVOID THEM

Cable strikes are amongst the most significant health and safety risks for engineers in the utility sector. An estimated 60,000 underground cable strikes occur every year, and many of these lead to severe injury or death, as well as costing businesses millions in associated damages and compensations. Sygma Solution works with Utility Engineers to avoid these situations.

What’s a Cable Strike?

Cable Strikes occur when a high voltage cable is struck during excavation due to insufficient prior site examination. This can happen with a digger or a spade and presents a real risk of electrocution that can prove to be fatal.

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When Carrying Out Excavation Work It Is Essential To Follow HSE Guidelines

When carrying out any sort of excavation work, which many contractors need to do, it is necessary to follow the guidelines laid down by the HSE in HSG47. These state that a safe system of work has three basic elements, which are planning the work; detecting, identifying, and marking underground services; and safe excavation/safe digging practices. The three elements complement each other, and all are critical when working near underground services.

The HSE guidelines state that anyone who is planning to carry out work that may disturb underground services must contact the owner/supplier of the services for information about their location and status. The owners and operators in turn must provide all available information about the location of the services and must also be prepared to help by perhaps sending a representative to the site who can assist with their location.

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The Problems Surrounding Excavation Works In Areas Of Underground Services

The guidelines in HSG47 from the HSE outline the potential dangers from working in or around areas which contain underground services and provides advice on how to reduce the risks. They deal primarily with the risks associated with health and safety, although the HSE does point out that actions taken in order to protect health and safety will also reduce the risk of damaging underground services.

Of course, damage to underground services not only poses health and safety risks but can involve considerable financial implications. Apart from any other consideration, striking underground services means that the contractor will have men idle on site until the utility concerned has repaired the damage. If a cable strike causes businesses in the area to shut down or stop work, there may be claims for compensation. There will also be damage to the contractor’s reputation. Indeed, it has been known for a contractor to go out of business as the result of striking an underground service.

As for injury, with some 60,000 cable strikes every year in the UK, there are many injuries as a result, a lot of them severe. Further, there are usually around a dozen fatalities. These can cause compensation claims which run into the hundreds of thousands.

This is why it is essential to undertake stringent investigation prior to putting a spade into the ground. The tools used to locate underground services are the CAT and The Genny - Cable Avoidance Tool and Signal Generator.

However, if you are a contractor engaged in any sort of excavation work, it is not sufficient to purchase a CAT and Genny and take them out of the box and read the instructions. The tools do have certain limitations and it is vital that these are understood by anyone undertaking survey work.

This is why all operatives should undertake an HSG47 course which will explain all the rationale behind the use of the CAT and Genny, together with instructions for their use in all modes, and with practical experience out on site. This is the only way for operatives to be able to proceed with underground services location with full confidence. 

Undertaking Any Type Of Excavation Work Can Be Dangerous

Undertaking any sort of excavation on public roads, as well as many other places, can be fraught with danger. The reason is that there are underground services of all sorts including electricity cables, water pipes, gas pipes, telecoms, sewage pipes, and they can be anywhere. We all have electricity in our homes, and most have telephone landline connections. We all have water pipes and we all use sewage pipes. Many properties also use gas, and then there are fibre-optics and other services as well.

Striking one of these will cause damage to the service at the very least and may mean that businesses are interrupted and/or people are left sitting in the dark at 4.00 pm on a winter’s afternoon. For example, if a telephone cable is cut, it can mean that there is no internet access, which in turn is going to affect the income of any business that depends on it for its’ operation.

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Training In the Use Of The CAT And Genny Is Essential For A Surveyor

Before undertaking any sort of excavation work, it is critical to ascertain whether there are any underground services in the area, or close by, that is going to be worked. The simple fact is that there are estimated to be 2.5 million kilometres of underground services in the UK – give or take – and they can be anywhere and everywhere.

Striking underground services can cause little damage other than disruption of the service until it is repaired. Alternatively, it can cause untold damage and lead to severe injury, and in certain cases is fatal. That’s not “CAN” be fatal, but IS fatal in around a dozen cases every year. Indeed, overall, there are approximately 60,000 cable strikes in the UK every year which is a lot of damage and a lot of cost, in addition to death and injury.

Unfortunately, prodding the ground with a long pole where you are going to dig is not going to work. You need to use tools such as the CAT and Genny in order to successfully locate and identify underground services so that they can be avoided. Buying a CAT and Genny and reading the instructions in the box is not going to provide sufficient information: if it did, there wouldn’t be 60,000 cable strikes a year.

It is essential for anyone who is planning to carry out surveys for the location and identification of underground services to take a CAT course provided by one of the training companies in the UK. These people are specialists who can teach exactly how to use the tools through CAT training, and most importantly what the limitations are.

That may come as a shock, but the fact is that the CAT and Genny DO have limitations. That means that – unless you fully understand them – you could make a serious mistake, with disastrous consequences. 

Location Of Underground Services Is Critical Before Any Excavation Work

Many contractors need to carry out some sort of excavation work very often. When you need to create a new build, it needs foundations, which involves digging. Street works almost always involve excavation. Ground works contractors, by definition, spend their lives digging.

The problem is that, wherever you need to dig, there may be underground services. In many places, such as pavements and roadworks, there almost certainly will be underground services, although it is possible that there may not be in a little used country lane. Even so, there could be.

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The Purpose Of PAS 256

In the UK there is a vast network of underground services such as water, electricity, gas, sewage pipes, telecoms, and more, and they can be found anywhere and everywhere. Depending on whose figures you believe, there are at least 1.5 million km of them and maybe a lot more. This presents a problem when a contractor needs to carry out any sort of excavation work, because striking many of these can result in serious damage, injury, and on occasion can be fatal.

The first thing to do before carrying out excavation is to contact the relevant local utilities and obtain any plans that they have. However, this in itself presents a problem because different utilities draw up their plans in different formats, they are not always accurate, and in some cases there are no plans at all.

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The Ever-Present Danger Of Underground Utilities When Carrying Out Excavation Work

When a contractor undertakes any sort of excavation works there is the ever-present danger of utilities running underground in the exact spot where the contractor needs to dig. They may only be a couple of feet down or they could be deeper, but the fact is that utilities can be anywhere. We all use electricity, water, and sewage pipes, and many people also use gas. We almost all have telephones and broadband.

Some of these are not going to cause a danger to human life, such as telephone cables. However, others can, and do, kill. Figures from Zurich Insurance show that there are an average 600 serious injuries and 12 deaths every year as a direct result of cable strikes. Any sort of damage to underground services will result in delays on a contract and can also result in serious financial penalties as well.

It is essential, therefore, that a thorough examination of the site is undertaken before a spade is put into the ground. Of course, since all utilities run underground, we cannot see them, so it is necessary to make use of the tools that have been designed to locate and identify them, namely the CAT and Genny.

These are indeed very sophisticated tools, but it should also be noted that they do have their limitations. If you believe everything they say, you could get into serious trouble.

For example, you might use the CAT on an area of land, and it tells you there is nothing there. You need to dig down six feet, so you happily dig away. However, what you didn’t know was that the CAT can only read to a certain depth – let’s say three feet in this instance. At a depth of four feet is an electricity cable, but the CAT was unable to record it.

This is why CAT training from a specialist training company is absolutely essential. CATSCAN training will not only teach operatives how to use the CAT and the Genny in all modes, but a first-class course will also teach them the limitations of these tools, and that information is vital for safety.

THE VERY SOUND REASONS FOR THE PUBLICATION OF PA256

There are estimated to be anywhere between 1.5 million kilometers and 2.5 million kilometers of underground services in the UK, depending on whose figures you believe. Whichever figure is correct, it is a lot of buried assets, and they can be found anywhere, even in the most unlikely places.

In order to maintain and/or repair this huge amount of services, the utilities and Local Authorities between them carry out an estimated 3.5 million street works every year. Obviously, it is essential to take every precaution to avoid striking any underground services when carrying out any excavation work, partly because damaging the services can be costly and interrupt business, but also to avoid the danger of injury to workers carrying out the digging, along with any passers-by. Nonetheless, there are some 60,000 cable strikes in the UK each year which result in approximately a dozen fatalities, and a considerable amount of serious injuries.

To Read more: PAS256 course

Training in the Use of Tools for Detecting Underground Services is Essential

It is a fact that wherever you may be in the UK – even standing in the middle of a field – there may well be underground services just under your feet. Electricity cables run pretty much everywhere, as do water pipes, sewer pipes, and telecoms, and perhaps to lesser extent gas pipes and other services.

In your local high street or council estate, it is obvious that most of them will be there, but even out in the countryside, it may be that one of the utilities decided upon a certain direction for its’ services which may not be apparent to us.

If you are a contractor who needs to excavate, you can obviously ask all the local utility providers for plans. Unfortunately, these are not always accurate, and in some cases non-existent. If they were perfect, there wouldn’t be some 60,000 cable strikes a year in the UK – and, yes, you read that figure correctly.

Of those utility strikes, many cause serious injury and around a dozen every year are fatal. This is why it is essential to undertake a thorough survey before even putting a spade into the ground, let alone a JCB.

Fortunately, we have a choice of many tools to help us locate, detect, and identify underground services, but unfortunately, it is not just a case of taking them out of the box and reading the instructions. If only it were that easy!

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The Advice Provided By HSG47.

HSG47 is a guide issued by the Health & Safety Executive, which is aimed at all those involved in commissioning, planning, managing, and carrying out work on or near underground services. The HSE says that it will also be of use to the owners and operators of such services.

The guide outlines the potential dangers of working on or near such services with regard health and safety. It also gives advice on reducing any such dangers and refers to the indirect risks arising through damage to services.

Possibly the best piece of advice that the guide gives is that all operators should assume that underground services are there unless they have been shown otherwise. Underground services can be found anywhere. Some places are obvious, such as the high street or a residential area. There will be electricity cables, water pipes, telecoms, and sewers as an absolute minimum, but there could also be gas and other pipes.

Striking an electricity cable can cause serious injury, or even be fatal, while, striking a gas pipe can easily cause an explosion. Even a water pipe can cause injury, since water under pressure can hurl stones and other debris out of the earth. It could also cause serious flooding and perhaps collapse the sides of an excavation while it has men working in it.

Striking a telephone cable may not cause direct injury, but will considerably inconvenience the local populace, and may result in claims for damages. For example, it could shut down a business because it cannot get on to the internet which could result in considerable loss.    

Before undertaking any excavation, the first point of call must be the local utilities for plans of where their cables and pipes run. However, such plans should not be taken as gospel since they are not always accurate and, in some cases, may not exist.

All surveyors undertaking the location of underground services should attend an HSG47course which will show them how to use the CAT and Genny in all modes in order to locate services. Such a course will also explain the limitations of the equipment and how to avoid making any mistakes because of those limitations. 

When Carrying Out Excavation It Is Essential To Avoid Underground Services

When you are going to undertake any sort of work which involves excavation or digging, it is essential to take every precaution possible in order to avoid striking one of the many services that run underground. There are a lot of different services that can run underground, but the main ones are electricity, water, sewage, and gas. Striking any one of those can be serious and result in severe injury and in some cases death. There are also telecoms which are unlikely to cause injury, but which could still cause serious disruption.

This is why it is necessary to undertake a full survey of the area in which you are going to excavate before so much as putting a fork or spade in the ground. The first thing to do is to contact the utilities in the area and get the plans. However, these must only ever be used as a guide. They may not be complete. They may not be accurate, Furthermore, there may be no plans available.

Any surveyor endeavouring to locate underground services needs to make use of the CAT and Genny. A surveyor must also understand how to use them in combination and in all modes in order to be as accurate as possible, but also needs to understand their limitations. They do have certain limitations.

For instance, it is possible for them to give a negative reading when there is, in fact, something there. Depending on the machine being used, some will only give a reading to a certain depth. That means that you could think there is nothing there when there actually is, but it is deeper than the machine can read.

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