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.