Sygma Solutions Provides The Cable Avoidance Training You Need

Sygma Solutions is noted as the foremost provider of training in the UK for the use of the various tools required for the location of underground services. Ensuring that you know for certain, or as near certain as possible, before carrying out any excavation work is critical, because if not, there can be serious consequences.

It is estimated that there are some 1.5 million kilometres of underground services in the UK and around four million excavation projects that take place every year. Accidentally hitting a gas pipe or electricity cable can obviously cause life-changing injuries to workers, and yet there are around 60,000 cable strikes every year. Between 2014 and 2020 there were no less than 3,972 injuries, including fatalities, caused by striking underground services. However, these are only the ones that have been reported to the HSE, so in fact, there will be many others that have not been reported for one reason or another.

There are, of course, also considerable costs involved when such incidents occur. Apart from injuries, there can be traffic disruption, loss of business to the local traders, and also the cost of repairing the damage among other things. In fact, according to a report in localgov.co.uk the actual cost of a utility strike is 29 times the direct cost arising from repair. So, if the repair cost, say, £6,000, the true cost is £174,000.

Apart from the actual costs, there is also reputational damage, particularly now that we have social media, where gossip spreads like wildfire.

Training At All Levels

All of this is why your operatives need the training that we provide at Sygma Solutions. We can provide training at all levels from new operatives who need to learn from the basics upwards to those who are on the ladder and need further or advanced training. These are the sorts of requirements that are being demanded for operatives to work on underground service location on more and more sites such as National Rail and Heathrow Airport for instance.

Your operatives may require Level2 Cable Avoidance Training for example. Our Level 2 Cable Avoidance Training will ensure that your operatives are fully up to speed. They can undertake the classroom work either physically on our site in Wigan or on your site if you prefer. In addition, we also now offer online training as well.

Either way, your operatives will also need to undertake on-site training using the tools such as the CAT and Genny, but again this can be done at your premises if you wish.

A brief guide to cable avoidance training

To make a difference, you must stay ahead in your field. One of the ways to stay ahead of others in the rat race is by equipping yourself with the latest knowledge and skills. If you are a professional in excavation or construction, you need to up your skills by enrolling for CAT training. Continue reading to know the importance of this course and the key aspects covered in the training.

CAT Training: What is its importance?

During construction and excavation projects, workers are unknowingly close to underground services like gas pipelines, water mains or electric cables. If a rigorous site survey is not completed before excavating it, the workers will be at risk of striking the underground services. This might lead to accidents, financial losses and hefty fines. Hence, cable avoidance training is essential for maintaining the safety of the workers and ensuring the underground utility services are detected and identified before any excavation work begins.

Furthermore, cable avoidance training is essential to be compliant with the law. The legal requirement of any construction or excavation project is that a proper cable avoidance survey is conducted to ensure the work will not disrupt the essential services or cause fatal accidents.

If you are equipped with proper CAT training, you will be able to ensure smooth operations and the prevention of delays and service disruptions.

What are the vital aspects covered in CAT training?

In CAT training, the essential topics covered are:

●       Identification of the underground utilities and understanding their significance

●       Practical training and hands-on experience in operating cable avoidance tools

●       Emphasis on risk assessment and safe working practices

●       Adherence to legal requirements and gaining insights into the industry’s safety standards

Who must enrol for cable avoidance training courses?

●       Construction workers involved in building projects or excavation work. CAT training ensures they have the knowledge and skills required to carry out their tasks without damaging vital services.

●       Professionals responsible for repairing and maintaining utility services, such as electricity, water and gas.

●       Site managers overseeing excavation and construction sites.

●       Independent contractors

In summation, cable avoidance training is not just another course. It is a training programme focused on legal compliance and safety. Whether you are a utility service provider or construction worker, you will significantly benefit from cable avoidance training. You will be able to learn how to detect underground services and how to operate CAT tools.

The Importance Of Underground Services Location Prior To Excavating

Before embarking on any construction or excavation project, it is essential to prioritise safety and efficiency by identifying the location of underground services. Failure to do so can lead to severe consequences, such as service disruptions, accidents, and costly damages. Sygma Solutions, a leading provider of comprehensive training programmes, including our Underground Surveyor Course and EUSR CAT & Genny Training, emphasises the significance of proper underground services location to ensure successful and risk-free projects.

Underground services, such as gas pipelines, water mains, electricity cables, and telecommunication lines, form the lifelines of urban infrastructure. However, these vital utilities are often hidden from view, making them susceptible to accidental damage during construction or excavation works. Identifying their precise location is crucial to safeguarding these services and preventing potential dangers to both workers and the public.

Safety is paramount in any construction project, and it begins with knowing what lies beneath the ground. Undertaking the Underground Surveyor Course offered by Sygma Solutions equips professionals with the knowledge and expertise to use state-of-the-art technology to accurately locate underground services. Armed with this information, workers can implement safety precautions and develop suitable excavation strategies, mitigating the risk of accidents and utility damage.

Damage to underground services can lead to costly repairs and project delays. Proper training, such as our EUSR Cat and Genny Training, enables workers to interpret the data obtained from underground utility locating equipment, allowing them to make informed decisions. By minimising the chances of hitting existing infrastructure, construction companies can save significant expenses and complete projects within budget and on schedule.

Utilising Advanced Technology

Sygma Solutions' Underground Surveyor Course and EUSR Cat and Genny Training use advanced technology like Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and Cable Avoidance Tools (CATs) to detect and map underground services. GPR employs electromagnetic radiation to produce a pulse that detects subsurface objects, providing precise information on utility locations. The CAT, on the other hand, detects the presence of buried metallic and non-metallic services, allowing workers to mark their positions accurately.

Beyond safety and cost considerations, there are legal requirements that mandate proper underground services location before commencing construction. Regulatory bodies often impose strict guidelines to protect public utilities, and non-compliance can lead to significant penalties and legal repercussions. Sygma Solutions' training programs educate participants about these regulations, ensuring they remain compliant and avoid potential legal issues.

Undertaking any form of excavation without first identifying the location of underground services is a significant risk that no responsible construction company should take. Sygma Solutions' comprehensive training programs, including the Underground Surveyor Course and EUSR Cat and Genny Training, are designed to equip operatives with the necessary skills to carry out accurate underground utility locating.

How to Pass the Level 5 NVQ Utility Survey

The Level 5 NVQ (National Vocational Qualification) in Utility Surveying is a recognized certification that validates the skills and knowledge of professionals in the field. 

If you're pursuing this qualification, you may be wondering how to successfully pass the Level 5 NVQ Utility Survey. As such, below are some valuable tips and insights to help you achieve success.

Understanding the Level 5 NVQ Utility Survey

The Level 5 NVQ Utility Survey is designed to assess an individual's competence in utility surveying, including knowledge of relevant legislation, surveying techniques, equipment operation, and data interpretation. 

It is a comprehensive utility mapping qualification that demonstrates your ability to carry out utility surveys effectively and safely. This means individuals are required to have an in-depth understanding of the field with sufficient knowledge of how strategies and techniques can be applied in a practical way. 

Tips for Passing the Level 5 NVQ Utility Survey

• Familiarize Yourself with the Requirements: Start by thoroughly understanding the requirements and assessment criteria of the Level 5 NVQ Utility Survey. Read the available qualification specifications and assessment guidelines provided by the awarding body to gain a clear understanding of what is expected from you.
• Study and Prepare: Take the time to study the relevant topics and materials. You may have existent experience of the field and processes, but it’s important to get the theory nailed down too, so you can provide sufficient answers in assessments. As such, review textbooks, industry publications, and resources specific to utility surveying. Familiarize yourself with relevant legislation, surveying techniques, equipment operation, and data interpretation.
• Gain Practical Experience: Practical experience is crucial for success in the utility surveying field. If possible, seek opportunities to apply your knowledge and skills in real-world scenarios. Work alongside experienced professionals, participate in fieldwork, and practice using surveying equipment and software. This hands-on experience will strengthen your understanding and confidence in utility surveying techniques.
• Build a Portfolio: Keep a record of your work and projects related to utility surveying. Develop a portfolio that showcases your practical experience, including completed surveys, data analysis, and any innovative approaches or problem-solving techniques you have implemented. This portfolio can serve as evidence and case studies of your competence during the assessment process.
• Seek Guidance and Feedback: Engage with experienced professionals in the utility surveying field. Seek their guidance, ask questions, and request feedback on your work. Their insights and expertise can provide valuable perspectives and help you refine your skills and knowledge.
• Practice Time Management: The Level 5 NVQ Utility Survey assessment often includes practical assignments and time-limited tasks. Practice effective time management skills during your preparation to ensure you can complete tasks within the given time frame. This will also help you manage your workload during the assessment itself.
• Be Well Prepared for Assessment Interviews: The Level 5 NVQ Utility Survey assessment may involve interviews to evaluate your knowledge, understanding, and decision-making abilities. Prepare by reviewing key concepts, legislation, and industry best practices. Anticipate potential questions and practice articulating your answers confidently and clearly.

Get Stuck In

Passing the Level 5 NVQ Utility Survey requires dedication, preparation, and practical experience, but it’s also an incredibly rewarding endeavor that can lead to better competency in the field as well as future job opportunities.

By following these tips, familiarizing yourself with the requirements, and seeking guidance from industry professionals, you can increase your chances of success and demonstrate your competence in utility surveying.

An Essential Step Before Any Form Of Digging Or Excavation

Before undertaking any form of digging or excavation, it is vital to conduct a thorough survey of the site for underground services. This essential process helps to identify and locate various utility lines, pipelines, and cables that may be hidden beneath the surface. They can be anywhere and everywhere.

By utilizing advanced techniques and equipment, operatives can minimise the risk of accidents, damage, and costly disruptions. It is necessary to follow EUSR HSG47 guidelines in ensuring safe excavation practices.

Underground services encompass a wide range of critical infrastructures, such as gas pipelines, water mains, electricity cables, telecoms, and sewer networks. Almost all of these services are concealed underground, making them invisible to the naked eye. Ignoring their presence and embarking on excavation work without proper surveying can have severe consequences, including service disruptions, injuries, and on occasion can be fatal.

The main reason for surveying underground services is to prevent accidental damage. Digging without accurate knowledge of the location of utility lines can result in striking and rupturing these services, leading to gas leaks, water main bursts, electrical outages, and other hazardous situations. Such incidents can have devastating consequences for the surrounding area, its inhabitants, and the workers involved.

EUSR HSG47, short for Energy & Utility Skills Register Health and Safety Guidance 47, is a set of guidelines that emphasises the importance of surveying underground services. These guidelines provide industry best practices and establish a framework for ensuring safe excavation procedures. By adhering to them, companies and workers can reduce the risk of accidents, comply with regulatory requirements, and protect the integrity of essential infrastructure.

A Range Of Technologies

Surveying for underground services involves various methods and technologies, including ground-penetrating radar (GPR), electromagnetic locators, and utility mapping software. Ground-penetrating radar is particularly effective in detecting underground objects by sending electromagnetic waves into the ground and measuring the reflections. Electromagnetic locators, on the other hand, utilise magnetic fields to identify services such as metallic pipes and cables. These tools, combined with fully trained operatives, enable accurate mapping of underground services and help reduce potential risks.

The benefits of surveying for underground services extend beyond accident prevention. By conducting comprehensive surveys, project managers and contractors can plan excavation activities more efficiently, optimising resource allocation and avoiding unnecessary delays. Understanding the layout and depth of underground services allows for better co-ordination, reducing the likelihood of conflicts and clashes during construction.

Surveying for underground services is an indispensable precaution before undertaking any digging or excavation project. It is a crucial step to prevent accidental damage, protect essential infrastructure, and ensure the safety of workers and the surrounding community.

 

Underground Services Can Be Absolutely Anywhere

There is an old saying “Out of sight, out of mind” and that is very true when it comes to undertaking any sort of work which involves digging into the earth. Nobody knows for sure, but it is estimated that in the UK there are at least 1.5 million km of underground services in the UK – electricity, gas, water, sewers, telecoms, and so on – so they can literally be anywhere.

Yes, we know there are obvious places like your local High Street where there will be all of those in most cases, although, of course, some areas do not have gas. But there are other places that you might not consider, such as your own front garden!

Yes, you have those services running into your home, don’t you? You may want to put up a new fence along the front of your home, but do you know where those services run? Probably not. Certainly, they may be at a greater depth than you need to dig to install a few fence posts, but then how do you know?

But when you are talking about construction work or digging down to repair existing services, you just have no way of knowing what is under your feet. This is why it is vital to undertake a thorough survey before beginning any sort of work involving excavation, and yet it is estimated that over 40% of all such excavation works are undertaken without a thorough search beforehand!

HSG47

The Health & Safety Executive has produced a very good guide called HSG47. Indeed, to use another old phrase, every business involved in any sort of excavation work should “read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest”HSG47.

One should also obtain STATS – plans of underground services – from the utility suppliers in the area, but these are insufficient on their own, for many reasons. They can only be used as a guide.

It is essential to undertake a thorough site survey using the CAT and Genny before beginning the work. Clever as these tools are, they need to be used in combination, and users also need to undertake proper instruction in order to fully understand how to operate them.

At Sygma Solutions, our purpose in life is to provide operatives with outstanding training in the use of the CAT and Genny in all their modes so that you can be confident when using them under any sort of conditions and also, vitally, be aware of their limitations. They do have certain limitations and it is critical to understand them so that no errors are made.

CAT Training: Why Is It Important?

Cable strikes can be fatal for the operatives working at the site, the service users, and the service providers. A little professional CAT training can put an end to all possible hazards. Sygma Solutions has been devoted to providing interested people just that for years. With proper training, we have succeeded in operatives and utility engineers to avoid cable strike risks.

Importance of cable location training

Safety in both senses, physical and financial, is the fundamental importance of such training.

Safety of the worker

The operatives and the utility engineers working at the site are at the highest risk of getting injured from cable strikes. Using machinery like excavators around live cables causes fatal injuries to the workers. Prior risk assessment and consulting the cable records can prevent these. CAT training teaches all of these. 

The problem for the community

With a cable strike, the area through which the cable runs will face serious problems. If it is a TV cable, the televisions of the whole locality will not run. Cables may run through unusual areas like a golf course and football grounds. So, a cable strike might put a match on hold. 

Problems for businesses

Cable strikes affect businesses also. A damaged cable may stop the CCTVs from working, cause power cuts, etc. Construction companies may face disruptions in their work. It affects their reputation and adversely impacts business opportunities. 

Problems with the cable service provider

The companies whose cables get struck while excavating face enormous losses. Repairing the cables, re-establishing the service, justifying the issue to the service users, etc., might cause unwanted hindrances. So, if the engineers already have cable location training, they can help the companies avoid such problems. 

What are the basics of CAT training

While Sygma Solutions is a trusted stop for anyone desiring to acquire training, there are a few basic steps to a successful planning process. These include:

• Studying cable records and utility maps before taking up any excavation projects
• Ground checking beforehand to make sure there is any live cable
• Using equipment to locate cable and pipes
• Observing safe practices for digging
• Consulting with the cable service provider before starting the excavation and thoroughly assessing the cable reports

Appropriate and accredited training from an authorised training provider enables a professional to overcome the potential hazards of cable strikes. Contact Sygma Solutions today for all your training needs.

 

The CAT AndGenny Are Clever Tools But Do Have Some Limitations

At Sygma Solutions, our utility surveyor training covers absolutely everything that an operative needs to know in order to undertake an onsite survey for the location of underground services. While we have some very clever tools available to carry out such surveys, unfortunately nothing in this life is perfect and there are some circumstances where it may not be possible to obtain a reading indicating the presence of a service, so it is essential to take these into consideration.

Any such survey should begin with the use of the CAT – Cable Avoidance Tool – and Genny – Signal Generator. Something such as the RD8100 locator works on electromagnetic principles and can be used for tracing electricity cables and metallic pipes. It can be used in passive mode or induction mode or by direct connection. If there is a live cable or metallic pipe it will emit a power or radio signal which can be picked up by the RD8100 at the surface in passive mode.

If this doesn’t produce a signal, the equipment can be switched to induction. In this case the Genny is set on the ground, and it emits a signal into the ground which should “attach” itself to the service and travel down its’ length and this can be picked up by the RD8100 in induction mode.

Direct Attachment

If neither of these works, then the Genny can be attached to the utility at source with a clamp or clip leads to generate a signal. Obviously, this requires direct access to the utility which might be a cable riser, inspection chamber, stop valve, or plant room. This may be an issue if the utility connection point is behind locked doors or cannot be found. All of this is covered in our utility surveyor training.

Once one has exhausted all of these possibilities, it is then time to use GPR. We provide GPR training as well, of course, using the Mala HDR or HDR Pro. These are mounted on a trolley which is then pushed over the ground with the intention of looking for differences in the soil density which could indicate the presence of services.

Our GPR training also points out its limitations. The radar unit needs to be as close to the ground as possible because otherwise it will not operate, so it can be a problem over rough ground. There can also be issues with wet or clay soils or if there is a lot of rubble, because the signal may be too weak, or it may be jumbled with too many peaks and troughs where the ground is disturbed. It tends to work best on flat ground without too many bumps and dips in it.