Cable Avoidance Tools Can Have Certain Limitations

Damage to underground services – electricity, telecoms, gas pipes, water, fibre optics, and a lot more – causes a huge amount of problems every year. Just to begin with, on average there are some 600 serious injuries and 12 deaths every year in the UK as a result of operatives striking underground services when carrying out some form of excavation. 

That may not seem a considerable amount when you consider that there are an estimated 1.5 million km of underground services and that some 3.5 million to 4 million excavations are carried out every year by utility companies and local authorities in order to maintain them. Nonetheless, it is 600 serious injuries and 12 deaths every year too many. Not only that, the figures for street works only apply to utilities and local authorities who are intentionally digging to maintain the services, let alone all the other contractors who may be digging for many other reasons such as preparing the foundations for construction works.

This is why cable avoidance training is essential for any contractors undertaking groundworks. We have tools such as the CAT and Genny, yet many surveyors do not understand all of their uses, and – more importantly – do not understand that these tools have certain limitations. In other words, they may provide a reading which says there is nothing in the area to be excavated, when in fact there is.

How can that be? You might well ask. If a cable avoidance tool has shown there is nothing there, how can it be wrong?

Here is a simple example – although there can be others. The tool may be limited in how deep it can read. So you may intend to dig down 2 metres, but the tool can only read down to 1 metre. It says there is nothing there, but suppose there is a cable at 1.5 metres depth? Cable avoidance training tells you how to understand these limitations, and how to deal with them.

Here’s Why You Must Undertake Cable Avoidance Training

When it is about digging up or excavation an area, contractors need to be careful not to strike and damage underground utility services. In the UK, there are miles and miles of buried services and some of them are even found in the most unexpected of places. In the event that a worker strikes a cable, wire or pipe and damages it, it can result in causing severe injury to the workers present on-site, as well as, disruption of services and financial losses. Accidental cable strikes reported each year are already over 60,000, and therefore, you need to be very careful. Cable strikes and resulted accidents can be prevented if contractors learn the use of detection tools like, CAT & Genny.

The CAT or cable avoidance tool can locate live wires and cables that have power running through them. However, the CAT is unable to locate other types of underground services. This is why it is necessary to use the CAT and Genny together. The Genny is basically a signal generator that helps to apply a unique signal to the buried services that the CAT is able to detect easily.

The detection tools do come with a user manual and instructions, but that is not enough to properly operate the equipment. Contractors, engineers and workers are recommended to undertake cable avoidance training to learn the right way to operate the equipment and also learn about its limitations.

So, find a professional training provider and sign up for the course.

The Necessity for Cable Avoidance Training for Underground Surveyors

When underground services are damaged it can result in serious injury to workers, and there are occasional fatalities as well. There are some 60,000 strikes of underground services every year, despite the fact that most contractors take care to try to avoid them by locating them before undertaking any work.

The two main tools used for the location of underground services are the CAT (Cable Avoidance Tool) and Genny (Signal Generator). The CAT used on its' own can only locate live power cables with power running through them. This means that if you use a CAT in the street at night when the street lights are on it should find the cable. If you searched the same area next morning you would not find them.

To locate all underground services, it is necessary to use the CAT and Genny in combination, the Genny being used to apply a signal to an underground service such as water or gas pipes, telecoms, and so on, which the CAT is then able to detect.

Despite the care taken, the amount of cable strikes that occur every year seems to indicate that many people are unaware of everything that the CAT and Genny can do, but perhaps more importantly what they can't do. This is why specialist cable avoidance training is essential for all people who undertake surveys in order to locate buried services. There are certain companies in the UK who provide such training and can teach not only the use of the CAT and Genny in all modes, but also their limitations.

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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Sygma Solutions Is The Leading Cable Avoidance Training Company In The UK

Sygma Solutions is the leading provider of cable avoidance training in the UK. Our courses are based on first hand experience in the field. We have cable locator manufacturing experience which means that we understand the equipment inside out: we know how it works, why it works, and what it can – and equally importantly cannot – do.

We have utility mapping experience, working in real on-site conditions, and using the right piece of equipment and application in every situation. We also understand repair and calibration of every type of equipment through our partner company Swan Test & Calibration with 27 years of continuous experience, and approved to repair Radiodetection, C Scope & Kolectric equipment. In short, there is nothing whatsoever that anyone could teach us about underground utility surveying because – without wishing to brag – we know everything there is to know.

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How to choose the best CAT and Genny Training

Cable avoidance training
If you are building a career in the utility detection industry it is essential to understand how to use the latest range of Cable Avoidance equipment and new technologies and learn from experts on how to consider the best locating practice that will ultimately reduce the number of cable strikes that take place.

CAT Training is an important part of many construction and excavation processes in order to avoid buried cables strikes. There are many qualifications in CAT and Genny Training that are available for operatives in the utility location and avoidance industry and offer the value required to have an outstanding career in the industry.

CAT Courses are a combination of basic textbook knowledge and practical hands-on experience taught by experts in the field. There are broad range of qualifications available to any professional willing to grasp the advanced knowledge.  It all depends on what they seek to achieve which makes the selection process easier.

Choosing the best CAT training
There are many industry related qualifications that can help boost your career in utility location and avoidance. The end result should something to consider while pursuing future qualifications in this field.

Are you seeking advanced knowledge, hands-on experience or the ability to boost your skills and confidence in your career path?  Choose a training provider that can offer you whatever you seek to achieve.

Many CAT courses are organized as assessment only, while others offer holistic training experiences with on-site activities as well as theoretical learning opportunities.  There are a number of different methods and details that these courses cover such as the reasons for using buried pipe and cable locators, understanding health, safety & financial implications and how to avoid danger during  underground services.

For those who already have a certain level of training, there are bespoke training courses available that are designed to offer both theory and practical experience necessary for your particular skillset and experience.

The Genny Training Course
Cable Avoidance Tools are powered by Genny, or Signal Generators, designed to detect signals from metal services. CAT have various modes that allow the user to detect signals from below the surface of the ground.  The Genny mode allows the CAT to detect radiated tones to detect and avoid water valves or plug sockets with a direct connection to the source.