What Is the EUSR?

Anyone who is not in the contracting business may not have heard of the EUSR. It is the Energy and Utility Skills Register and is an online register of an individual’s training and skills. An EUSR card is an alternative to a CSCS card, and one or the other may be required before an individual is permitted not just to work on certain sites, but even enter them. HS2 is a good example of a project that requires anyone entering a site to be properly registered.

When conducting any sort of cable avoidance survey, the surveyor can be required to possess an EUSR cable avoidance card, which will show proof of EUSR Cat and Genny training. That is not to say that the EUSR itself has carried out the training, but that it is satisfied with the skills of the operative because he or she has trained with one of their recognised training companies and has passed the necessary tests.

HSG47 is guidance from the HSE regarding the undertaking of excavation work and contains a detailed report of the potential dangers of working near underground services, and provides advice on how to reduce any risks. It is more concerned with risks to health and safety than with damage to services, although damage to services can have immense implications, not the least of them financial ones. However, the HSE does point out that reducing the risks to health and safety will also generally reduce the risk of damage to services.

HSG47 is aimed at all those carrying out work on or near underground services, as well as the operators or owners of those services. The guidance is divided into four sections: identifying and managing the dangers, planning the work, identifying and marking underground services, and carrying out the excavation work safely.

It goes into great detail about the dangers of electricity cables and gas pipes, both of which can cause major explosions, as well as the dangers of striking water pipes, and more.

EUSR HSG47 is another category for which a card can be obtained, and which will permit the operative to work on certain sites.  

Locate Underground Services Using CAT & Genny

The CAT (cable avoidance tool) & Genny (signal generator) is widely used to locate underground utility services before proceeding with any kind of digging or excavation work. On its own, CAT is only capable of locating electricity cables that have power running through them. However, with the power turned off, the CAT will not be able to locate the buried cables. This is why CAT is used in conjunction with Genny. CAt & Genny are able to identify and locate buried services like, clay or plastic pipes, metal water pipes, telecoms and more.

In the UK, there are a number of companies providing professional CAT and Genny training courses in order to prevent cable strikes. The country already experiences over sixty thousand cables strikes each year, which results in causing severe injury to the workers and the people living nearby the excavation site. Even if the strike does not cause damage to human life, it still results in financial losses as the services that are hit remains disabled until the time the cables or pipes have been repaired or replaced. By availing proper training, supervisors, engineers and contractors are able to prevent cable strikes and also employ safe working practices.

The training programmes are called by various names, such as EUSR CAT and Genny training, HSG47 training and so on. Even though all the courses teach how to use cable avoidance tools, the different names are given depending on the authority that the training company is recognised by.

So, if you have any upcoming excavation project, make sure that you enrol yourself for a CAT & Genny course. The course will help you to gain a complete understanding of the limitations and use of the equipment so that you can create a safe working environment.

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.

CAT And Genny Training Is Essential

Any company undertaking any sort of excavation has to be as certain as possible that it does not strike and damage any of the multitude of underground services that are all over the country.

When underground services are damaged there can be severe repercussions, not the least of which is the risk of serious injury to workers which, on occasion, is fatal. However, there are other implications as well. To begin with, the project will be delayed while the utility concerned has to send out a team to undertake repairs. This could result in penalties for the contractor, but even if not, he will be paying to have men standing idle. There can be huge claims for compensation from those injured, or in the event of a fatality, their families. It can also result in damage to the contractor’s reputation.

For all these reasons, a full survey of the area MUST be undertaken before a spade so much as touches the ground. The tools used for carrying out such surveys are the CAT (Cable Avoidance Tool) and Genny (signal generator). These are used in combination to detect and locate the position of underground services in the area to be excavated and nearby.

Operatives undertaking these surveys need to take a CAT course for CAT training in order to fully comprehend the use of the CAT. However, in most instances the CAT must be used in conjunction with the Genny, so a full CAT and Genny training course is required.

Several organisations recognise individual courses, and these include the CSCS, EUSR, and The Survey Association. So, for instance, one might undertake an EUSR CAT and Genny course and be awarded an EUSR card to recognise that level of expertise. 

Some Notes about EUSR CAT and Genny Training

Damage to underground services can cause severe injury and on occasion can be fatal. Making contact with, and damaging, electricity cables, gas, or water pipes can be exceedingly dangerous. Some others are less dangerous, such as sewer pipes, but can still cause health problems if workers are exposed to raw sewage. Yet the facts are that in the UK there are an average of 60,000 strikes of underground services every year.

Part of the problem is that they are everywhere – even in places that you might reasonably expect not to find them. This is why undertaking an underground survey before commencing any excavation is vital. In fact, many businesses and/or main contractors will not allow work to proceed unless a survey has been undertaken by not only a trained surveyor, but one who is qualified to EUSR standards.

The Energy and Utilities Skills Register is an independent, yet recognised, body which requires surveyors to be trained to the highest levels and issues them with a card which enables them to work on projects such as HS2. There are companies which provide EUSR cable avoidance training and provide courses which are to EUSR hsg47 standard. EUSR CAT and Genny training will teach surveyors the use of the CAT and Genny in all their different modes, and most especially will teach the limitations of the equipment. Sometimes it can appear that an area is safe when in fact there is an underground service present, so knowing the limitations of the equipment is vital.

CAT And Genny Training Is Essential For Groundwork Operatives

CAT and Genny training is essential for all those involved in planning, managing, and undertaking any form of work involving excavation or penetration of the ground.

The CAT and Genny are tools used for the location of underground services and those can be found anywhere, even in the middle of a field. Used on its own, the CAT can locate underground electricity cables when there is power running through them, but not when the cable is dead. This is important because, taking street lighting as an example, the CAT can locate them when the lamps are on, but may not be able to locate them during daylight hours.

The Genny is an abbreviation for signal generator and is used to produce a signal which runs along, say, a water pipe or plastic gas pipe, and the CAT can then pick up the signal and locate the path of the service that way. However, even the CAT and Genny have certain limitations and it is essential for operatives to understand what those limitations are so that they do not get misled into believing there is no underground service in a certain position where there still could be.

Striking an underground cable or pipe can have tremendous implications, both financially and from the point of view of health and safety. It is estimated that there are 60,000 cable strikes in the UK every year, many causing severe injury, and around a dozen fatalities. This is why it is essential for operatives to undertake a CAT and Genny course so that they can learn everything needed to make informed decisions. There are also training companies who provide an EUSR CAT and Genny course, EUSR standing for the Energy and Utility Skills Register. The EUSR is also affiliated with the CSCS, and holders of an EUSR card that is affiliated to the CSCS can work on CSCS sites.

Features Of The Latest CAT 4 From Radiodetection

CAT and Genny training is essential for all operatives whose job includes locating any type of underground services. The CAT 4 is the latest in the Radiodetection series of cable avoidance tools and has some features which other cable avoidance tools do not. For example, it now features Dynamic Overload Protection which enables an operative to continue working in areas which are electrically challenging, such as underneath power cables or near to substations, where the detection circuitry of other equipment may become overloaded and simply cease to function.

The new CAT 4 also has a high visibility display with a backlight which enables the operator to read the information under any lighting conditions and avoids the possibility of misreading critical information from the unit. In Avoidance Mode, the CAT 4 provides faster detection by allowing the operator to check an area intended for excavation for power, radio, and Genny signals, and pinpoint any utilities in a single scan. Its' unique digital signal processing capabilities also reject electrical interference.

 

The CAT 4 also allows operatives to check over the internet a fast and thorough test of the key circuitry elements using the CAT manager software. This enables an operative to check the unit against the original factory calibration. The CAT manager software is a Windows® PC program that allows plant, fleet and site managers to minimise down time by performing software upgrades, sending a service request, reproducing calibration certificates, and compiling/editing user information with eCAT and gCAT configurations.

Several companies provide a CAT course which will enable operatives to become fully acquainted with the CAT 4 and its uses in all its modes. Some of the companies can also provide EUSR CAT and Genny training if they are an EUSR approved training provider, which not all training course providers are.