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.

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.

The Reasons for Undertaking a Specialist CAT and Genny Course

If you are a contractor who is going to undertake any sort of excavation work, the very first thing you should do is to undertake a survey of the area in which you nee to dig in order to establish what, if any, buried services are in the place that you are working or very close to it. 

 

The plain facts are that there are unknown thousands of miles of electricity cables, gas pipes, water pipes, sewage pipes, telecoms, fibre optic cables, and more, buried underground in this country, and some of them are in places which might seem most unlikely. The grim figures are that there are some 60,000 cases of strikes on underground utilities every year in the UK – many of them causing severe injury, and some fatal – DESPITE the fact that responsible contractors take precautions before digging. That is over 230 every working day!

This is why you should assume, unless you know otherwise, that there are services in the area that you need to excavate. Surveyors will be familiar with the use of the CAT and Genny but many are not aware of their limitations. This is why anyone undertaking surveys using the CAT and Genny needs to attend a professional CAT and Genny course that covers everything that they can and can't do and gains some practical experience in the field. It is not enough just to buy the equipment and read the instructions. A CAT course run by a professional company will cover everything that a surveyor needs to know.

Some Notes about the Energy and Utility Skills Register

EUSR stands for the Energy and Utility Skills Register and is an independent skills platform providing recognised standards for the utility sector. It is run by Energy and Utility Skills which is the sector skills body for the water, waste management, gas, and electricity industries. It also provides the EUSR card which is used to allow utility workers to access a site and is an alternative to the CSCS card.

EUSR has a wide range of schemes that have been developed in conjunction with the management of employers and stakeholders across the energy and utility sector, and one such standard is the Utility Excavations scheme which covers, among other things, location of utility services, and implementation of safe (digging) excavating practices. Training and assessment against each standard gains an individual a registration on EUSR.

Companies providing training to EUSR standards and that are recognised by the EUSR provide such courses as an EUSR CAT and Genny course, EUSR cable avoidance course, and an EUSRhsg47 course, HSG47 being the third edition of Avoiding Danger From Underground Services published by the HSE. HSG47 provides guidance to all those involved in the planning, commissioning, managing, and carrying out of work on or near underground services. It outlines the potential dangers of working near underground services and gives advice on how to reduce any direct risks to people's health and safety, as well as the indirect risks arising through damage to services.

HSG47 covers the three basic elements of safe excavation which are planning the work, locating underground services, and safe excavation.

An Overview Of The Sygma Solutions CAT And Genny Course

If you are a surveyor who needs to undertake surveys in order to locate underground utilities, you need to attend a proper training course in the correct use of the CAT and Genny in all of their modes. Sygma Solutions is the leading provider of CAT and Genny training in the UK and can offer courses here at our centre in Wigan or at your site anywhere in the UK.

It is not sufficient to buy a CAT and Genny and simply read the instructions, because there are a lot of things which can occur during a survey. It would be the same as buying a car, if you had never driven before, reading the handbook, and then setting off up the M1. You would very shortly be in serious trouble.

At Sygma Solutions our CAT and Genny course leaves nothing out. That includes the limitations of the equipment as well as its’ uses in all of the different modes. We assume that you know nothing, so we start from the very basics by explaining the reasons for undertaking cable avoidance and an overview of HSG47 guidelines which are produced by the HSE, together with examples of errors in cable avoidance which gives attendees a feel for the sort of bad results which can occur when they happen.

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Some of the Requirements of the Level 5 Diploma in Utility Mapping and Surveying

The Level 5 Diploma in Utility Mapping and Surveying is aimed at those working in a surveyor role, and covers topics relating to planning site surveying operations, forming and working with project teams, using surveying instruments, establishing and maintaining dimensional control, working with technical systems, and assessing and producing mapping data. The awarding body for this qualification is ProQual Awarding Body and the regulatory body is the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual).

The important features of the Level 5 NVQ Utility Survey QCF (Qualifications and Credit Framework) are that all of the qualifications consist of one or more "units" each of which has a level and a credit value. The more credits that an individual has, the better qualified he or she is. A credit is the equivalent of a notional number of learning hours and a unit can be worth any number of credits. If a qualification contains up to 12 credits it is called an Award, from 13 – 16 credits it is a Certificate, and anything over 37 credits is referred to as a Diploma.

Without going into deeper detail, a level 5 utility surveyor should be sufficiently qualified to work on projects such as those at Heathrow Airport and the HS2, which require surveyors of the highest competence. In fact, unless you have a level 5 utility mapping qualification you will not be allowed to work on many of these major projects. The same thing is being applied to more and more contracts where a minimum level of competence is required. 

The Importance of Cable Avoidance Training

Any contractor undertaking any type of excavation work should understand the necessity for taking every precaution to avoid striking any type of underground service. Underground pipes and cables can be absolutely anywhere – even in places where you would least expect to find them. This means that no spade should even be inserted into the ground before a thorough survey of the area to be dug has been carried out using the appropriate cable avoidance tools. 

The two main tools used to locate buried services are the CAT (Cable Avoidance tool) and the Genny (signal generator). Between them these two tools can locate very many underground services, but even so they have their limitations. This is why specialist cable avoidance training should be undertaken by anyone who has to locate underground services. It is not sufficient to purchase the tools and simply read the manuals.

Certainly, the manuals will show how to operate the two pieces of equipment, but there is nothing to beat being taught how to use them by a professional. When you go on a proper course with an instructor who knows everything there is to know, you may be surprised at some of the things that you learn that were not in the manuals. You will also get practical experience out in the field which is not just invaluable, but essential. Learning how to use the CAT and Genny in the classroom is one thing but putting into practice what you have learned will open your eyes to a whole lot more.