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.    

The Considerable Ramifications of Cable Strikes When Excavating

All of those involved in planning and managing excavation work of any description should be trained in the use of the Cable Avoidance Tool and the Signal Generator, known as the CAT and Genny. Theoretically, the CAT can be used on it' own but it can only locate electric cables which are live with power running through them, so the CAT and Genny are used in combination in order to locate electric cables that are not live and to locate all other types of services.

Even though they are used in combination, they do have certain limitations, and the only way to fully understand how they operate in all modes is to undertake a CAT and Genny training course. There are specialist companies that will provide a CAT and Genny course, which can be attended by operatives engaged in underground excavation work, and where they will learn every detail of these tools and how to use them in all different types of situations. 

Even so, there are some 60,000 underground services strikes every year because many operatives are not fully trained in the use of the CAT and Genny and therefore make mistakes as a result. This causes severe injuries in many cases, and these are occasionally fatal.

At the very least, cable and other utility strikes cause a delay in the project, because the utility concerned will have to send out men to undertake repairs, and there may be considerable other ramifications for a contractor who caused the problem. These can include the cost of men standing around idle, costs from the main contractor, associated costs from companies affected by, say, the loss of power, and the courts may also award considerable damages to someone who has been injured.

Some training companies are recognised by the Energy and Utility Skills Register and provide an EUSR Cat and Genny course to those appropriate standards.

The Importance of HSG47

HSG47 is guidance from the HSE for all those involved in commissioning, planning, managing, and carrying out work on or near underground services, and is also of use to the owners and operators of such services. It is aimed primarily at health and safety rather than damage to services, but the reduction of risks to health and safety will also have a beneficial effect on services by avoiding damage to them.

Damage to underground services can cause severe or even fatal injuries and could also delay the project incurring unnecessary costs. Striking an underground electricity cable typically causes burns to the hands, face, and body, while an electric shock is possible but not so likely. If other services, such as plastic gas pipes are nearby there is the risk of explosion and fire. 

Damage to gas pipes directly can cause leaks which result in explosion and fire, or can cause the pipe to leak later on with similar effect. Damage to water pipes is less likely to cause injury, although a jet of water of sufficient force can do so, and it may also contain stones from the earth surrounding the pipe. Leaks of water can affect nearby services, while they may also lead to flooding and the possible collapse of the sides of an excavation. Damage to sewers causes risks to workers from exposure to raw sewage.

Damage to other pipelines can cause risks according to the type of fluid flowing through them: toxic liquids and gases can cause risk of poisoning, while inert gases such as nitrogen can cause risk of asphyxiation. Other flammable liquids or gases cause risk of fire and explosion.

All of the above are very sound reasons for HSG47 training. There are companies that specialise in running an HSG47 course to make operatives fully aware of the dangers.

Undertaking a Proper Survey before Commencing Any Excavation

If you are a contractor involved in any sort of excavation work, you will know that, before you begin, you need to undertake a survey of the area in which you plan to dig. This can be done by yourself or any surveyor that you employ, either as an employee or a sub-contractor, but whoever undertakes the survey should have been on a recognised course for EUSR CAT and Genny training and be fully conversant with EUSR HSG47. There are several companies in the UK which provide EUSR cable avoidance training.

HSG47 is produced by the HSE and you can download a free PDF from the HSE website.  The guidance is aimed at all those involved in commissioning, planning, managing, and carrying out work on or near underground services. It will also be of use to the owners and operators of such services.

HHSG47 gives advice on the dangers of working near underground services, and also advises on ways to protect people's health and safety while so doing and minimising the chance of injury. It also advises on the collateral damage that can occur to utilities that are hit, and the damages that contractors who strike them may suffer as a result. These can run into the hundreds of thousands of pounds.

This is why those who are going to carry out a survey must be properly trained in every aspect of underground surveying and fully understand the use of the CAT and Genny in all of their different modes.