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Unintentionally striking underground assets while digging, such as electricity cables, gas pipes, water pipes, and so on, can result in life-changing injuries to construction workers involved. <br>
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STRIKINGUNDERGROUNDSERVICESCAN SOMETIMESBEFATAL Unintentionallystrikingundergroundassetswhiledigging,suchas electricity cables, gas pipes, water pipes, and so on, can result in life- changing injuries to construction workers involved. The problem is that underground services can be absolutely anywhere, even in places that onewouldthinkunlikely.Certainly,ifyouareinaresidentialareaorthe high street, then it is obvious that there will be electricity cables, water pipes, sewage pipes, telecoms, and maybe gas pipes, and more, but they canalsobepresentinoutofthewayplacesinthecountryside.
The result is that there are around 60,000 cable strikes in the UK each year, many of which result in serious injury and are sometimes fatal. In some respects, it is surprising that there arethatfew.However,thesefigurescouldbeinaccurate becausethey referonlytocablestrikeswhichhave been reported. There may be others which have not been reported. For instance, a cable strike can reflect badly on the company carrying out the work, and may result in the loss of future business,soperhapsbettertokeepthingsquiet.
ResearchIsVital These are all reasons why it is vital to carry out research before ever starting to commence work on an excavation. Just to begin with, it is necessary to contact utilities in the area andestablishwhatplansareavailable.However, these can only be used as a guide. There are often cases where the plans, or STATS, are inaccurate, and there are also cases where they are simply not available, so you cannotpossiblyrelyuponthem.
Before commencing any excavation work it is critical to carry out a thorough survey of the site to establish what services are present using the CAT and Genny. These need to be used in combination as bestpractice. At Sygma Solutions we run approved training courses for operatives whoneed to carry out surveys usingthe CATand Genny.These courses are essential if operatives are to fully comprehend the use of such equipment, and also so that they understand that the tools dohavecertainlimitations.Itisnecessarytounderstandwhatthose imitations are in order to make as certain as possible that cable strikesdonotoccur.
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