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News & Media > Utility Services

A safer partnership with National Grid

We’ve invested in the latest technology to further improve safety in the work we carry out in partnership with National Grid in the north west of England.

We’ve invested in the latest cable avoidance technology (CAT) - the new EziCAT (from Cable Detection Ltd) - to reduce the risks that manually adjusted controls leave the operator exposed to.

CAT is essential for safe digging - it warns the user that there is a buried service underground. Legislation prescribes the use of a locating device before any kind of excavation is undertaken. It also makes good business sense to accurately scan before digging – on top of the risk of injury to employees, equipment damage and downtime can lead to huge expense and delays.

All 80 of our NG teams - site supervisors, safety, compliance and operations managers - have received training and guidance on the new EziCAT, which has replaced the equipment previously in use.

Gavin Scarr-Hall, managing director Utility Services, says: “This investment will reduce the chance of operator error and improve the accuracy of buried service location - and ultimately improve the health, safety and welfare of our employees.

“Feedback from operatives who have been using EziCAT since we introduced it earlier this year has been very good - they have confirmed the benefits of the new technology, and that it is easy to use.”

We’ve also reinforced the use of air picks (also called soil picks) to make it safer for our gangs to excavate in the proximity of utilities infrastructure.

Damage investigation reports show that most cable damage - and the accompanying danger of serious/fatal injury - happens while operatives are excavating in the vicinity of known services.

The air pick is a selective excavator that fractures, pulverises and displaces porous and semi-porous soils, yet leaves nonporous objects unaffected - it excavates soil without risk of damaging buried utilities. It replaces the traditional grafting tool, which relies on operative force to loosen the ground.

Gavin Scarr-Hall concludes: “Non-conductive, non-sparking tools are of obvious benefit to those working in environments that may be gas enriched and/or in close proximity to buried electric cables.”