Author's articles

We All Depend On Utilities, But If They Go Wrong It Can Be Serious
By Peter Ashcroft · 4 years ago
Everybody in the UK uses utilities such as water, telephones, broadband, gas, sewage pipes, and more. OK, not everybody uses gas, and some people don’t have broadband, but most of us use most of them ...
The Dangers Of Underground Services As Shown By HSG47
By Peter Ashcroft · 4 years ago
HSG47 was produced by the HSE in 2014 and is the latest information on how to avoid danger from underground services. There are at least 1.5 million km of underground services in the UK, and ...
We Never Think About Underground Services Because They are Hidden - Underground
By Peter Ashcroft · 4 years ago
If you are like most people you have probably never stopped to wonder how the lights come on in your home. You press a switch, and the light comes on. As a certain meerkat is ...
Strike Out Utility Strikes with CAT Training
By Peter Ashcroft · 4 years ago
In the UK, thousands of underground cable strikes are recorded each year. Utility strikes are considered one of the biggest safety and health risks for engineers in the utilities industry. But, utility strikes can be ...
The Reasoning Behind The Introduction Of PA256
By Peter Ashcroft · 4 years ago
The biggest problem facing any contractor who has to undertake any sort of excavation work – digging a hole, however big or small – is the fact that there are all sorts of services running ...
The Importance of Locating Underground Utilities Before Digging
By Peter Ashcroft · 4 years ago
Many public utilities are located underground and they deliver services to all the businesses and residents of a given community or area. From gas pipes to water lines and electric cables, various utilities are buried ...
The Many Dangers Of A Cable Strike
By Peter Ashcroft · 4 years ago
Nobody knows exactly, but it is calculated that there are some 2.5 million miles of underground services in the UK. These include electricity cables water pipes, sewage pipes, telephone cables, fibre optics, gas pipes, and ...
Cable Avoidance is Key to Ensuring Safe Digging Practices
By Peter Ashcroft · 4 years ago
Locating underground cables and wires is the first step to making sure safe digging. When underground assets are damaged, people can be injured or killed by electrical arcs, electric shock or flames. Moreover, cable strikes ...
The Many Risks Involved When Undertaking Any Sort Of Excavation Work
By Peter Ashcroft · 4 years ago
Doing any kind of work which involves digging or even breaking the surface of the ground carries with it risk. Underground services can be absolutely anywhere, and they include electricity cables, water pipes, gas pipes, ...
How to Reduce Damage to Buried Utility Services?
By Peter Ashcroft · 4 years ago
Digging holes in the ground is a rudimentary part of construction, as well as, of the maintenance and installation of underground utilities. Unfortunately, every time the ground is excavated or broken there is the risk ...
Locating Buried Utilities - Know the Levels of Utility Detection
By Peter Ashcroft · 4 years ago
Increasing population and changing environment bring the need to renovate existing buildings and build new ones. Infrastructure, especially buried utilities need to be repaired and maintained continuously. The main challenge that workers face when it ...
The Many Potential Problems When Undertaking Excavation Work
By Peter Ashcroft · 4 years ago
HSG47 is a guide from the HSE about avoiding the dangers of striking underground services when undertaking any form of digging or excavation work. It could apply to anyone anywhere, including a private householder who ...
How to Reduce the Risks of Utility Strikes?
By Peter Ashcroft · 4 years ago
The accidental striking of a gas pipeline or an electrical cable has major implications including disruption of services, damage to infrastructure, loss of reputation and potentially life-changing injuries to the workers and people around the ...
Find Out Why it is Vital to Get Utility Avoidance Training
By Peter Ashcroft · 4 years ago
In the UK, there are reports of more than 60,000 utility strikes. Even though this happens annually, the damage and loss is unprecedented. Cable strikes cause severe injuries to workers in and around the excavation ...
Why Should You Consider Undertaking EUSR HSG47 Training?
By Peter Ashcroft · 4 years ago
Energy and Utility Skills Register (EUSR) is a skills platform, which is independent. This platform provides standards that are recognised in the utility sector. The Energy and Utility Skills runs this platform and this is ...
The Benefits Of The Mala RD8100 Radio detection Equipment
By Peter Ashcroft · 4 years ago
Would you believe that only 140 years ago the streetlights in Britain were gas lamps? Yes, the first electric streetlights were turned on in 1878 along the Thames Embankment and near Holborn Viaduct, and the ...
Ways to Prevent Underground Utility Strikes
By Peter Ashcroft · 4 years ago
Utility network infrastructure comprising of telecommunications, electricity, gas, water and other such utilities play an integral role in the economic health of any country. As smart cities are growing at an exponential rate, the dependency ...
Things to Know About HSE’s HSG47 Guidance
By Peter Ashcroft · 4 years ago
HSG47 is a guidance from the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) on how the dangers from striking underground utility services can be avoided when carrying out any kind of digging or excavation work. This publication ...
How Can You Cut Down Utility Strikes?
By Peter Ashcroft · 4 years ago
One of the biggest safety and health dangers that workers face when working below the ground is making accidental contact with gas pipelines or electrical cables. If proper precautionary steps and preparations are not taken, ...
Benefits, Methods and Applications of GPR
By Peter Ashcroft · 4 years ago
GPR or Ground Penetrating Radar technology is used in many industries to see through natural and man-made materials. This technology is used to locate non-metallic and metallic pipes, conduit, power lines, post-tension and re-bar cables ...