When working on a building site or in construction area, hidden, underground or “out of sight” cables can pose a massive risk for site operatives, and every year there are sadly many reports of workers that are injured or very seriously hurt due to accidents that involve cables and hidden wires.
There are thousands of cable strikes every year across the UK, and are one of the biggest operational health and safety risks for engineers, construction operatives and generally any personnel that could be working with digging equipment, which as you can imagine, equates too many thousands in terms of workforce every single day. Along with staff training, site maps, and a constant evolution of how to avoid such instances, cable avoidance tools (C.A.T) are simply a necessity in today’s workforce, as they add another layer of security, reassurance and protection for workers.
Why Using a Cable Avoidance Tool Is So Important
The three main reasons why investing in a Cable Avoidance Tool makes sense can be summed up below:
They Can Save Lives
Pretty much the most important reason when it comes to using these tools and put simply, they can help to save lives, protect lives and prevent serious injuries that can occur through cable strikes. As we mention, the decent tools are not cheap, but they offer a pretty much 100% guarantee of getting it right, whereas when you rely on an old site map from 5 years ago, this relies on the accuracy of the human or machine making it, rather than a current and live update.
They Reduce Cable Strikes
Cable strikes are problematic in so many ways, and although this might be stating the obvious, avoiding them is a must, not only for the safety of the workforce but to also make sure that you do not end up with delays on the project that will ultimately arise from a cable strike. If you hit one and mass damage arises, then there will be clean up, repair and sign off delays to go through and even if you just strike one and no damage is caused, you will still need to get approval to carry on from the relevant utility board.
They Can Reduce Repair Works
If a cable is hit during work and everyone avoids injury, this is fantastic news, but of course you are still going to be left with a major clear up operation, with cables that need replacing and potential downtime for anyone that might have had their electricity cut. With this often comes repair costs and compensation costs, not to mention that it could also delay the completion of the project, again, costing money and potential loss of reputation.
Therefore, it is no surprise that in September 2015 the HSE (The Health And Safety Executive) published its Excavation and underground services document, which clearly shows just how important making use of cable avoidance tools is, if you were working in these kind of industries. Of course, if you are digging up roads, pavements or old building sites, then you would hope that these tools are of a second nature and that all professional teams will have them, but even if you are working on a small project at home, either in your house or garden, these tools can literally save your life.
This is why it is so important, whether you are in charge of a team of 100 people working on major construction sites, right the way through to small projects and building areas that you invest in a reliable and quality Cable Avoidance Tool (C.A.T), as without one, the consequences really do not bear thinking about. Although these tools on an industrial level are often expensive, they will last a long a time if you keep them calibrated (often yearly) and if that tool helps to save one life or prevents serious injury, then this has to be money well spent.
As we previously discussed, using these tools, in conjunction with increased staff training and understanding about how to avoid and prevent cable strikes has helped to bring down the amount of accidents over the past decade, but with these tools improving all of the time in terms of accuracy and coverage, there is hope in the next few years this type of accident will continue to reduce until they hopefully become a very rare instance across the board.
If you are looking to purchase one or more Cable Avoidance Tools, then The Tape Store offer the best models in the industry, at very competitive prices and many thanks to them for provided this article.