Run an EST (Extended Self Test) first. Repairing a street light cable can cost at least 1,600, whereas if you hit a fibre optic cable you are looking at a minimum of 40,000. This is a piece of equipment that can be attached to a drain rod or boring tool and pushed along the utility under investigation. Repairs can run into hundreds of thousands and you can be responsible for loss of business of affected companies. This is the most reliable way to conduct a search: very often buried cables or pipes exist, but are not marked on any plans. This is why a CAT course for your operatives is essential.

When you are ready you can simply pull the trigger on the CAT and go. Never was the saying "better safe than sorry" more applicable to anything than underground utilities. You should also ensure that you have seen all the available plans for the area that you want to dig. It is ideal for tracing the path of a drain or pipe, and finding blockages or collapses in drains. In order to get a depth estimate you will need to use a CAT that has depth estimation on so that it produces a reading. A CATSCAN course normally lasts for half a day or a day and should include both the theory and practice of cable avoidance, and should cover the physical location of a range of different utilities.

Undertaking a sweep search involves going over a marked out area in two ways. Another method is to use a trace rod which is a flexible rod that can be threaded down narrow pipes.

Of course, if you hit a utility you will incur downtime because you will have to stop work on the site until it has been repaired, and there could also be charges from your customer as a result. This is the quickest and most simple method of finding underground pipes and cables, but doing this will only locate around 45% of buried utilities on average.

There are several reasons for undertaking a cable avoidance search, not the least of which is to avoid injury and death - and deaths do occur every year as a result of cable strikes. Search across the marked area then turn 90° and search again. If you need to identify a specific utility you can attach a signal clamp and transmitter to it and it can be located and traced with the CAT. In addition to all that, each country has its own laws and you could face prosecution for a utility strike if working abroad. Severe burns can result from striking an electric cable, and of course if you hit a gas pipe you can cause an explosion.

When you are trying to locate the direction of a plastic pipe or drain you can use a sonde. There have earth wire Suppliers been cases of contractors going out of business as a result of striking a utility. But those are minimums.

There is a lot more to cable and utility avoidance than just buying a tool and reading the instructions. You then need to mark out the area, and you should have a good look around to see if there are any markers that might indicate buried utilities. Doing this ensures that you will pass over the service and detect a signal at least once during the search.

The financial implications can be enormous.

The Government Health & Safety Executive (HSE) recommends that "anyone who uses a locator should receive thorough training on its uses and limitations". All of these methods should be covered in a CAT training course. Using the Genny enables you to find utilities that don't produce a signal by applying a signal on to them