Posted By Dan dan as part of my employment I am required to break out and excavate ground. my company has banned the use of all types of bars as they fear that we are on a whaleing expedition. I can understand steel bars due to possibility of electric shocks, but if I encounter hard ground while I am hand digging the bar is the tool I need to loosen it up. I am not stupid as i always use my cable locator and I always mark out the ground before I dig (fair play my safety officer has drummed this into us) I feel a blanket ban is over the top. what are your thoughts, is this what bars were desined for

Posted By Chris Pope Use a bar provided you are careful. If you are digging near other services I bet you are careful. If you are a long way from any suspected services I expect you are still careful. If you can't use a bar or pick I expect the only alternative is the guillotine like edge of your shovel. Using this damages your wrist and is less easy to control than a bar. That said, it all depends on your skill level. No one should be allowed to dig near services unless they are skilful. I saw a black mark in a hole where the person digging was opening up a trench for the second time after weekend backfilling. He knew the location and depth of the cable and had loads of flint to remove. The bar "hit" a void, slipped through his fingers and struck the cable, shooting straight up in the air. Luckily - no injury. Being careful is more important than what tool you use. Is your safety manager allowing you forks ? The basic principle of safe digging is - don't dig straight down onto a service - go to the side and from there peel away horizontally towards the service.