Rank: Forum user 
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Query for the utility bods out there.
Prior to any digging / excavation work it is critical (but not essential) to get adequate plans.
The "NO PLANS - NO DIG" motto is drilled into our employees.
However for emergency out-of-hours work e.g. gas or water leaks these plans can be difficult to obtain, especially from the national telecommunications company here in Great Britain.
Have you any experience of them providing this service?
If not, how have you addressed the issue?
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Rank: Super forum user
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Hi,
in the past when I was involved in this type of emergency work, our squads would (1) look for adjacent valve covers / marker plates / connector chambers to give an indicator of likely services (2) use a cable avoidance tool (CAT)to scan the area for power / telecomms cables and possible iron / steel pipes but (3) ALWAYS exercise great care and hand dig when excavating (especially in urban areas) once the surface had been broken: assume that there are buried services, possible in polyetlylene pipes that the CAT was unable to pick up. I know that such services are suposed to have tracer wires / earthware tiles / plastic marker tapes above them to make detection easier, but often as not, they were missing. Assume the worst and take appropriate precautions.
PH2
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Rank: Forum user
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Hi
agree with #2 above.
HSG47 gives some advice of this area.
Where it is not possible for those undertaking the excavation work to obtain information, as may be the case when emergency* work has to be undertaken, the work should be carried out as though there are buried services in the area.
52 Account should be taken of any indications that buried services exist, such as the presence of lamp-posts, illuminated traffic signs, gas service pipes entering buildings, pit covers, pipeline marker posts, evidence of reinstated trenches etc. However, if there are no such indications, this does not mean that there are no buried services.
Even if plans do exist, from past experience they can be highly inaccurate.
MAT
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