Underground Services Awareness Course
Find, mark and dig safely around buried electricity, gas, water and telecoms services.
Add 3 online courses to your basket and pay for all 3 together in one checkout. The discount only applies when all 3 are bought at the same time — it cannot be claimed on courses bought individually. EUSR courses are not included.
About this course
Striking a buried electricity cable or gas main can kill or seriously injure, and damage to any service causes costly disruption.
This awareness course explains the types of underground services, HSG47, service plans and their limits, CAT and Genny locating, marking out, trial holes, safe digging and what to do if a service is struck.
The course runs entirely in your browser. You can stop at any point and pick up where you left off, and once you pass the final assessment you can download a PDF certificate straight away.
Who it's for
- Groundworkers and civils operatives
- Utility and streetworks teams
- Plant operators and banksmen
- Supervisors planning excavation work
Snippets from the course
Two short extracts taken straight from the course material, so you know exactly what you're signing up for.
Planning before you dig
Before any excavation, the work must be planned. Identify the area, the depth, the method of digging and the services likely to be present. A **permit to dig** is commonly used to confirm checks have been completed.
Tools to avoid
Do not use picks, pins, forks or hand-held power tools close to a service unless the service has been exposed and the method is controlled. Never use a mechanical excavator directly over a located service.
What's covered
Welcome and Introduction
- Welcome to Underground Services Awareness
- Who this course is for
- What the course covers
- How the tests and pass mark work
Types of Underground Services
- What lies beneath
- Electricity cables
- Gas mains and services
- Water, sewers and telecoms
The Law and HSG47
- The legal framework
- HSG47 — Avoiding danger from underground services
- The safe system of work
- Duties of clients, designers and contractors
Planning, Plans and Records
- Planning before you dig
- Obtaining service plans
- Limitations of plans
- Looking for visual clues
Locating Services: CAT and Genny
- Cable avoidance tools (CAT)
- Signal generator (Genny)
- What locators cannot find
- Using the equipment correctly
Marking Out and Trial Holes
- Marking the position
- Industry marking colours
- Trial holes
- Exposing services safely
Safe Digging Practices
- Hand digging near services
- Tools to avoid
- Vacuum excavation
- Using mechanical excavators
Damage, Strikes and Emergencies
- If you strike an electricity cable
- If you damage a gas pipe
- Water and other services
- Arc flash and burns
Summary and Putting It Into Practice
- Recap
- Before you dig — checklist
- Never assume
- Speak up
Final assessment
A longer multiple-choice assessment covering every module. Score 80% or more and your PDF certificate is issued immediately. You can retake it as many times as you need.
Start Underground Services Awareness Course now
9 modules, a test after each one and a final assessment — all in your browser, all saved as you go.
You'll be asked to sign in or create a free account first, then pay £24.99 (includes VAT at 20%) to unlock the course. Your progress and certificate are saved to your account.