EDITORS PICKS
Security concerns
Water companies also have concerns over the security of their data, with reservations surrounding data access and privacy. However, in order to protect the pipelines now, and identify trends and patterns to improve safety in the future, we need a thorough understanding of the country’s most sensitive and critical assets. The role of a safe digging portal is to connect those who need the underground information with the asset owners, whilst ensuring that the companies retain full control of their data and who can access it.
Commercially Driven
Water companies are often commercially driven when it comes to their asset plans, with financial targets placed on selling underground asset maps, alongside other land and property searches. While they are entirely within their rights to do so, putting a fee on a plan can sometimes discourage and reduce the number of people who search before they dig, which in turn increases the risk to those very assets, and of course those doing the digging.
Allowing an asset owner to choose who to charge, separating those who are looking to work safely from those who wish to sell the plans on as part of a wider service, is fundamental to a balanced approach.
This commercially driven route can backfire however. If you are not appearing in people’s search plans, they don’t know you are there. This leads to
strikes, which can end up being incredibly costly. Take Tooley Street in 2008 as a prime example. It was one of the UK’s biggest claims for flooding, caused by a burst 20-inch main. The losses ran into tens of millions of pounds, plus you have to consider the additional costs associated with repairing damaged infrastructure and mitigating environmental contamination. The inactive approach is certainly not such an attractive option when presented with a seven figure repair bill.
The human cost of unsafe digging practices is even more severe. Accidents involving damaged utilities can lead to serious injuries or even fatalities. Communities affected by service disruptions potentially face health risks. In the worst-case scenario, environmental contamination from damaged pipes can have lasting consequences for ecosystems and public health.
So, What Next
Firstly, there is a disconnect happening within the water industry, that needs to be addressed. We know that water companies are reluctant to share their asset data with those doing the digging, however the wider industry has always prioritised its own worker safety, evidenced by the high volumes of LSBUD searches requested by the water sector. Indeed, of the 3.9 million searches through the LSBUD portal in 2023, water companies accounted for a
staggering 27 percent of them. From this we can tell that water companies do understand the importance of underground mapping, yet there is a gap between performing searches themselves and prioritising their own networks. This will need to change.
Secondly, collaboration is key, as is open communication and transparency. From an asset owner’s perspective, sharing data protects the physical pipes by improving project planning and pre- excavation awareness. By joining a central system, asset owners benefit from the ‘safety of the herd’ effect. From a people point of view, knowing where underground pipes and cables are helps ensure that on-site delays and injuries can be avoided.
In Summary
Contradicting ways of working leads to mistakes. Whilst the water sector is making progress and keeping its own people safe, the realisation that protecting its pipes is equally important is not happening fast enough.
Water companies should understand that the ‘cost’ of sharing asset data is low risk but the financial, reputation and behavioural implications are substantial. Plus, any positive movement from the water industry on this has the potential to make an untold difference to the entire safe digging industry.
All eyes are on the water sector to prioritise the safety of both pipelines and people.
IN PRINT, ONLINE & IN THE APP STORE
draintraderltd.com
SUBSCRIBE TODAY! 46 | October 2024 |
www.draintraderltd.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72
