Multiutility project of worksite congrested road space
Guides

Guides

Plain guides to adoption agreements, safe digging, utility colour codes, directional drilling, cable jointing, UKPN G81 and BESS civils.

Guides for anyone planning utilities and groundworks

Ground Utilities street works in a fenced-off footway beside a residential road
Guide

Section 38, 104 and 278 agreements: how new roads and sewers are adopted

How new roads and sewers are adopted in England: what section 38, 104 and 278 agreements cover, who signs, bonds, fees, timelines and common delays.

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Coloured spray-paint marks showing located underground services on a UK road junction
Guide

Avoiding utility strikes: HSG47, CAT and Genny, and trial holes

How to avoid utility strikes in the UK: HSG47, utility records, what a CAT and Genny can and cannot find, PAS 128 surveys, trial holes and the 500 mm rule.

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Stacks of yellow, blue and purple pipes and ducts on a UK construction site
Guide

What do the colours of underground pipes and cables mean in the UK?

What buried pipe, cable and duct colours mean in the UK: gas, water, electricity, telecoms, sewers, tapes and tiles, and why colour is never proof.

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A tracked horizontal directional drilling rig set up at the entry point of a bore
Guide

Horizontal directional drilling (HDD): when to drill instead of digging a trench

When to use horizontal directional drilling instead of a trench for UK cable and pipe crossings: process, lengths, permits, frac-out risk, drawbacks.

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Ground Utilities excavator working along a rural cable route
Guide

Cable jointing and joint bays on HV and LV cable routes

How cable joints and joint bays work on UK 11kV and 33kV cable routes: joint types, bay construction, cable pulling, jointer competence, testing.

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Switchgear inside a newly built substation
Guide

UKPN G81: the rules for building electricity networks UK Power Networks will adopt

What UKPN G81 is, how it relates to ENA EREC G81, and what it asks of ICP civils: cover depths, ducts, joint bays, substation bases and land rights.

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Rows of green battery storage containers on a stone platform
Guide

BESS sites in the UK: what the groundworks and civils involve

What the civils package on a UK battery storage (BESS) site covers: foundations, bunds, drainage, fire access, cable ducting and the grid connection.

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