CAT and GENNY - Cable Avoidance

The CAT and GENNY - Cable Avoidance course provides learners with the knowledge and practical skills required to safely locate and avoid underground utilities using cable avoidance tools (CAT) and signal generators (GENNY) in accordance with current industry best practice and relevant health and safety legislation.

Combining classroom-based learning with practical hands-on exercises, delegates will develop the knowledge, practical skills and confidence required to plan excavation work, identify underground services, correctly operate cable avoidance equipment and minimise the risk of striking buried utilities during excavation and groundworks.

Training is delivered in line with the UK Rural Skills (UKRS) Course Standard, ensuring a structured, competence-based approach that combines theoretical knowledge with practical application in realistic working conditions. As all training is delivered on-site at the customer's premises, delegates develop their skills using equipment and working environments that reflect their day-to-day operations wherever possible.

• Groundworkers and construction operatives.
• Utility and civil engineering personnel.
• Landscapers and fencing contractors.
• Highway maintenance and local authority operatives.
• Site supervisors and managers responsible for excavation works.
• Anyone involved in excavation or ground disturbance activities.

• Relevant health and safety legislation and operator responsibilities.
• Hazards associated with underground utilities.
• Safe systems of work for excavation activities.
• Principles of underground cable and pipe detection.
• CAT and GENNY components, functions and operating principles.
• Interpretation of utility plans and service drawings.
• Pre-use inspections and equipment checks.
• Correct operating modes and search techniques.
• Identifying and tracing buried services.
• Safe excavation practices following utility location.
• Limitations of cable avoidance equipment and when additional investigation is required.
• Routine care, maintenance and storage of equipment.

• Carrying out pre-use inspections and equipment checks.
• Setting up and operating CAT and GENNY equipment.
• Locating and tracing underground utilities.
• Interpreting signal responses and identifying buried services.
• Applying systematic search techniques.
• Marking detected services prior to excavation.
• Completing practical cable avoidance exercises in realistic working environments.
• Safe shutdown, cleaning and post-operation checks.

Delegates are assessed throughout the course by practical observation and instructor questioning to confirm their knowledge, understanding and practical competence. Assessment is conducted against the learning outcomes and assessment criteria specified within the relevant UK Rural Skills (UKRS) Course Standard.

Upon successful completion of the course, delegates will receive a UK Rural Skills (UKRS) Accredited Certificate, demonstrating that they have successfully achieved the learning outcomes and assessment criteria specified within the relevant UKRS Course Standard.

This course provides equivalent competence training for cable avoidance in non-highway operational environments, including construction sites, agricultural land and utility infrastructure. Where work is routinely undertaken within the public highway, delegates should additionally obtain the appropriate NRSWA Unit 1 accredited qualification through an approved Street Works qualifications centre.

There are no formal entry requirements for this course. Delegates should possess a sufficient understanding of spoken and written English to fully participate in training and assessment.

Course duration will vary depending on delegates' previous experience, the number of delegates attending and the level of competence to be achieved. Training is tailored to individual requirements and may be delivered for novice operators, experienced operators or as refresher training.