Safe Working Practices

As a multi award winning high quality business, and as key element in K M Plant’s commitment to the safety of workers and the public at large, when undertaking planned  works utilitising traditional Open Cut  Excavation or works involving the utilisation of innovative Trenchless Technologies, K M Plant adopts the Best Practice methodologies championed in the form of British Standards Institute BSI PAS 128, and adopts the recommended Best Practices of the Utility Strikes Avoidance Group (‘USAG’),  ‘Best Practice in Avoidance of Utility Strikes (‘BPAUS’), National Joint Utilities Group ‘NJUG’  and HSE Health & Safety Guidance HSG 47.  

In fact, K M Plant is a signatory to the USAG Charter and has staff members who have been actively involved in the work of USAG to reduce accidents and improve utility detection practice, and have worked with influential industry bodies to raise awareness of, and encourage and support the adoption of, Best Practice methodologies and safer working practices across the wider Industry Sector.

This commitment to safe working and Best Practice includes K M Plant site personnel undertaking rigourous CAT and Signal Generator underground searches, and may also involve the use of Lidar and Underground Radar Detection, and also Geophysical Surveys. 

Great care is taken to protect underground root network presence to Best Practice guidelines, and again Lidar and Radar Detection, along with Geophysical Surveys may well be applied to ensure groundwork can be undertaken safely in the presence of a tree preservation order or protected tree root presence. K M Plant works with leading Aboricultural Consultants to ensure the appropriate care and diligence is applied and to advise accordingly. An example of this is shown in the PassivHaus Case Study on this website, and further substantanited by K M Plant being awarded Best Utilities Installations Business, Western England and Wales, and Best Eco-Friendly Utilities Installation Project (UK) PassivHaus Utilities Installation (Build Construction & Engingeering Awards 2021).

K M Plant also utilises industry leading specialist suppliers (that in turn utilise PAS 128 methodologies) in respect of Asset and infrsatructure records searches for underground utilities, services and assets  presence, via specialist record  and mapping searches. These leading specialist providers and utilised to obtain records from Statutory Undertakers,  Water Utilities, the respective District Network Operators for Electric and Gas, National Grid, Government Assets, Telecommunications infrastructure Data, Motorway Communications and Internet Services Providers, etc.