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Technics/TSA attended the first Utility Strike Avoidance Group (USAG) conference earlier this month, hosted by Heathrow Airport Ltd at its Academy Centre.
The event was attended by a wide spectrum of the construction, development, infrastructure, supplier, academia, utility and safety establishments.
It included a series of linked presentations, supplier stands, and practical demonstrations of utility detection and heavy plant excavation methods.
The main theme of the day was around the avoidance of utility strikes in a construction and highways environment. A wide range of strategies, processes, case-studies, research opinion pieces, and cause and effect behavioural norms were explored in this context.
Keynote speaker, Keith Waller from Infrastructure UK, the treasury’s sub-division, confirmed their aligned objectives with USAG, reducing the direct costs of street works and the associated socio-economic disruption caused by strikes, focusing on:
1 Improving the quality and usability of utility data
2. Improving cost effective delivery of street works
Both strategies strengthen the need for professional, quality utility survey data and open standards such as PAS-128 and HAL Service Protection standards.
The event provided members with the opportunity to get together, and for the USAG to update its members on the latest news from the group. We look forward to the next meeting.