Line Search Before You Dig — UK

As you would expect, the amount of underground infrastructure in the United Kingdom is mind boggling. The largest “One-Call” kind of service in the UK is Line Search Before You Dig (LSBUD) which protects just over half the buried pipes, cables and fibre lines. 

Recently, the president of Utility Safety Partners, Mike Sullivan, sat down with Richard Broome, executive director of LSBUD, to get a better understanding of their operations.

When the service began in the early 2000s, everything was being done manually. LSBUD was coping with approximately 10,000 requests per year and that number continued to rise as more contractors and homeowners became aware of the service. Fast-forward to 2022 and LSBUD is managing, on average, 16,000 requests per day. 

Awareness and use has increased but Broome still sees a need for legislation. “It can be so and for me, the industry will develop in the best way through legislation. Legislation incentivizes asset owners to share data with as wider audience as possible in the appropriate way.”

On the importance of damage reporting: “We look at what you are doing In Canada and the United States — the CCGA and the CGA — and we really aspire to be as good in terms of getting those damages reported because if you report them, you understand them. And more awareness leads to more reporting.”

Line Search Before You Dig helps over 100 asset owners protect over one million kms of assets from damage. With over 200,000 registered users representing utility companies, contractors, councils, landowners and the public, LSBUD connects those that need the information with those who own the assets.

Listen to this episode of The Safety Moment podcast.

By Doug Downs, Stories and Strategies