14 January 2022
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Growers' safe digging commitment applauded
GROWERS contributed to the best UK digging performance to date in 2021, according to LSBUD, a UK online safe digging resource.
More than 3.4 million searches for underground pipes and cables passed through the organisation's central system in 2021, a 13% increase on 2020, showcasing how agricultural and other industries are more committed to safe digging than has ever been the case before.
MD at LSBUD, Richard Broome (pictured), said: “In order to approach the 3.5 million milestone, our portal has received a search enquiry every two seconds during the average working day. This is more often than we blink, which is just phenomenal. These searches precede all sorts of activity, such as farmers checking before replacing fences and excavation workers keeping safe digging in mind before digging up a road to install broadband and electricity cables or water and gas pipes.
“Clearly, operators from all industry sectors are taking the right steps to avoid the negative consequences that come from hitting an underground asset, chiefly health and safety disasters, plus significant financial and brand implications.”