COMMUNICA No.5 COMMUNICA no.5 V2.0 | Page 41

carries less commercial risk than digging up the ground in areas that are highly populated or near roads that have high volumes of traffic. But with the delivery of all infrastructure projects, HSEQ and project management control are both essential, especially when working in the vicinity of 132kV to 275kV and 400kV pylons - these pylons should be treated with huge respect,” Mick said. “They carry substantial amounts of electricity so you should ensure you maintain the mandatory required safety distances as required by National Grid. “In order to work on these networks engineers are required to have a very strong knowledge of fibre optics, but also you need to know your HSEQ and you need to be able to work within the guidelines of National Grid approved working environments. “Engineers must also complete strict climbing courses before they can go anywhere near pylons. “This makes the expertise pool COMMUNICA | Issue Five of our profession very niche and there are very few people able to deliver this kind of service in the UK, particularly with the specialist equipment required to wrap and unwrap the fibre cable on the pylons. “John Henry Group is in a strong position to be able to offer the civils connection to the pylon, whilst also offering skills required to complete the solution on the utility network itself, safely, for our clients, as well as the supporting civils and cabling solutions.” | 41