UK records safest year in digging history

The annual report by Linesearch BeforeUdig LSBUD, which provides an accurate barometer of digging activity across the country, reveals that 164,642 more searches were placed in 2023 than the previous year. This is a 4.4 percent increase and highlights a greater awareness from the safe digging community, which covers everyone, from construction and utility workers, through to farmers and the general public.

The latest data also illustrates this isn’t just an increase from historic searchers, but new people turning their attention to safe digging too, with 43,411 new Users registering with LSBUD’s portal in 2023.

Richard Broome, managing director at LSBUD comments, “People really seem to have got the message that they need to search before they dig, which is fantastic. The summer period, between July and August is the busiest time for new people signing up to our portal, partially thanks to the longer working hours. Indeed, in August 2023 we witnessed 4,133 new users alone, which given the volume of searches already being placed, is really significant.”  

Search enquiries came in from all over the UK, not just isolated to the major cities. There were typical activity hotspots in the South and South East, but when accounting for populations and population densities, the coverage of searches was notably widespread across the UK.

It is not just searching that has boomed over the past year, but also the number of network operators looking to protect their pipes and cables, with 15 asset owners now sharing their data with LSBUD. These companies include TfL, Spring Fibre, National Grid Ventures, and Trojan Energy, which means that more than 1.9 million kilometres of underground networks are now present when people search before they dig.

Richard Broome concludes: “2023 was the safest year ever for the digging community. With so much progress made, performing a digging project has never been safer, so we wanted to extend a thank you to every farmer, construction, highways, telecoms, water, gas and electricity worker, as well as the general public for putting safety first.

“That being said, we mustn’t rest on our laurels, because there is still so much more that can be done. Remember, safe digging is for all, not the few.”

Download a copy of Digging up Britain 2024 now.