Insulated Tools

Tools for digging where cables are

These are insulated hand tools made to BS 8020, the British Standard covering tools used where there is a risk of contact with buried low voltage cables.

A pick axe or a post hole digger is a heavy, pointed tool being driven into ground that may contain a live supply. The insulation is a barrier between the striking end and the person holding it, so a strike through a cable does not put the fault current through the operator.

The tools are tested and certified, and the insulation is bonded rather than being a sleeve slid over a standard handle. That is the difference between a certified tool and a taped-up one.

What insulation does not do

This is the part that matters more than the specification.

An insulated tool protects the person holding it. It does not protect the cable, it does not stop an arc flash, and it does not stop a supply interruption, a fire or damage to third party plant. It is the last line of defence for one person, after everything else has failed.

The controls that come first are the ones in the HSE guidance on avoiding danger from underground services: obtain and read the utility plans, locate and mark services with a cable avoidance tool and signal generator before breaking ground, dig trial holes, and hand dig within the safe distance of a marked service rather than using a machine or a powered breaker.

Insulated tools exist because those controls sometimes miss something. They are not a reason to skip them.

Looking after the insulation

The insulation is the safety feature, so it is the thing to inspect.

Check before every use for cuts, splits, gouges, exposed metal, contamination and any sign the coating has lifted from the shaft. Damage to the insulation takes the tool out of service. It does not make it a normal tool, because people will keep using it as though it were still insulated.

Keep the tools clean and dry, because mud and water bridge across a coating. Store them so the coating is not resting against sharp edges in a van, and keep them out of prolonged direct sunlight and away from solvents.

Recertification requirements follow the standard and the employer's own policy, and a tool with no traceable test history is a tool nobody can rely on.

Weight and use

A 7lb pick axe and a forged post hole digger are substantial tools. The insulation adds a little weight and does not change how they are swung.

Where the ground is known to be clear, an ordinary tool is faster and cheaper. Where it is not, or where nobody can say with confidence, these are the ones to have in the van.

For shovels, spades and crowbars to the same standard, see insulated shovels and tools.