Beneath the surface sits a dense and often fragmented network of utilities; from energy and water, to telecoms and transport. When something goes wrong, the impact goes far beyond a damaged cable, it can affect safety, disrupt services and impact communities.
That’s why National Safe Digging Week matters. It brings the industry together to focus on reducing risk, protecting underground infrastructure and keeping people safe.
At its core is a simple truth. Safer outcomes start with working together.
This year’s theme, “The Power of Collaboration,” reflects what we see every day in street works. No single organisation can do this alone. From planners and asset owners to contractors and site teams, safe digging depends on shared data, joined up thinking and clear communication.
And it starts with one simple principle.
Never dig blind. Always search before you dig.
Collaboration matters more than ever
Yet despite this shared understanding, risks remain.
The UK’s underground infrastructure is complex, layered and constantly evolving. Without the right visibility, risk remains high. Utility strikes continue to happen, leading to safety incidents, service disruption and rising costs. In practice, this can mean power outages for homes and businesses, loss of connectivity, or burst water pipes causing flooding and damage to surrounding properties.
- One in five excavation incidents involves striking an underground utility,
- and more than 60% are linked to poor or outdated asset information.
This points to a wider challenge. Safe digging is not just about having information. It’s about how effectively that information is shared and used.
When data is incomplete or siloed, even well-planned work can fail. When it’s shared and understood across teams, outcomes improve. As highlighted during National Safe Digging Week, working together helps keep everyone safe, whether on site or behind the scenes.
From silos to shared responsibility
This is changing how safe digging is approached. It’s no longer a single step. It’s a shared responsibility across the full lifecycle of street works.
Effective planning is central to this. Searching for underground utilities before work begins reduces the likelihood of damage and delay. But planning alone is not enough.
On site, small actions continue to make a difference. Clear roles, short briefings and real time communication help teams stay aligned and reduce risk in practical ways.
At the same time, collaboration is improving across the wider ecosystem. Asset owners, contractors and regulators are sharing more data and insight. This creates a more complete picture of what sits below ground and supports better decision making.
As the campaign highlights, talking before digging helps prevent accidents and keeps teams aligned.
Making data work in practice
As collaboration improves, the focus is shifting from data availability to data usability.
Safe Dig packs play a key role here. They bring together critical information about underground assets before work begins. When complete and up-to-date, they give teams a clear view of what is below ground and support safer planning.
The challenge is making that information accessible at the right time. Too often, data sits across different systems, away from the point of work.
Tools such as SafeDash help close that gap. By giving field teams direct access to Safe Dig packs and key asset information on site, they improve visibility in the moment decisions are made. This supports faster responses, more consistent ways of working and safer outcomes.
Caroline Hurford‑Jones, Client Director at Sopra Steria explains:
“The value of data comes from how it is used. When information is accessible at the point of need, it helps teams make better decisions and work more safely.”
Improving data sharing across all sectors remains essential.
Collaboration in practice: M Group Services and Affinity Water
Collaboration becomes most valuable when it is embedded into day to day operations.
By aligning processes, improving access to asset information and strengthening coordination between teams, we have helped create a more consistent and efficient way of working.
In practice, this has meant better visibility of jobs, faster responses and more informed decision making on site. In some areas, it has also led to measurable improvements, including zero job aborts and full compliance in emergency works
As Rishu Sharma explains:
"Safe digging depends on consistency. When teams on the ground have the right information at the right time, it makes a meaningful difference supporting safer, better-informed excavation work."
Looking ahead
National Safe Digging Week is one moment in the calendar. But the challenge continues beyond it.
There is a clear direction of travel. Better data. Better access to information. Stronger collaboration across organisations.
At Sopra Steria, we continue to work with organisations across the sector to support this shift, helping connect data, people and processes in a more practical and consistent way.
When these come together, the benefits are tangible. Fewer incidents. Safer teams. More reliable infrastructure. And ultimately, more dependable services for the customers and communities who rely on them every day.