When it’s time to break ground on your next utility or underground project, what machine or tools are you planning to bring to the job? A vacuum excavator should be at the top of that list, ahead of compact excavators, shovels, augers and post-hole diggers.
Here’s why.
- Safety: Water, gas, electrical, sewer, fiberoptics and coax cable — there is a ton of buried infrastructure just a few feet below ground level. Vacuum excavators employ soft digging methods to help mitigate the risk of damaging underground infrastructure. However, vacuum excavation does not override the need to call 811 before digging begins.
- Quick and efficient: Digging by hand is labor intensive, and loading and then hauling a compact excavator or backhoe to a site is time consuming and challenging to set up. Truck-and-trailer vacuum excavators are quick to deploy and don’t require the same manual labor as digging with a shovel. Plus, with proper setup, you can even dig in frozen ground conditions — which is no easy task with traditional digging methods.
- Clean jobsite: A lot of utility work happens in that narrow stretch of land between the sidewalk and curb. When you dig with a compact excavator or a shovel, you have to dig wide to dig deep. Dirt piles up next to the hole, which is not an ideal situation for businesses, homeowners or drivers.
With vacuum excavators, you can dig straight down. Hole diameters are kept to a minimum, and excavated material gets hauled away in the vac. Also, your remediation efforts are minor compared to what they would be with traditional digging methods.
- Go-to solutions for urgent situations: When high-speed winds or ice and snow knock out power, many utility companies depend on vacuum excavators to help restore power quickly. Often with downed lines, utility poles need to be replaced. Vacuum excavators allow operators to dig holes so new poles can be quickly set to restore power.
- Regulated: Depending on where you’re digging, some utility companies and municipalities will only allow soft-digging methods, like vacuum excavation, when working near existing underground infrastructure.
Efficient and productive, built with safety in mind, vacuum excavation can be a better way to dig in many environments. So be sure to consider all of your digging options before you start your next project, and print or share this handy infographic to remind your co-workers and friends about all the benefits of using soft-digging methods.
Contact your local Vermeer dealer for more information about Vermeer vacuum excavators and all the different applications for vacuum excavation. And, if you want to learn about all features of the new Vermeer VXT300 vacuum excavator truck, head over to the Vermeer YouTube page.
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