Dry suction attachment a fit for remote daylighting
Problem
Banton Construction is a contractor working for Metro North Railroad. They have an excavator on site to do some initial excavation, but once they get near underground infrastructure, they are required to expose the underground utilities with safe-dig technologies. Road access is often limited. Hy-rail hydrovac trucks are often difficult to find and come at additional cost. In addition, in this situation, with a six-hour work window, the work crews were often not able to use the entire window. Once the hydro-vac truck was full, it would take 2 1/2 hours for the truck to empty and return to the job site.
Solution
The tinbin TC2 dry suction excavator attachment from Integrity Rail Products was a fit. Since there is an excavator on site already with sufficient hydraulic flow and capabilities, the suction capabilities of the tinbin TC2 were easy to implement. The soil was loosened from around the utilities with an air lance and then sucked out of the excavation with the tinbin TC2. Because the spoils were dry, Banton Construction personnel could dump the spoils on site or place them into a dump truck for removal. The excavator with the tinbin TC2 could keep working as the spoils were spread out on site or removed by other equipment.
RESULT Crews are now able to use the entire work window. This results in increased production for Banton Construction, making it easier for them to keep on schedule and minimize disruptions to the railroad.
905-928-6415; www.integrityrailproducts.com
Suction excavator saves on slurry disposal costs
Problem
Expanding solar farms across the U.S. require the same level of utility maintenance and infrastructure development as a small city. When vacuum excavation equipment is needed for large scale excavations along buried lines, an air or dry vac must be used because slurry spray would damage the panels and there’s nowhere within range to refill water tanks or dispose of slurry.
Solution
Ox Onsite, operating out of Jacksonville, Florida, uses the MTS Dino 4.5 Advanced Suction Excavator to effectively dig very long trenches in a variety of tough soil conditions. Solar arrays typically run for hundreds of yards which would require a lot of backfill, but with excavated spoils kept unaltered the native soil is reused and no further equipment is required.
RESULT The solar farm client saved thousands of dollars in slurry disposal and haulage fees and ended up booking multiple trucks to finish the job a couple months ahead of schedule.
877-534-4379; www.ox-onsite.com
Connector cover keeps debris out of couplings
Problem
Hydroexcavation operators constantly struggle with quick connect couplings on the end of the lances. The couplings become inoperable when mud, dirt and spoils that may contain wet sand, clays, gravel and other debris become lodged in the joint. Advanced Plumbing & Mechanical in Monmouth, Illinois, constantly struggles with debris in the couplings.
Solution
Vactor offered a connector cover called The Shield. This device is retrofittable to all Vactor products in the field, as well as competitor products.
RESULT Advanced Plumbing & Mechanical experienced The Shield firsthand. “For such a simple concept, The Shield has eliminated all of our previous struggles,” says Zach Johnson, the company’s owner. “After several days of work, the quick connect couplings are left clean and fully functional.”
815-672-3171; www.vactor.com
