Vacuum Excavation vs. Manual Labour

Vacuum Excavation is predominately viewed as the safest method of excavation rather than the traditional method of using shovels, diggers etc. The no-dig method, however does provide a low risk to work on sites and prevents utility strikes which can often have long-lasting severe consequences.

An ideal example of this would be a project in which our team undertook in Bedford recently as it showcases how using Vacuum Excavation is a much quicker process than using manual labour tools.

Our customer knew that there were services located across the site area, but wasn’t certain of their location. 3 labourers took to workover a 2-day period which ended in a result of digging one out of five trenches due to only discovering few locations of the services. Ideally, two trenches need to be dug out per day but due to time and cost to complete all five trenches, using manual labour was clearly not the correct method.

The depth of the trenches exposed that there were several different levels of material that were in need of excavation. With the use of one of our standard 26T trucks, 2 operators using an air lance and clay spade, light work was made of the second trench and managed to complete the job in 2hours and 30 minutes. This is a significant improvement on the timing, environmental impact and level of spoil. With the rest of the job being completed by our operators, all five trenches were successfully excavated in a quick and safe manner, with the spoil contained inside the Vacuum Excavator, ready for backfilling.

Vacuum Excavation offers a faster, more cost-effective solution than manual hand digging. A standard Vacuum Excavation can remove 2m3 of spoil per hour, while an inbuilt skip can hold up to 10m3 before it needs to be emptied. In short, one Vacuum Excavation vehicle will complete a job in the fraction of time in which it would take a team of labourers or a digger.

Another beneficial aspect of Vacuum Excavation is that it is a significant time saver.

If you would like to enquire about any of our systems or hire our team for work, please get in touch with a member of our team who will be happy to answer any questions.

 

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