There are many benefits of using vacuum excavation in many industries. From decreasing the safety risks of labor to increasing time and cost efficiencies there are many benefits that come with using vacuum excavation. Methods of vacuum excavation make digging faster, precise and prevent unnecessary environmental damage. It also reduces the risks of damaging the infrastructure and does not damage the utility lines. Using vacuum excavation makes work easier, cleaner, and more versatile.
If you compare vacuum excavation with older and more traditional methods you will find that it is a safer and more reliable method of digging. There are many applications for which vacuum excavation is used. In this blog, we will discuss some of the applications for which vacuum excavation is used.
Potholing Or Daylighting
In order to protect your project, workers and underground infrastructures utility lines, and construction team you should always use daylighting also known as potholing. In this process, underground utilities are exposed which minimizes the risk of damaging them. Potholing gives visual confirmation of the underground utilities that provide insight into their length, location, and depth. This helps the workers to safely excavate around them. Since vacuum excavation lacks mechanical means, this makes it the perfect fit to carry out this application.
The process of potholing involves the digging of a series of very small test holes of about 6 to 12 inches deep into the ground, to help accurately find subsurface pipes, utility lines, and other obstructions. So, to minimize the potential for utility lines it is important that professional hydrovac contractors are used to carry out potholing. By using hydrovac excavation, the ground and soil are softened by the highly pressurized streams of water and then it is safely displaced through the potholes bores with high suction vacuum equipment. The key benefit of excavation is that it has the ability to move hard and rocky ground without damaging or harming any utility lines.
Test Pitting
Test pitting is a more invasive procedure to examine the subsurfaces condition by a series of small excavation holes that are dug using vacuum excavation or even by manual shoveling methods. Test pitting is just like another form of potholing. By using vacuum excavation you can first soften the ground with the high-pressure stream of water and then displace the test pits through the high-suction vacuum equipment. Using the vacuum excavation technique you will be able to move the rocky and hard ground without damaging the features below the ground.
Test pitting is the safest and easiest way to start any excavation project. During excavation projects, you always run the risk of damaging the utility lines or the infrastructure. Even with red flags and locators in place, there still is the potential risk of dangerous outcomes and damaging costs. You can never safely assume that you know the exact location, depth, or type of line that exists, but test pitting provides the best assurance before beginning an excavation job, making it the best practice in the industry.
Trenching
There are many types of trenching used for different construction projects. The type of trenching you need will be determined by the specific work requirements. Whether you are dealing with box trenching, perimeter trenching, linear trenching, slot trenching or some other type of trenching it’s important that you accurately dig according to the dimensions of the given project.
Vacuum excavation with an air or water source is often applied for trenching activities due to its safety and precision advantages. Vacuum excavation is the best option for slot trenching and for narrow trenches. Since the vacuum excavation method enhances the process by mitigating the accidental hits to the underground utilities. It avoids costly damages, worker injuries and makes sure that the work is completed on time. Vacuum excavation also necessitates less restoration effort than more conventional excavation methods.
About Ghost Hydrovac
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