Excavation is an important part of construction. It allows you to remove rocks and soil from the ground to establish the foundations for buildings. Locating underground utilities is part of laying the groundwork for a successful construction project. Unfortunately, it’s a process that can take quite a negative toll on the environment. Soil erosion from construction sites plays a major part in land degradation, with excavation disturbing the surface vegetation and generating waste.
Luckily, traditional forms of excavation are not your only option. Non-destructive digging is an environmentally friendly form of excavation that is also safer for your employees and better for your infrastructure.
Also known as hydro excavation, vacuum excavation or vacuum truck excavation, non-destructive digging is a form of excavation that uses pressurised water to break up soil and debris. Once the soil has broken up, it’s vacuumed and deposited offsite. Non-destructive digging is commonly used in urban areas with densely packed infrastructure for applications like potholing and trenching and a range of industries, including construction, excavating around water, gas and telecommunication lines, environmental remediation and digging for soil samples.
Traditional digging requires heavy equipment like excavators and backhoes to break down and move the soil. By contrast, NDD excavation is a non-invasive approach that’s effective in breaking up even heavy clay or rocky soil without being as damaging or destructive. According to the NSW Government Centre for Work Health and Safety, NDD digging is “a game-changing type of excavation that has transformed the construction industry”. With the right safety controls and procedures, non-destructive digging can even be performed on certain soils contaminated with asbestos.
As safety experts trusted by some of Australia’s largest construction companies, SSTC is happy to take you through the benefits of non-destructive digging, both for your staff and for the environment.
NDD excavation is a safer option for employees, with less manual labour involved and the potential to operate the equipment remotely. Here are some other significant and vital benefits of NDD for your worksite:
Non-destructive digging is widely considered the safest way to dig commercially. There’s a lot less manual handling to deal with, and sometimes, you can operate the equipment completely remotely, allowing your team to stay at a safe distance. Only one machine is typically required to suck up, store and remove the debris, which further reduces the risks of operating heavy equipment. On top of that, your chance of accidentally striking buried infrastructure is much lower, which further reduces the risk of accidents and injuries.
NDD digging is better for your budget for many reasons: fewer team members, fewer hours are needed to operate the machinery, and less time is needed to clean up afterwards. With fewer hours required onsite, it’s a fast and affordable approach that helps keep operational costs low.
This one is beneficial for both your business operations and for the environment. In densely populated areas, the vibrations from excavation can cause structural damage to surrounding houses. Non-destructive digging significantly cuts down on the risk of this happening.
Non-destructive digging has a much lower rate than traditional excavation of causing damage to underground wiring, pipes and other services. This makes the process of checking the infrastructure before you start a construction project much easier.
These days, businesses need to show their commitment to sustainability and looking after the environment. By including sustainability in your business strategy, you protect your staff from safety risks and your brand from bad PR.
NDD excavation is becoming increasingly popular for endeavours like trenchless pipeline projects. The combination of high-pressure water and an air vacuum allows for removing large quantities of earth without damaging the environment around it.
The biggest benefits of NDD digging for the environment include:
Other forms of excavation can be messy and can even interfere with underground infrastructure. NDD excavation, on the other hand, hones in on a specific spot. This targeted approach makes for a cleaner and faster solution. As a testament to how effective it is, all kinds of industries from communications to oil are adopting it to help them clean up their act.
NDD excavation can turn a job that would usually take hours into minutes, cutting down on the amount of time you need to spend digging up a particular area.
While traditional digging can interfere with tree roots, plants, rabbit warrens and other natural features, NDD digging affects a smaller and more precise area that leaves more of its surroundings untouched. This precise and intentional approach gets the job done while reducing the impact on the natural world.
Excavation projects greatly affect the soil of an area, with more potential for collapse depending on the soil’s compaction strength. However, non-destructive digging dramatically cuts down on the amount of soil disruption and avoids interfering with the surrounding soil structure and root systems.
It may sound like a small benefit, but it makes a big difference in residential or densely packed areas. Non-destructive digging is quieter, with the relatively low and brief noise of a single pump. Noise pollution is bad for wildlife habitats and human health, and fortunately, vacuum excavation can cut down on it.
Non-destructive digging is an energy-efficient approach that consumes less fuel and emits fewer greenhouse gases, making for an energy-efficient approach. By reducing the need for heavy machinery, this form of digging can lower the carbon footprint of your whole construction project.
The best way to reap the benefits of non-destructive digging is to hire experienced professionals like SSTC to carry it out.
As part of our industrial services, SSTC offers safe, efficient, non-destructive digging services tailored to your business needs. Our NDD trucks are from our leading manufacturer, Capellotto, and use high-pressure water jets to excavate the soil without damaging the underground pipes and cables. Each of these trucks comes equipped with high-pressure water pumps and powerful hoses reaching depths of up to 10 metres. Cappellotto is a leading manufacturer of non-destructive digging trucks, and the high quality of equipment that SSTC uses ensures that we provide the highest quality and safety standards for the task.
With over 25 years of combined experience, SSTC are experts in industrial services in Sydney. We have an unwavering commitment to safety and the right expert advice for your construction project. We do everything in our power to minimise risks from beginning to end of your project, providing industrial services in Sydney and helping you access all the plans and permits you need.
If you’d like to learn more about NND excavation, including whether it’s right for your construction worksite, contact the SSTC team for a free quote.