Vacuum Excavation Project: Supporting A Gas Upgrade

PIER (UK) were called out to take part in a Vacuum Excavation project when work began on plans to upgrade a suburban street gas main connection and the contractors needed to draw up a safe system of work.

The planned maintenance involved excavating across the front of each property to access the gas line connectors and to allow the engineers to connect the new lines. The contractors knew that the excavations would take several days to complete and that on-site Health and Safety practices needed to be a priority due to the number of residents on the road.

A No-Dig Solution for Safety

The solution to ensure site safety and to prevent potential hazards included calling PIER (UK) to provide Vacuum Excavation support. The self-contained Vacuum units allowed each connector to be excavated, without creating large piles of ground spoil down the entire street. The Vacuum Excavator’s remote-controlled arm lifts away the ground by using the strong suction power, pulling the debris inside the machine to store and unload on-site later on in the day.

Once the utility connections were located and marked clearly outside each house, the precision control of the Vacuum Excavator ensured minimum excavation was required by keeping the work area as small as possible, therefore, reducing the risk of incidents on-site.

Preventative Planning

With safety as the main concern at the planning stage of the upgrade work, the contractors also knew that the Vacuum Excavator’s no-dig approach would provide a lower risk excavation method. With use of the strong suction boom and the on-board air lance to unearth underground lines eliminated any manual dig requirement. This ensured that the lines weren’t damaged and no injuries occurred.

By using the Vacuum Excavator, the contractors were able to complete extensive gas upgrade works throughout the street. The Vacuum Excavation project was delivered on time and was successfully completed without any health and safety incidents.

As the industry leaders in Vacuum Excavation, PIER (UK) will listen carefully to their customers’ requirements and provide a solution that is suitable for the job at hand.

You can contact our team on email or on 01925 228 674. Alternatively, you can view our latest projects on our Social Media platforms: Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.