New solution developed to stop utility strikes on construction sites
The system automatically stops excavator bucket movement when subsurface utilities are detected during active excavation
UK group Xwatch Safety Solutions and Israeli company RodRadar have developed what they describe as the earthmoving equipment industry’s first safety-grade solution for preventing underground utility strikes.
The integrated system automatically stops excavator bucket movement when subsurface utilities, such as water pipes or electric cables, are detected during active excavation.
Underground utility strikes remain among the most persistent safety and financial challenges in the construction world.
According to the companies, more than 400 000 incidents are reported in the US a year, costing the economy roughly $30-billion each year.
Nearly 50% of strikes occur because utilities were not located or were mis-located, and in 64% of incidents the buried infrastructure was more than half a meter outside the marked area.
RodRadar’s AI-driven Live Dig Radar (LDR) digging system uses ground-penetrating radar, embedded directly in the excavator bucket, to detect underground utilities in real-time, during excavation, without reliance on preproject utility data.
Through RodRadar-Xwatch integration, LDR-detected utilities trigger an automatic bucket stop, using Xwatch’s hydraulic control system, to prevent it from hitting the utility.
The approach is analogous to the automotive industry’s evolution from advanced driver assistance systems that merely warn drivers, to autonomous emergency braking that actively prevents collisions, as the integrated system takes direct action, delivering what RodRadar calls ‘stop-before-strike’ (SBS), while operators retain override capability.
“The integration further closes the safety gap, transforming LDR detections into automatic strike prevention and delivering the industry’s first-ever SBS solution,” says Xwatch Safety Solutions sales director Dan Leaney.
“We envision this [technology] to be recommended and mandated by leading industry stakeholders, project owners and contractors.”
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