User Manual

Introduction 3
By contrast, soft excavation – vacuum equipment augmented with
compressed air or high-pressure water (hydro) to loosen the soil –
was responsible for less than a 0.4% accident rate. While not suitable
for all projects, soft excavation has proven by far to be the safest
way to expose underground utilities. Thus, it’s easy to see why many
leading utilities and utility contractors are big proponents. By utilizing
state-of-the-art equipment, such as vacuum equipment paired with
the Utility AirSpade by Guardair Corporation, soft excavation is fast
becoming a preferred methodology.
UNDERGROUND UTILITIES
DAMAGED
2017
Telcom
46%
Natural Gas
27%
CATV
10%
Other
9%
Electric
8%
UNDERGROUND UTILITIES
DAMAGE EVENTS BY EQUIPMENT
2017
Backhoe
32%
Trencher
29%
Hand Tools
14%
Boring
8%
Other
5%
Vacuum Equipment
0.4%
Grader/Scraper
6%
While each incident has a unique set of circumstances and sequence
of events, in all the above cases, hard excavation methodologies –
excavation with augers, backhoes, or power tools – were used at
the time of the strike. According to the CGA 2017 DIRT (Damage
Information Reporting Tool) Report which collects annual data on
inadvertent damage to underground utilities caused by excavation,
318,030 strikes were recorded nationwide. By an overwhelming
margin, hard excavation was responsible for over 99.6% of all
damage events.
Auger
6%