Injuries and costs of utility strikes in the US are staggering

“Over 400,000 injuries and $100bn dollars worth of costs occur due to utility strikes in the US alone, but we have the technologies to stop them,” said Dave Hubbell of Rodradar when Peter Haddock spoke to him at Conexpo. 

He was explaining how a safety breakthrough combining its AI-driven 'Live Dig Radar' bucket with 3D collision avoidance from Xwatch Safety Solutions part of Hexagon can actively prevent strikes.

Dave: “ When an operator scans the surface of the ground as they work with the ground penetrating radar integrated directly into our bucket, it detects utilities at different depths and shows the operator in the cab exactly where they are.”

“Using the Xwatch system controller panel mounted in the cab, they can then set the depth of the bucket, and the system will hydraulically stop the digging before you reach the utility, preventing a strike.”

Explaining how this integration works, Dan Leaney of Xwatch added:

“The Rodradar bucket sends us a signal with its position, and we slow or stop the machine based on the depth and position of the underground services.“

“It’s a very simple integration that can be installed in about a day and is a real game changer, especially for smaller machines working in utilities.

“Customers already using our system to support slew and height restrictions on site can also benefit from upgrading to this combined solution.”

“It’s all about making it easy for the operator to use and making sure everyone goes home safe.”