How Potholing Can Save Your Company Lots of Money
Most people think of the pits that slowly form on roads after years of cars driving them when they think of potholes. That’s true, but potholes on the highway have nothing to do with the potholing practice. Briefly, potholing—sometimes called daylighting—involves the safe removal of soil through a vacuum or hydro excavator rather than a backhoe or shovel. Workers perform potholing to look for utilities like wires, cables, pipelines, and similar conduits that deliver electricity, cable, gas, and similar materials safely and efficiently. The reasons for doing so are obvious. Blindly digging up earth for one project can lead to cut lines, leaks, and other dangerous and disastrous hazards. Adopting potholing as part of your company’s practices is a wise decision, and it can also help you financially. Here’s how potholing can save your company lots of money.
Covers Your Bottomline
Preventing costly interruption of service and the need for repairs is the most obvious reason for using potholing. Improper digging, damaging utilities, and interrupting service can make you liable for the costs of repair, lost time, and potential lawsuits. You eliminate the possibility of sharp blades and blunt construction tools ripping through and puncturing pipes, cables, and so forth when you employ potholing. The likelihood of damage drops to zero, protecting you from fines, expensive repairs, and a loss of customers and public goodwill.
Decreases Time Loss
Public records are handy for locating utilities, but they’re not always accurate. As solid as the ground might seem, things change. The earth shifts, weather alters the landscape, and people build and rebuild. While a map or blueprint might indicate utility lines lie in a specific place, it isn’t necessarily so. Potholing prevents the expensive loss of time and money and possible damage demanded by random digging. Potholing with a hydro or vacuum excavator is swift and safer, and workers can quickly refill the holes until they locate the utility lines.
Keeps Workers Safe
Every construction job comes with its hazards, but some are more dangerous than others. Heavy equipment like backhoes can easily harm nearby workers, whether through operator error, cave-ins, or the accidental uprooting of gas and electrical lines. Excavators remove a smaller section of earth, usually no more than 12 inches in diameter, which causes less disruption to the surrounding soil. Your workers and equipment will be safer, preventing injuries, death, and insurance and disability claims and higher rates in the future.
Helps Your Business Stay Under Budget
Still wondering how potholing can save your company lots of money? You can project the costs of a project better when you have a surer and safer way to locate utilities than digging randomly. Sometimes potholing is also hit-and-miss, but it’s a cheaper and more manageable way to dig. You’ll spend less time creating and refilling large holes, which will shave time off your projects.
Contact us today if you’re seeking potholing or daylighting services or require help with hazardous waste removal in San Diego or elsewhere in the United States!