Hydro Tunnel requires our suction material extraction service to remove a build-up of silt, gravel and rocks

An exciting project is due to commence next week in the Cairn Gorms area - A mountain range in the eastern Highlands of Scotland.

A weeks long excavation project has been scheduled to remove a build- up of silt gravel and rocks using our triple fan, 32 tonne suction excavator, 100 metres of extension pipes and our RN2 remote unit, all to be operated by two of our most highly skilled and trained suction excavator technicians.

Today has been a rather busy one, what with loading the vehicles for the long journey on Sunday. In addition to the machinery, one of the latest Mercedes-Benz support vehicles has also been loaded onto the lorry to enable the team to travel to and from site whilst in this remote area.

We look forward to sharing our experience of working on this exciting project, with lots of images and a project update in the early part of next week.

Watch this space, and if you see the Force One Suction Excavator on your travels, be sure to give us a beep, maybe even a tweet! (please do not take images / tweet whist driving!)

Serious About Suction - Suction and Vacuum Excavators - Safe Use Is Essential!

Suction and Vacuum excavators are increasingly being used for excavating around buried services, but safe use is essential, says CPA's Peter Brown.

Suction and Vacuum Excavators have become prolific items of plant in recent years and particularly suited to carry out excavations around buried services and other sensitive areas where a hand dig-only requirement exists. Hirers and contractors have invested in these specialised machines but as with all plant, requires a trained and competent operator to safely and effectively carry out the work, and for an effective safety management system to be in place. This specialist industry is still new compared to more traditional plant operations, meaning the operator training element was in general limited amongst individual hirers or contractors who have either set up their own in-house training regimes, or through an importers-delivered training programme.

Although a training syllabus for certification had been devised through the utility sector, this was not widespread amongst construction and variations in working practices, and the perceptions of what constitutes the required skill set for the operator, existed. To combat this issue, a Yorkshire-based hirer approached the Construction Plant Competence Scheme (CPCS) with a request to devise a category with a supporting set of training and testing standards to ensure consistency of safe working skills within the industry. CPCS agreed to undertake the work and formed a working group in early 2014, which consisted of hirers, importers and contractors who have subsequently developed a training syllabus and test criteria for the category. It has six endorsements relating to the chassis type and suction hose support and with the development work being complete, the category will be available from mid-June 2016.

During 2015, a tragic accident resulted in the death of the operator of a truck-mounted unit which galvanised the industry into reviewing current safe practices and the management of suction and vacuum excavator operations. In order to prevent such an event occurring again, a number of voluntary meetings of contractors and hirers were subsequently held from which an agreement was made to form a special interest group under the umbrella of the Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA). The membership of this group includes the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), attending as an advisor to legislative and regulatory-related requirements.

The first meeting of the Special Interest Group for Suction and Vacuum Excavators (SAVE) was held in February 2016 and the group’s first aim was to develop a good practice guide, similar in format to good practice guides produced by other CPA special interest groups.
CPA technical staff devised a first draft of the guidance, which was presented to group members at their May 2016 meeting. To reflect the scope of operations and safe working practices, there are initially nineteen content areas and include:

- Management of excavation operations
- Selection of personnel
- Training and certification
- Travelling to and from sites
- Safe operations and exclusion zones
- Use of ground engaging tools, attachments and accessories
- Use of supporting personnel
- Cleaning procedures and dealing with blockages
- Tipping of loads and movement of waste
- Emergency procedures

There will be a dedicated section on the selection, preparation and use of supporting personnel – the second man - who support the excavation operation using a ground engaging tool such as an air or water powered lance and as a number of machines can be operated using a remote control station, further emphasis will be made on the issues of safe operation when working near to the hose and excavation.

In defining the scope of their guidance, group members agreed that it will encompass truck-mounted, trailer-mounted, self-propelled and static suction types but would not include dedicated gully suction-type machines used for sludge removal operations, as the nature of operation differs. However, the guidance will contain information relating to the suction of sludge and liquid-type substances using the excavating machines.

Other issues that the interest group have recognised for discussion and clarification on the use of rebated fuel (red diesel), and other matters relating to excepted vehicles and highway travel.
As with all interest group guidance documents, the content contains advice and as well as legislative requirements and is intended for owners, operators, contractors, hirers, clients, site managers and maintenance staff. Although in the early stages of development, the interest group envisage that the guidance should be completed and available from early 2017.

Extracted from original article - CPA News 2016

Unveiling Force One Australia's

$1.1M Dry Suction Excavator

Our sister company, Force One Australia will be exhibiting at the Surat Basin Expo next week at the Toowoomba Showgrounds.

This is our first exhibition where we will be unveiling our $1.1million Dry Suction Excavator, the very first Force One Australia MTS machine to be available for operated hire services across Australia

We hope to share valuable advice, with regular demonstrations of the machinery in action whist providing an insight into this revolutionary safe, fast and effective no mess, no dig suction technology

Should you be lucky enough to be in Australia next week and would like to meet the Force One team, you can find us outside on stand OS119

Don’t forget! - FREE visitor registration is now open on the Surat Basin Expo website

In the meantime, if you would like to watch a video of our suction excavator, the video link link will take you to the latest short clip that Spiro has uploaded to our Force One Australia youtube channel.

Our website hosts a wealth of information, images and videos or if you would prefer to speak to a member of the Aussie team, call 0061 (0)452 579 531

Force One (Aust) Pty Ltd - 40 Heritage Gardens, Sydenham, 3037, Victoria. Established 2014

Keeping ahead with high standards of Safety, Health, Environmental and Quality Practice and Procedures

We are pleased to announce Force One has again achieved impressive high scores through an Achilles B1 assessment for Safety, Health, Environmental & Quality practices and procedures here at our Head Office in March, Cambridgeshire and are a registered supplier on Verify.

With our ongoing commitment to maintaining Health, Safety and Environmental standards Force One remain a credited member of the scheme - You can find us via our supplier number; 061275

Force One Limited offer nationwide suction excavation services, the latest innovation to the no-dig, safe, fast and effective technology that is relatively new to the UK.

So, how can Suction Excavation make an impact on your project?

Suction excavators have incredible suction power. They change the view of manual and traditional digging methods as to how we remove, extract and excavate material safely in the vicinity of underground infrastructure, on rail projects, highways, basement projects, sub-stations, reservoir project, bridges, distance and depth projects and so much more, in-fact, the list is endless ......

Force One can provide an answer – Demands from clients for faster completion times, a cleaner and environmentally friendly approach and more precise excavations with a safe approach and less risk for damage, Force One Limited’s Suction Excavation Hire Services can provides an answer – (in most situations!). *Material removal, excavation and extraction time depends on the application and project in hand.

Suction excavation may be the right solution for your project, and here is how:

It’s Really Fast ……

Force One Ltd have an ever growing fleet of suction excavators ranging from the smaller 26 tonne machines to the 32 tonne and our largest and impressive 41 tonne suction excavator.

Depending on the task in hand will depend on what suction excavator is right for the job, however, site visits prior to the commencement of works will establish the correct machine, number of operatives and the estimated a time duration as to how long the suction excavator will be on site.

This powerful suction technology can be up to six times faster than traditional excavation methods. We recognise this will 100% dependent on site conditions, but we are confident in most situations we'll be able to reduce your project costs considerably.

Its Clean ……

Only high powered air technology is used to remove, extract and excavate material from site. All material is contained in the hopper until it is full or the material has been reduced to a satisfactory and expected level – it is then moved to the on-site allocated tipping area or skip for final removal from site or recycled/reused elsewhere on the project.

Little mess, if any is created using suction excavation due to the accurate positioning of the suction hose – once in position the material is simply sucked into the hopper, stored and tipped.

We’re Smart ……

We follow all regulations set by the UK government and transport regulations. Using suction excavation reduces the need for additional machinery to be on site. One machine is usually sufficient, depending on the project, however, this method removes additional site staff, vehicles and support teams.

Disposal costs are reduced, as are the effects on the environment - reduced emissions due to less machinery and trips to tipping/recycling sites.

Our Services ……

Our Suction Excavators are available for hire across the UK.

We operate a 24 hour service and provide highly trained and skilled operatives – some of the best in the industry!

All staff have regular training, both onsite and with nationally identified trainers within the construction industry.

Applying a consistent and rigorous drug and alcohol policy in our workplace creates a safer working environment for both Force One Limited and our clients.

Daily risk assessments, vehicle and site checks are recorded and assessed, along with operatives risk and fatigue monitoring.

Contact Us ……

To learn more about our services, take a look at our website www.forceoneltd.co.uk or to Book your Suction Excavator for a daily, weekly, monthly, short or long term hire, contact our team on 01354 655 441 or email enquiries@forceoneltd.co.uk

Social Networking ……

We are involved in a selection of social networking activities – come along and join us to keep up-to-date with our services, events, news and new technology arriving at Force One Ltd.

Suction excavation is an incredible technological development – It’s safe, It’s fast, Its effective.