The Dino series use a high volume of air flow (instead of water) to remove materials around buried services and utilities, virtually eliminating possible cable, service damage and slurry waste.
The MTS machines have been in operation in Europe for more than 12 years and are based on more than 20 years of research and testing.
While the machines were previously unavailable on the Australian market, this all changes in 2014 when Force One began importing the trucks to be used on trenchless projects across the country.
Force One Australia was established in 2014, operating as a partner company of MTS Gmbh of Germshiem, a leading European manufacturer of vacuum suction systems.
Today, the company offers waterless non-destructive digging (NDD) suction excavation technology to the Australian market, including the Dino series.
The Dino series of trucks comes in a range of sizes to suit the requirements of any job, starting from the smallest Dino City with a container volume of approximately 2m3, to the Dino 4 and 5 units which can handle up to approximately 12 m3.
The machines offer a myriad of benefits including the elimination of water for operation, which not only means saving the most precious resource.
No water also means that no slurry waste is generated, which results in a safe and clean work environment, no waste disposal costs and that the excavated material can be reused on site.
Force One Australia Technical Advisor Spiro Xypolitos expects these benefits that will be readily adopted by contractors around Australia.
“The suction power generated from the turbines on board one of these trucks is equal to 16 equivalent sized vacuum trucks.
“One of its abilities is to suck material from depths of 40 m at a distance of 150 m. It also combines the use of bespoke air tools that harness the power of compressed air generated on board at a low 100 psi which helps loosen the ground if necessary.
“The early models were simple without much hydraulic power or features like the robotic driving of the vehicle. However, they did break the technical barrier of vacuum power restrictions as these machines do not create vacuum.
“They operate a suction mode and simply create a constant airflow inwards to the truck and the storage bin using powerful turbines, not pumps.”
Mr Xypolitos says that Force One prefers to import MTS machines because of the build quality and because there is no product like them available on the local market. This technology can only be imported in Australia in the form of complete vehicles.
“What is used currently in Australia is wet vacs, nothing like this exists here,” he explains.
“The Dino 3 is the most commonly used vehicle because it has the capacity and the manoeuvrability for different types of work; for small potholing or large volume NDD the Dino 3 is up to the task.
“The machine performs a lot of NDD for the LNG companies where it is capable, in the right conditions, to move up to 50 m3 of soil per working day, never doing less than 10 m3.
“That is an enormous difference compared to the old method of wet vacuums where every 4 m3 of soil used is a truckload of 8 m3 of sludge, which basically represents one day of work,” says Mr Xypolitos.
Mr Xypolitos also emphasises that one of the main benefits of the machine is that it doesn’t require water to operate, reducing the impact on the environment.
“Dry suction excavation eliminates the need for water once and for all. It does not create any waste and with that comes a lot of benefits, among them increased productivity and material for backfill available.
“Pressurised water can also be a hazard where in the case of this technology all air tools used operate at the extremely lower pressure of 100 psi.”
In the short time the technology has been in operation in Australia it has positively contributed to the development of new practices in the industry, despite the challenges Force One faced in getting the technology into the country.
“We have had many cases where years’ old practices of exposing live underground assets have changed, making the tasks, safer, more ecological and faster.
“Our biggest challenge was importing the truck which fell in a ‘grey’ area of Australian vehicle importation regulation. This cost us a lot of money and time; however, we have overcome this.”
Force One UK has existing relationships with high-profile clients including National Airports, Exxon Mobil, UK Rail and nuclear power plants.
Mr Xypolitos says they hope to do the same in Australia; “Force One has already supplied Santos, QGC and Origin, as well as many small civil and construction contractors such as Murphy Pipe and Civil.”
For more information visit the Force One Australia website.
This article was featured in the September edition of Trenchless Australasia. To view the magazine on your PC, Mac, tablet, or mobile device, click here.
If you have company news you would like covered in Trenchless Australasia contact Assistant Editor Nick Lovering at nlovering@gs-press.com.au