20 December 2019
 Categories: Construction & Contractors, Blog

Of course, some projects require manual tools to excavate earth from a site. Where excavation services are being delivered at a site that has underground pipes or subterranean electrical connections, for example, it may only possible to proceed slowly with manual tools. Typically, these will include spades, shovels, mattocks and pickaxes. However, for excavation work that is required on a larger scale, only certain types of powered tools will do the job quickly enough. What are some of the common powered excavation tools used in Australia these days?

• Backhoe Excavators

These are among the most common vehicles used by excavation services companies today. Contractors tend to like backhoe loaders because they are so versatile when excavating and they can be transported easily under their own steam on the road due to a set of four road-going wheels. They are not only good at digging down, but you can also use their loader to shift earth that has already been excavated onto tipper trucks with ease.

• Tracked Excavators

Unlike backhoe loaders, tracked excavators do not have wheels and are, consequently, harder to move from site to site. However, they come into their own on larger sites where they are incredibly stable even on soft ground. This is one of the big advantages of having tracks to get around rather than wheels. Most will have a large digging bucket that is attached to the end of a manoeuvrable arm and that is known as a dipper. They are a common sight on building sites, and contractors tend to use them in road building projects and for forestry work.

• Dragline Excavators

These large machines make use of a long boom that has a cable suspended from it. Both the top of the boom and the excavator's bucket are connected to this cable. As a result, the earth it picks up can be transported a long distance from the place where it was excavated in one movement. These tools tend to be used in deep excavations such as for forming sewer trenches, for port construction work or for digging very deep foundations.

• Bulldozers

Although they do not dig down, bulldozers are widely used to shift earth from one place to another. Most excavation services companies use them when they are levelling earth to ensure a site becomes perfectly flat. They are used in road construction but also in large landscaping projects.

For more information, contact an excavation company.