LYNCH Plant Hire has joined forces with a firm that has created pioneering new technology which improves safety and productivity in excavation projects.
Hertfordshire-based Lynch, which is headed up by Irishman Liam Lynch, has partnered with RodRadar to introduce their patented Live Dig Radar (LDR) technology into the UK market.
The product is an “innovative, AI-powered, real-time system embedded in excavation equipment that can automatically detect and alert operators to underground utilities while digging across sites nationwide”, RodRadar explains.
RodRadar and Lynch Plant Hire announced their partnership this monthIts Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) provides users with an instant alert for avoiding buried infrastructure, “eliminating guesswork and reliance on outdated, missing, or inaccurate data, boosting safety and productivity”, they add.
It is set to save firms on costly utility strikes, which are a common occurrence during the digging stages of construction projects.
“In a recent utilities-rehabilitation project at a US Naval Base, the LDR helped the contractor avoid 200 mismarked and unknown utilities, saving over 1,000 hours of downtime and more than $1.5 million,” a RodRadar spokesperson explained.
There are an estimated 60,000 underground utility strikes on projects across the UK each year, costing the economy roughly £2.4bn.
As well as the cost of the direct repair of the strike, further related costs include project delays, property damage, traffic disruption, safety and environmental factors.
“RodRadar is driven to give operators instant, actionable visibility beneath the surface during excavation,” said RodRadar's Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Yuval Barnea.
“By partnering with a national rental powerhouse like Lynch in a predominantly rental-driven market, any customer from Cornwall to the Highlands of Scotland will have access to our LDR systems and stop 'digging blind’, making ‘strike‑free sites’ an everyday reality.”
Lynch claims utility strikes are a “significant concern” among their client base.
“Lynch’s strong focus on safety, digital innovation and productivity aligns with RodRadar’s breakthrough and easy-to-use technology,” Lynch Plant Hire Director Chris Gill said.
“Our customers have identified that utility strikes are a significant concern, and we believe that Live Dig Radar is the answer”, he explained.
“We are confident that contractors will recognise the LDR as an essential tool with immediate ROI,’ Mr Gill added.
“We are excited about the vast opportunity and are committed to ensuring that our products are fully accessible and successful for our customers nationwide, as the sole supplier to the rental market.”
Lynch will distribute RodRadar’s LDR in the UK through the newly formed technology solutions provider MachineTech.
“We partnered with RodRadar because underground safety must be real-time, automatic, and precise,” said Kris West, Technical Director and Co-Founder at MachineTech.
“As Britain’s underground infrastructure becomes ever more congested, proactive risk elimination is overtaking reactive damage control,” he explained.
“The RodRadar UK alliance provides contractors with a practical route to protect crews, budgets, and program schedules from day one.”
