OCU has bought two LaValley Tonghand attachments and two Cat 320 excavators on which to mount the Tonghands.
The Tonghand is a US tool made by LaValley Industries in Minnesota for horizontal directional drilling (HDD). Attached to a hydraulic excavator, it handles and manipulates heavy drill rods, eliminating the need for additional labour to manually unscrew them, taking workers out of the danger zone.
OCU’s new 20-tonne Cat excavators also have a safety focus as they are fitted with 360-degree cameras that give operators an all-round view.
OCU already has a full-size Tonghand and has now added two smaller ones.
Mike McNulty, OCU’s HDD director, explained: “Tonghand delivers unparalleled speed, precision and performance. We have already seen these benefits with the original Tonghand attachment that was added to the fleet more than five years ago to assist the 400-tonne crew with rod handling on the side of the project.
“Investing in a further two attachments of the smaller size Tonghand XS, will allow us the flexibility to use them on our fleet of midi rigs, increase productivity, and our capacity to complete projects on time and to budget.
“Fundamentally this investment will improve safety massively as it will take people away from a potentially risky environment due to the fully automated capabilities.”
Craig Larson, HDD product specialist at LaValley Industries, said: “Around 15 years ago, LaValley had a vision to revolutionise the exit side of the directional drilling market, improving safety and productivity. Traditional wrenches had been the way forward for many years, and while they work, there is always an inherent safety risk that needs to be mitigated constantly.”
OCU is working with LaValley to train staff who will operate the new equipment and to develop a member of the OCU team to become an inhouse trainer.
The demonstration video below is from LaValley Industries in the USA.
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