A heavy equipment hazard warning apparatus for a piece of heavy equipment at a site and a system and method for use of the same are disclosed. In one embodiment of the heavy equipment hazard warning apparatus, the location of the heavy equipment is monitored by the heavy equipment warning apparatus and analyzed with reference to a hazard safety site plan of the site that identifies a hazard such as existing utilities, for example. An alert notification is initialized in response to the heavy equipment encroaching on a hazard geofence around the hazard. A shutdown notification is initialized in response to the heavy equipment being proximate to the hazard.

A method of cutting a microtrench in which the buried utility is exposed by opening an access hole in a roadway above the buried utility using a roadway access hole drill that is controlled by a computer system connected to an under-roadway detection unit that detects a buried utility and stops movement of the drill to avoid damaging the buried utility. Also provided is a method of drilling a substantially horizontal hole under a roadway using a horizontal drill that is controlled by a computer system connected to an under-roadway detection unit that detects a buried utility and stops movement or changes direction of the drill to avoid damaging the buried utility.

A roadway access hole drill for cutting a square or rectangular access hole in a roadway having a first saw opposing a second saw and a third saw opposing a fourth saw. A method of cutting a microtrench in which the buried utility is exposed by opening a square or rectangular access hole in a roadway above the buried utility using the roadway access hole drill that is controlled by a computer system connected to an under-roadway detection unit that detects a buried utility and stops movement of the drill to avoid damaging the buried utility.

A heavy equipment hazard warning apparatus for a piece of heavy equipment at a site and a system and method for use of the same are disclosed. In one embodiment of the heavy equipment hazard warning apparatus, the location of the heavy equipment is monitored by the heavy equipment warning apparatus and analyzed with reference to a hazard safety site plan of the site that identifies a hazard such as existing utilities, for example. An alert notification is initialized in response to the heavy equipment encroaching on a hazard geofence around the hazard. A shutdown notification is initialized in response to the heavy equipment being proximate to the hazard.

An excavation attachment device includes a pair of elongated malleable members that are positioned between a rigid top plate and a rigid bottom plate. Each of the malleable members being constructed from rubber and include a forward edge that extends outward beyond the forward edges of the top and bottom plates. A gap is provided between the malleable members for receiving the forks of an excavator bucket. A mounting bracket is positioned along the back edge of the top plate and includes a first set of openings for receiving connectors to selectively engage the bottom wall of an excavator bucket. The mounting bracket also including a pair of protrusions along each end having a second set of openings for receiving connectors to selectively engage the side walls of the excavator bucket.

A sensor retrieval system includes a self-propelled unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) having a control system including a navigation controller, an excavator controller and an extractor controller. The navigation controller has instructions to move the UGV to proximate a geodetic position of a sensor disposed proximate a surface of the ground. The UGV further comprises a sensor position locator arranged to determine distance, direction and relative elevation of the sensor with respect to the UGV. An extractor is in signal communication with the extractor controller. The extractor comprises means for lifting the sensor from the ground to a predetermined depth. An excavator is in signal communication with the excavator controller. The excavator comprises means for removing overburden from above the sensor to leave the overburden to at most the predetermined depth. The navigation controller has instructions to position the UGV such that the extractor is disposed above the sensor when the relative elevation is at most the predetermined depth and to position the UGV such that the excavator is disposed above the sensor when the relative elevation is above the predetermined depth. The navigation controller, the extractor controller and the excavator controller have instructions to position the UGV, operate the extractor and operate the excavator to remove excess overburden and extract the sensor based on the relative elevation.

Systems and methods are disclosed for preventing damage to underground assets caused by earth work or construction equipment and vehicles. The system includes a central data system, which has access to asset location and map data, and a GPS enabled tracking device provided in the vehicle. The system operates by comparing the real-time vehicle location to the stored asset locations, displaying the map, asset information and vehicle location to the vehicle operator and generating alerts when the vehicle breaches a perimeter around an asset. Preferably, both the central data system and the tracking unit are configured to operate together and in parallel, thereby improving the reliability of the system. In addition, the system is also specifically configured to implement various approaches for using and displaying asset location data during monitoring operations while preserving the confidentiality and security of sensitive information.

A method of exposing a buried utility under a roadway by cutting an access hole in the roadway, vacuuming away dirt surrounding the buried utility, and spraying at least one of pressurized water or compressed air into the dirt to loosen the dirt. A vacuum device having a vacuum nozzle, a compressed air nozzle, and a pressurized water nozzle.

In a method of controlling construction machinery, a bucket of a working device is moved along a first excavation trajectory to perform an excavation operation on the ground of a work area. A digging force exerted on the bucket during the excavation operation is calculated. A new second excavation trajectory is generated based on the calculated digging force. The bucket is moved along the second excavation trajectory.

A method of exposing a buried utility under a roadway by cutting an access hole in the roadway, vacuuming away dirt surrounding the buried utility, and spraying at least one of pressurized water or compressed air into the dirt to loosen the dirt. A vacuum device having a vacuum nozzle, a compressed air nozzle, and a pressurized water nozzle.