Hydro excavation is a two-stage process involving non-destructive digging or excavation and uses high pressure water jets to break up and “liquefy” the dirt, grass, mud, or clay which is required to be removed.
The second component of the process is high volume suction vacuum to suck up the water and material broken apart from the first stage of the process.
Hydro excavation has a number of advantages over traditional methods of excavating particularly in the area of safety, as traditional excavation procedures can be very dangerous especially when working close to underground electricity or gas, mains sewage, telecommunication and fibre optic lines that can lead to extensive inconvenience and cost if damaged.
Dynamic Hydro Excavations are based on the Gold Coast in Queensland and the business continues to expand throughout its home state as well as other key locations along the east coast of Australia.
As a company, it provides specialised services to many categories of clients ranging from local, state and federal government entities to civil construction, plumbers and builders.
The scale of the operation and its range of equipment now means that its services can be provided to the largest of civil construction contracts as well as to the smaller ‘mum and dad’ residential jobs such as broken water pipes that may only require a truck on site for half a day.
Dynamic Hydro Excavations was established in 2003 by Andy Smith to provide a service which not only accurately locates delicate, vulnerable and expensive underground services but also provides the means with which to perform excavations using high pressure water jetting.
This method protects the underground pieces of infrastructure as well as delivering timely and efficient excavation outcomes.
Major activities the company has been involved with in Southeast Queensland include the massive Coomera Connector highway project as well as the Gold Coast light rail project.
Andy and his team continuously evaluate new technologies that help deliver efficient and safety focused outcomes with the combination of both economic and environmental benefits.
A prime example of the practical application of such leading-edge technologies is ground penetrating radar (GPR) which provides an important initial step prior to any type of digging, drilling, grading or building.
GPR achieves this by delivering a mantle of clarity in relation to the true physical locations of underground services such as electrical, water, drainage and communications.
Verifying surveyor and GPS records is important and knowing what’s actually under the ground ensures a safe, seamless approach prior to the commencement of any construction activities.
Another growing application of this type of technology by Dynamic Hydro Excavations involves the use of closed-circuit television (CCTV) equipment to perform inspections of underground pipe networks and report on exact location, depth, length, type of pipe and any underground issues such as breaks or blockages.
These specialised services are often the subject of after-hours emergency call outs for which rotating night shift crews are rostered.
Managing Director Andy Smith is a carpenter by trade and when he started out in a new direction in 2003 Andy built his first vacuum truck himself, based on a Ford F350.
“Drain trucks were around but not used for digging. I went to the USA to check them out and I reckoned I could build one of them. It never actually worked and was a bit of a nightmare but at least it helped me realise there was more to it than putting a tank and a pump on the back,” says Andy.
“I was a carpenter and had nothing to do with trucks at all. I just fluked it by being in the right place at the right time.”
The Dynamic Hydro Excavations truck fleet of today currently numbers around 120 units and Isuzu is the predominant brand with more than 100 trucks in the line-up.
The modern trucks in the Dynamic Hydro Excavations fleet are equipped with world class pumping and vacuum equipment and the Isuzu line up has been progressively transitioning from smaller models to the latest 8×4 F- and FY-Series, most of which are equipped with automatic transmissions.
Recent new truck deliveries have included a 2023 Isuzu FYJ 300-350 auto, two Isuzu FVZ 240-300 6×4 autos and an Isuzu FVR 165-300 auto.
Other Isuzu models currently used include the nifty N-Series ready-to-work tippers which are ideal for working in many of the tight access sites at which Dynamic often operates.
The load sharing front suspension on the bigger 8×4 Isuzus provides an advantage in accessing off-pavement construction sites as well as keeping the gross vehicle weights legal when the tanks are filled with heavy excavated material.
Andy has no hesitation explaining his reasoning in selecting Isuzu as the truck of choice, and it’s not necessarily about the hardware. It can be summarised in just two words: reliability and relationship.
“Isuzu trucks are reliable and Isuzu themselves are unreal,” says Andy. “If you have a breakdown with an Isuzu truck that’s under warranty, they’ll do their best to get it back operating.”
This, and the Isuzu six-year factory warranty and six-year roadside assistance, is some of the justification behind the purchase of an additional ten new Isuzus which are due to be delivered before the end of 2024.
As new Isuzu trucks are required, they are sourced via the local Gold Coast Isuzu dealership and, as the Dynamic Hydro Excavations business expands into other regions, Andy is appreciative of the Isuzu truck national dealer network.
“It doesn’t matter where our trucks are there’s always someone to back us up,” says Andy. “I didn’t get that with other brands.”
Availability of spare parts is also a vital factor in the purchasing decision and the commonality of many Isuzu parts is an advantage, especially for a fleet which is serviced in-house.
“Break anything major in any truck other than an Isuzu and try and get a part off the shelf,” adds Andy.
“Chances are they won’t have it.”
All of the truck servicing is performed in-house by expert technicians, mostly at the large well-equipped main workshop located on the Gold Coast. Utilising the late model fleet ensures that major overhauls such as engine rebuilds are unnecessary due to the trucks being traded well before that sort of major overhaul is required.
One of Isuzu’s heaviest-duty truck models, the FYJ 300-350s, are put to work hauling Dynamic Hydro Excavations’ largest plants to location.
The twin-steer drive axles in the Isuzu FYJs mean that bigger hydro excavation plants can be built onto the truck with better load stability.
The Australian-supplied Isuzus are equipped with pumps and vacuum components from STG, a supplier with which Andy and Dynamic Hydro Excavations have a long and strong relationship.
The equipment on the larger Isuzus is powered by Cat auxiliary engines. Andy appreciates the staff at Dynamic Hydro Excavations.
“We’ve got a lot of good guys and it’s hard to get them with so many competitors now in the industry who try to poach our staff,” he explains. “With the high-tech equipment we have, we no longer employ from anywhere else.”
Internal promotion is encouraged, and opportunities are provided for ambitious employees to upskill themselves.
“We work out the right person for a position and then go into training them. Almost everyone here has been trained in-house and there are none that we‘ve employed from outside,” says Andy.
“Unless we’re really desperate for a worker we don’t employ anyone who has previously done what we do.”
Dynamic has come a long way since its early days with just two trucks and two staff members. The company’s constant philosophy has been to explore and embrace continuous change and progress through fresh ideas.
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