Remote-controlled Caterpillar excavator clears potential explosives

Installing and preparing a Cat excavator for remote operation typically takes about one week. Image: Steer AS

To ensure maximum safety, the work is being carried out with a remote-controlled Cat 325 excavator, operated from a control chair located several hundred meters away. The remote operation is made possible over such distances through real-time video transmission with no delay.

The contractor, Anlegg Øst Entreprenør AS, is using a remote-control system supplied by Steer AS. Installing and preparing a Cat excavator for remote operation typically takes about one week and the excavator can be used either in remote-controlled or conventional manual mode.

At the controls is 25-year-old Peder Grindflek from Rendalen, who works as a machine operator for Anlegg Øst Entreprenør AS. “Operating a remote-controlled excavator is a bit unusual compared to the regular work at Anlegg Øst, but with several years of excavator experience and some prior remote control assignments, the results and progress are almost the same,” says Grindflek.

The machine can be operated with nearly any equipment – from standard digging buckets to tilt rotators with claws or shears for deforestation. All operations are carried out using the same controls from a safe distance.

“Using a remote-controlled excavator significantly reduces the risk of personal injury, while also enabling a much more efficient operation than if the work were done with manual equipment,” says Monica Engejordet, HSE and Environmental Manager at Raufoss Industrial Park.

Before the Armed Forces’ EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) division enters the area, several cubic meters of material are scanned using a magnet attached to the excavator. This makes the search for unexploded ordnance even safer, as the devices can be located remotely and then moved to a designated inspection area.

Steer AS says its system can be adapted to almost any type of construction machine produced and opens the door to safe remote operation across a wide range of applications.