Hitachi help maintain coastal defence in Lincolnshire

ZX470LCH-3 crawler excavator playing key role in major flood-defence project in the county 

THE annual Lincshore project was introduced in 1994 after a hard sea defence wall was installed as part of a large-scale reconstruction programme. Working on the coastal defence scheme, the Hitachi ZX470LCH-3 excavator has formed a highly effective partnership with a trailing suction hopper dredger on the Lincolnshire coastline.

The Vlaanderen XX started work on the flood defence project in July 2010 and has since pumped 450,000 cubic metres of marine sand on to the 2km stretch of beaches between Mablethorpe and Skegness. Each load from the vessel deposited around 3,000–3,200 cubic metres of slurry and the ZX470LCH-3 excavator is playing a vital role in maintaining the flow of material on to the beach by helping to create a series of channels and bunds.

The Hitachi machine is owned by Ovenden Earthmoving Co. Ltd, a subcontractor on the Lincshore project for Dredging International, part of the DEME Group. ‘This is our first Hitachi Zaxis excavator and it has already proved to be impressive,’ said Chris Barwick, managing director of Ovenden. ‘This is a specialist job with emphasis on the operators and the back-up they need. The construction machinery has to be ready when required, therefore reliability is a key priority.’

Dennis Pimbett, one of two excavator operators using the Hitachi ZX470LCH-3, added: ‘The machine is smooth, precise and there is good all-round vision from the cab and rear-view camera. Health and safety is the main priority on the project, so these features are important. I also find it to be a productive machine for excavation work on the beach and it manoeuvres well on the sand.’