In the meantime, suction technology has not only become established in the construction industry but also for cleaning and renovation work. What was previously accomplished by hand with considerable effort and expense is now achieved by the suction excavator at outstanding speed. The cleaning of tunnel slit gutters can be carried out in one night without major traffic disruption.
In many tunnels, safety equipment has to be fitted retrospectively in order to comply with statutory regulations. The cables which have been laid in the individual ducts must be exposed to enable this work to be carried out. For fire-prevention reasons, these ducts are filled with sand. The material is sucked out in a short time and without the risk of damaging the laid power and communications cables. On completion of the work, it can be reused.