Excavation safety specialist RodRadar has officially launched its patented Live Dig Radar (LDR) system in the UK, partnering with Lynch Plant Hire to provide contractors nationwide with access to its real-time, AI-powered underground utility detection technology.
The collaboration positions Lynch as the sole plant hire company in Great Britain offering the system, marking a decisive shift from traditional “blind digging” towards a data-driven approach that enhances both safety and productivity on site.
Utility strikes remain one of the most pressing risks in construction. An estimated 60,000 incidents occur annually in the UK alone, costing the economy around £2.4 billion ($3.24 billion) once delays, property damage, traffic disruption, and environmental impact are factored in. RodRadar’s on-bucket Ground Penetrating Radar offers operators immediate visibility of buried infrastructure, removing reliance on incomplete or inaccurate mapping data.
In a recent utilities rehabilitation project at a US Naval Base, the LDR helped a contractor avoid 200 mismarked and unknown utilities, saving more than 1,000 hours of downtime and over $1.5 million.
“RodRadar is driven to give operators instant, actionable visibility beneath the surface during excavation,” said Yuval Barnea, VP Sales and Marketing at RodRadar. “By partnering with a national rental powerhouse like Lynch in a predominantly rental-driven market, customers across the UK can ‘stop digging blind’ and make strike-free sites an everyday reality.”
Chris Gill, Director at Lynch, added: “Our customers have identified utility strikes as a major concern. We believe Live Dig Radar is the answer. Contractors will see immediate ROI, and we’re committed to making this technology fully accessible across the country.”
The rollout will be supported by Machine Tech, a newly formed technology solutions provider appointed as RodRadar’s exclusive UK distributor. “We partnered with RodRadar because underground safety must be real-time, automatic, and precise,” said Kris West, Technical Director and Co-Founder at Machine Tech.
With the UK government’s National Underground Asset Register (NUAR) nearing completion, the demand for tools that make subsurface data actionable at the point of excavation is intensifying. The RodRadar–Lynch alliance aims to provide contractors with practical solutions to protect crews, budgets, and schedules from the outset, positioning real-time radar technology as an industry standard.
