Remote Control Grass Cutting in Difficult Terrain

On this project the new road cuts through areas of peat which is waterlogged and operations in this area are carefully managed to ensure zero impact on people, plant or the environment.

As part of their Great Crested Newt license issued by Natural England, there is a requirement for habitat manipulation within 250m of Great Crested Newt inhabited ponds, in this case grass cutting (to a minimum sward height 150mm). Given the uneven and boggy terrain they were faced with a difficult situation whereby they needed to meet environmental commitments and at the same time keep their people safe. Due to the nature of peat the land is very soft, and any machinery is at risk of sinking.

The team sought out Robocut which is an all-terrain remote control work platform that enhances safety by removing operators from dangerous and restricted-access areas. Designed especially for tackling tough terrain, two site engineers were able to use the piece of kit to cut the grass without putting themselves in harm’s way. Using the simple and intuitive handheld remote control, from a safe distance this piece of machinery enabled a level of grass cutting required to comply with the schemes Great Crested Newt licence.

Using this method was up to 25 times faster than manual cutting and more fuel efficient than a three-man strimming team.