Posted by Matt Lacey
on March 19, 2026
MACHINETECH is proud to be a distributor for both of these transformative technologies!
This breakthrough integration closes the safety gap by automatically stopping the excavator bucket before striking buried utilities during excavation.
The Machinetech team were pleased to join both Xwatch and Rodradar in Las Vegas to showcase this unique and innovative collaboration. As a distributor for both technologies, we are delighted to be able to offer the complete safety
Xwatch Safety Solutions part of Hexagon, a leader in excavator safety systems, and RodRadar, developer of the field-proven Live Dig Radar® (LDR), have announced the industry’s first safety-grade solution for preventing underground utility strikes. The integrated system, as demonstrated at ConExpo-Con/Agg 2026 (March 3-7, Las Vegas), automatically stops excavator bucket movement when subsurface utilities are detected during active excavation, making RodRadar’s Zero-Strike vision a reality.
Integrated Xwatch and Rodradar system on display at Conexpo
Utility strikes (striking underground pipes/cables) in the UK are a major safety and financial issue, with an estimated 60,000 incidents occurring annually, causing roughly £2.4 billion in direct and indirect damages.
Studies have shown that nearly 50% of strikes occur because utilities were not located or were mis-located, and in 64% of incidents the buried infrastructure was more than two feet outside the marked area.
RodRadar’s AI-driven Live Dig Radar digging system uses the first-ever ground-penetrating radar (GPR) embedded directly in an excavator bucket to detect underground utilities in real-time, during excavation, without reliance on pre-project utility data. Through the RodRadar- Xwatch integration, LDR detected utilities trigger an automatic bucket stop via Xwatch’s safety-grade hydraulic control system, to prevent it from hitting the utility.
The integration represents a fundamental step in excavation safety. The approach is analogous to the automotive industry’s evolution from Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) that merely warn drivers, to autonomous emergency braking that actively prevents collisions: the integrated system takes direct action, delivering what RodRadar terms Stop-Before-Strike (SBS), while operators retain override capability.
Xwatch Safety Solutions brings long-standing experience in safety-grade excavator control to this partnership. With over 6,500 systems installed worldwide7, the company is a global leader in excavator safety technology, providing height and slew control through proportional hydraulic intervention. Acquired by Hexagon AB in April 2024, Xwatch operates within Hexagon’s Safety, Infrastructure & Geospatial division, alongside Leica Geosystems and IDS GeoRadar.
Managing Director Ash Mills with Dan Leaney, Director of Sales at Xwatch
“RodRadar has solved the detection problem during excavation,” said Dan Leaney, Director of Sales at Xwatch Safety Solutions. “By integrating their Live Dig Radar technology directly into our safety-grade hydraulic control, we can physically stop the machine before a strike occurs. That’s the difference between warning about a risk and actually preventing it.”
“Xwatch’s proven track record in safety-grade hydraulic control makes them an ideal partner to bring our Zero-Strike vision to reality,” said Yuval Barnea, VP of Sales and Marketing at RodRadar. “The integration further closes the safety gap, transforming LDR detections into automatic strike prevention and delivering the industry’s first-ever SBS solution. We envision this to be recommended and mandated by leading industry stakeholders, project owners, and contractors.”
Construction safety remains a critical industry concern; over the past five years, 354 people have suffered life-changing injuries after striking live underground electricity cables in the UK. The integrated solution aims to establish Zero-Strike Excavation as the new industry standard, with the potential to become mandated on job sites where underground utilities are present.